Sokh Ty
41
•
Provide guidelines for the improvement of local institutions in preparing operational plans and monitoring and evaluating the community forestry
implementation process;
•
Assist in the establishment of community forestry, especially in identifying the roles, responsibilities and organizational structure as well as in improving
the relationships among stakeholders in community forestry for better cooperation and coordination with local communities; and
•
Improve information and technology flow for better community forestry management
4. Supporting Mechanisms
CF Network
The Community Forestry Network in Cambodia was established in 1993 by the Cambodia Environment Management Project CEMP. The main objective of the
network was to provide a forum for communities and other community forestry stakeholders to meet and share experiences. Meetings were held on a quarterly basis
and newsletters were distributed with information regarding community forestry programming and the development of legislation.
When CEMP was closed in 1997, the MoE, Department of Forests and Wildlife DoFW and Concern continued to support and facilitate the CFNC. In 1998 an
organizing committee was formed to facilitate the CF Network activities. From 1998 through 2004, the organizing committee met regularly to organize network activities.
During this time, the organizing committee was under the rotating leadership of the MoE and FA with NGO representatives from WWF, Mlup Baitong, Concern and Oxfam
GB.
In late 2003, the CF sub-decree was passed and provided the legal framework for community forestry in FA administered land. As a result, the organizing committee
changed the name of the CF Network in order to include and distinguish between community management in protected areas under the administration of the Ministry
of Environment MoE and community forestry in FA administered lands.
In early 2005 the committee under the leadership of the Forestry Administration decided to divide the network into two separate entities: the CF Network and the CPA
Network. The CF Network is currently seeking funding. The main objective of the CF Network according to a recent funding proposal is to build capacity and increase
awareness and understanding of community forestry by contributing information and sharing the experiences of the implementers and stakeholders in community forestry.
Provincial Networks
Provincial community forestry networks have been formed in cooperation with the Forestry Administration cantonment office in five provinces: Kompong Cham,
Kompong Chhnang, Kompong Thom, Pursat and Siem Reap. These networks are
42
CAMBODIA
not officially recognized by the government but are those supported by several organizations and agencies, see Table below. Therefore, there is a need to get the
local Forestry Administration involved in these activities so that the networks can be strengthened and officially recognized.Provincial networks can provide opportunities
for local government, CF communities and LNGOs to interact and share experiences and also provide a forum to raise awareness of issues related to community forestry.
Meetings are generally held on a quarterly or semi-annual basis and organizers report that participation has generally increased with each meeting.
Table 2 Provincial Community Forestry Networks Provincial Network
Supported by Participants
5. Basic Steps in Establishing Community Forestry
