Forest Tenure Policies in Cambodia: Status, Gaps and Way Forward

Improving livelihoods and income of forest dependent communities is important in the context of poverty reduction efforts, food security, and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this regard, many countries in Asia have initiated forest tenure reform programmes. However, the outcome of such reform is mixed and potential benefits to rural people are not fully realised. Restrictive and weak regulatory frameworks, tenure insecurity, and insufficient institutional capacity are key factors limiting the impacts of forest tenure reform. FAO initiated a regional programme on Strengthening Forest Tenure for Sustaining Livelihoods and Generating Income in Cambodia, Nepal and Viet Nam in 2014. These three countries are referred to pilot countries. The main objective was to strengthen regulatory frameworks and institutional capacity of these countries on forest tenure to ensure better income and livelihoods for forest dependent communities. These briefs present key results of the forest tenure policy assessment based on the review of over 130 policy documents in three pilot countries (29 in Cambodia, 37 in Nepal, and 76 in Viet Nam. The country specific brief provides the current status; gaps of regulatory framework related to forest tenure in the selected pilot country and provide policy recommendations to address gaps. The regional brief provides a comprehensive and comparative scenario on forest tenure and draw learning from each other (what works where and why?).