CAMBODIA

INTRODUCTION

Main non-wood forest products

The most important NWFP in Cambodia are resin, rattan and bamboo. Other NWFP include mushrooms, medicinal plants and incense.

General information

Cambodia has significant natural resources that could supply its people and foreign investors with many kinds of raw materials. The last 30 years of war have seriously depleted the forest infrastructure and the documentation on NWFP is scarce (Hang Suntra 1995). Currently people are collecting NWFP mainly for nourishment, housing, health care and small industries.

Most of the population is rural and more than 85 percent of the total population is settled along the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, as well as around the Tonle Sap Great Lake. Besides rice, which is the main source of nourishment, the products coming from the forest play a very important role in the nation’s economy, although unfortunately the role and importance of NWFP has not been recognized adequately.

Table 1. NWFP exports of Cambodia from 1983 to 2000

Sources: Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce (1983–1993); Annual Report of CAMFOREXIM (Cambodia Forestry Export and Import Office) from 1994 to 1995;

Annual Report of CAMFOREXIM in the Department of Forestry and Wildlife

PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS

Food

Mushrooms (e.g. phdeak, lngea, popel, trangok and tracheak khla) are eaten by the local people. They also provide income. Harvesting is conducted during both the rainy and dry seasons, depending on the kind of mushrooms. Mushrooms can be dried for storage, but they are also consumed fresh. Mushrooms are found almost everywhere. The collection of mushrooms is free and there is no management system. The amount of mushrooms harvested depends on the demand. The amount of mushrooms collected by one person per day is 3 to 5 kg. The price for 1 kg is CR500 to 1 500 (US$1.00 = CR3 900).

The shoots of bamboo (e.g. Dendrocalamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus membranacceus, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa bambos) are eaten.

Wild fruits are collected from the forests (e.g. kuy, Baccaaurea matleyana, Sandorium indicum and Elaeocarpus madopetalus).

Some plant species also provide fodder, for example Albizza lebbek, Arundiaria pusilla, Arundinaria falcata, Pterocarpus pedatus, Peltophorum ferrugineum and Careya sphaerica.

Medicines

Several forest plants are used as medicines in Cambodia but not much documentation is available. The following species and plant parts have been reported: Spirolobium (bark and stumps), Cinnamomum incerme (roots and bark), Leucaena leucocephala (seeds and fruit), Dioscorea hispida (yam), Albizza lebbek (bark, seeds and flowers), Mornda tomentosa (trunks and roots), Azadirachta indica (trunks/fruit/bark/leaves) and Cassia alata (trunks/leaves/bark). Others include khmear, Amomum galanga, tromoung sek (Gelonium multiflorum) and dong koa (Diospyros spp.).

The documentation on fragrant plants in Cambodia is also scarce. Some species of fragrant plants are used for the treatment of diseases, for example the fragrant juice of the trunk of Aquilaria crasna and the incence from the trunks/stalks of fragrant creeper, var chhnot and Pterocarpus santalinus.

Exudates

An important Cambodian NWFP is resin. Resin is collected from chheu teil (Dipterocarpus alatus), cheur chong (Shorea vulgaris), Shorea obtusa, Careya arborea and Shorea guiso.

Resin from Dipterocarpus alatus is used for waterproofing wooden boats and for candles. It is also used for fishery equipment and for improving fish storage. The Dipterocarpus alatus tree is found almost anywhere near streams and the harvest is conducted depending on the demand. The harvesting takes place during the dry season (December to May) when the quality of the resin is better. The trees are owned and managed by local people and heritage rights to tap a tree can be awarded. The trees are also under the management of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife. Dipterocarpus alatus resin is often mixed with resin from Shorea vulgaris. Another resin-providing tree is Shorea guiso, but nowadays it is difficult to find since its habitat has been degraded. Resins are also exported to the neighbouring countries of Viet Nam and Thailand.

Utensils, handicrafts and construction materials

Rattan is the most important raw material for handicrafts, tools and construction. Calamus salicifolius and Calamus dioicus (rum peak) are used for handicrafts, baskets and fishing tools. Calamus salicifolius is found almost everywhere, except in the mountain zone. Harvesting is conducted when people are free from farming or rice-harvesting activities. There is no management of Calamus salicifolius and collection is free.

Calamus petrreus (phdov dambong) is used for handicrafts and furniture and farm tools. Harvesting is conducted mostly by local people and usually after the rainy season (December – April). Calamus petrreus is found in almost all natural forest areas. The management of Calamus petrreus is under the responsibility of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry.

Var yiev (Strychnos axillaris) is a very popular fibre source in Cambodia for making fishing tools and house construction. Other fibre species used are Cyclea peltata, Chukrasia tabularis and other species (their botanical names are not known). The harvesting of Strychnos axillaris is conducted after the rainy season and the species is found in all of the natural forest area.

Bamboo is used widely for house construction in Cambodia (especially Dendrocalamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus membranacceus, Bambusa vulgaris and Bambusa bambos and Bambusa arumdicacea). Bamboos are also used for the production of paper, farm tools and fishing tools. Items made of bamboo include baskets, chopsticks, lattice (floor grating), columns of cottages, carrying bars (shoulder perched) and palm juice containers/tubes.

Harvesting is conducted throughout the year. Bamboo is found mostly in the dense and semidense forest areas of western and northeastern Cambodia. The resource is under the management of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife but people are free to collect it for home consumption. Dendrocalamus membranacceus is grown on farms.

ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS

Medicines

Some wildlife species are used for the treatment of diseases, such as: Hystrix cristata (stomach), Nytecebus tardigradus (body), Python reticulatus (skin, bone), Ursus thibatanus (bone), gecko (body) and black monkey (blood/bone). Manus javanika is also used as a medicine.

REFERENCES

Annual Report of CAMFOREXIM (Cambodia Forestry Export and Import Office). 1994–1995.

Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce. 1983–1993.

Hang Suntra. 1995. Non-wood forest products in Cambodia. In Beyond timber: social, economic and cultural dimensions of non-wood forest products in Asia and the Pacific. Report on National Workshop on NWFP on 4–6 December 1996, Cambodia. RAP Publication 1995/13. Bangkok, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This report has been realized within the framework of the EC-FAO Partnership Programme "Sustainable Forest Management in Asia". The contents are based on available information at FAO headquarters in Rome, as well as on a report provided by Mr Ly Chou Beang.

Additional information on NWFP in Cambodia would be appreciated and duly acknowledged

CONTACTS

Mr Vong Sarun, #40 Preah Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Mr Tim Sypha, #40 Preah Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

ANNEX 1. FOREST SERVICES

The Royal National Government has taken action to support and promote an active conservation policy for Cambodia's natural resources. The Royal Decree of 1 November 1993 adopted 23 sites (totalling 3.4 million ha) for protection, including seven national parks, 10 wildlife sanctuaries, three important landscapes, and three multiple-use sites. These sites are under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, and the Secretariat of Environment (Hang Suntra 1995).

QUANTITATIVE NWFP DATA OF CAMBODIA

Importance: 1 – high importance at the national level; 2 – high importance at the local/regional level; 3 – low importance

Parts used: an – whole animal; ba – bark; bw – beeswax; le – leaves; nu – nuts; fi – fibres; fl – flowers; fr – fruits; gu – gums;

ho – honey; la – latex; oi – oil; pl – whole plant; re – resins; ro – roots; sa – sap; se – seeds; st – stem; ta – tannins

Habitat: F – natural forest or other wooded lands; P – plantation; O – trees outside forests (e.g. agroforestry, home gardens)

Source: W – wild, C – cultivated

Destination: N – national; I – international