7.1 Department of forestry and wildlife
7.2 Department of energy
7.3 Ministry of environment
The Royal Government of Cambodia adopted a National Programme to Rehabilitate and Develop Cambodia, in 1994. Within the programme are directions and strategies for sectoral development. Departmental policies have been based on this document, but as a multi-disciplinary issue, wood energy development needs to be addressed through inter-ministerial co-operation. This section will examine the current status of the Forestry, Energy and Environmental Policies in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses in each in relation to wood energy development.
The Department of Forestry and Wildlife is an institution established in 1979. It is a technical institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and its work is implemented in co-operation with other governmental departments. The Department of Forestry is currently undertaking a policy review to cover all levels of government, to ensure the management and protection of the nation's forests.
The main objectives of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife are towards sustainable forestry and the maintenance and stability of forest biodiversity. The Royal Government, particularly the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, are greatly concerned about the destruction of the forests in the past, and to address this major issue the Department aims to achieve:
· Management of firewood coupes
· Management of concession areas
· Reforestation through plantations, concession forestry and community forestry.
In maintaining the system of firewood coupes, the Department of Forestry has recognised the ongoing demand for wood energy. The Provincial Forestry Department submits land areas assigned for firewood coupes to the Department of Forestry on an annual basis. Auctions are then arranged in each province to sell the land to companies for exploitation and forestry officials provide technical advice in coupe management. The area devoted to firewood coupes in various Provinces between 1994 and 1997 is shown in Table 25.
Table 25: Firewood Coupes in Different Provinces, 1994 -1997
|
Year |
Provinces |
Total Hectares |
Total Steres |
Amount of Trees |
|
1994 |
Kampong Thom |
|
|
|
|
|
Pursat |
|
|
|
|
|
Battambang |
|
|
|
|
|
Kampong Speu |
|
|
|
|
|
Kratie |
|
|
|
|
|
Sihanoukville |
|
|
|
|
|
Koh Kong |
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,590 |
158,353 |
106,500 |
|
1995 |
Kratie |
|
|
|
|
|
Kampong Chhnang |
|
|
|
|
|
Pursat |
|
|
|
|
|
Battambang |
|
|
|
|
|
Koh Kong |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,498 |
151,443 |
59,800 |
|
1996 |
Kampong Chhnang |
|
|
|
|
|
Pursat |
|
|
|
|
|
Kratie |
|
|
|
|
|
Koh Kong |
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,498 |
146,443 |
93,095 |
|
1997 |
Kampong Chhnang |
|
|
|
|
|
Pursat |
|
|
|
|
|
Kratie |
|
|
|
|
|
Koh Kong |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,498 |
152,943 |
43,000 |
Source: Department of Forestry
The strengths of the firewood coupe system were best illustrated before 1970, when the Department of Forestry, in co-operation with enterprises, operated under formal agreements to provide a sustainable supply of wood energy to Phnom Penh (Yin Kim Sean, 1972).
Today, the coupe areas are illegally encroached upon by the local communities and armed forces, and none of the above firewood coupes have been sold. Anarchic cutting allows lower prices in the markets and firewood coupes cannot compete with the freely exploited wood energy.
Concession management plans are prepared by the Department of Forestry for forest concession areas. Included in the management plan is a requirement for the stumps and crown of the trees to be removed from the concession area, along with the trunk of the tree. However, the study showed that this requirement is not met; stumps and crowns are removed instead by local communities living around and within the concession areas for use as firewood. Access roads within the concession areas invariably open up previously inaccessible areas of forest to local communities which, in view of the difficulties of upholding regulations in the more insecure areas, is likely to lead to further illegal encroachment.
Today, the Department experiences great difficulties in regulating the forest areas due to the amount of illegal cutting by local communities and the armed forces, and the insecurity within the forested areas.
The principle objectives of Energy Policy (MIME, 1995) cover the provision of adequate supplies of low cost energy for homes throughout Cambodia, and the supply of energy to all sectors of the Cambodian economy whilst minimising environmental effects. To assist national development, energy planners must consider all economic, financial, environmental and social factors. The Department of Energy is the principle government agency for the energy sector, and due to the interaction of energy with all sectors of the economy, this department must work closely with other government departments.
In the sustainable development of energy, emphasis is given to renewable energy sources, although the focus is on hydropower. Concerning woodfuels, the Energy Policy states that responsibility for forests must be within the Department of Forestry. Nevertheless, it recognises the need for the Department of Energy to work closely with the Department of Forestry and Ministry of Environment to ensure that adequate supplies of wood are provided sustainably throughout the country.
Planning for wood energy must be part of a broader energy plan, encompassing the full mix of possible energy sources to satisfy the end users. At present, however, energy planning within Cambodia is limited by the lack of data regarding the supply and consumption of energy within the country as a whole. Collection of this information is difficult due to the insecurity in some parts of the country. Whilst human resources have been lacking in the past, the capacity of the staff of the Department of Energy has been greatly improved in recent years.
The importance of wood energy planning has been recognised within the Department of Energy, and a Wood Energy Planning Unit is currently being established.
The Kingdom of Cambodia has for a long time suffered war, illegal exploitation of natural resources and environmental catastrophes. The complex issues related to these problems must be addressed by the Royal Government and Cambodian society in order to enhance the living standards of the population and to assist the country's development.
The Ministry of Environment is an institution established in November 1993, following the general election. It has a broad mandate to protect the natural resources of the country and to prevent environmental degradation. Although not directly involved in wood energy planning, the Ministry must, within this mandate, be consulted about energy and forestry developments. The long range goals of the Ministry of Environment include:
· management and protection of natural resources to ensure sustainable environmental development
· strengthening co-operation with relevant ministries to control and improve environmental quality
· control and review of environmental impacts of all development projects within the country.
Forest loss has occurred within the coastal zones, hills and flood plains. The associated environmental impacts, and some of the reasons for deforestation have been outlined above. The Ministry of Environment is working in co-operation with relevant government departments and other organisations concerning wood energy development.
As the Ministry of Environment has no direct role in the development of the energy base, it is reliant on the relevant government departments to inform it of energy developments which require environmental impact assessment (EIA). The Ministry of Environment should conduct EIA on all private and public development projects throughout the country. EIA is important to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of an activity before that activity is undertaken; and to identify alternatives to that activity. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, it is hoped that this will:
· ensure sustainability of socio-economic development
· maintain the natural resource base now and in the future
· protect the national socio-culture from the impacts of resource exploitation and development.
Wood energy developments, like other development projects, require environmental impact assessment to indicate the conditions which will maintain sustainable extraction rates and regeneration of the forested areas. Environmental impacts of other energy developments should also be assessed and integrated within environmental impact analysis.
