Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

Case Study 3: Community Access to a Former Forest Concession in Reaksmei
Samaki Commune, Kampong Speu Province
Study site situation
Reaksmei Samaki commune is located in the province of Kampong Speu, which lies to the west of
Phnom Penh City. The topography of the province varies from large areas of lowland paddy fields in
the east to a mixture of lowland-upland and upland forested areas in the west. In 2004, the Ministry
of Planning classified Kampong Speu as one of the three poorest provinces of Cambodia. Its average
population density of 102 people per sq km is higher than that of the entire country, which is 75 people
per sq km.
The 2010 annual commune database shows that Reaksmei Samaki commune has 2,977 residents or 705
families and about 42% of the households are poor. The commune has two primary schools with 10
classrooms, but these are very limited in terms of capacity to accommodate more students. The commune
has a total agricultural land of 2,611 ha for rice cultivation (NCDD 2009). Each household has a paddy
field of at least 0.5-1 ha on average for wet-rice cultivation, but these do not have land titles yet. According
to the commune chief, wet rice and farming rice yields are very low at approximately 1.5-2 tonnes per
ha, and are not sufficient in meeting a household’s demand for an entire year. Aside from farming, the
people in the commune are engaged in livestock production, harvesting of wild food from the forests,
and fisheries. Many households cut trees for fuelwood and for charcoal making. In 2002, the Lutheran
World Federation organization helped in constructing the road going to the Reaksmei Samaki commune,
as well as in providing vegetable seeds and livestock and other materials for livelihood alternatives to
local people such as livestock and fish production, sugarcane planting, and crop cultivation.
With the cash that a number of households generated from forest resources, they were able to acquire various means
of transportation to bring forest products to the market. This situation led to the increasing degradation and even loss
of surrounding forests.
Yearly, the forest resources in the Reaksmei Samaki commune are increasingly degraded due to
unsustainable use by the local people and illegal logging. Now, almost half of total forest land in the
commune has been converted into an ELC to plant oil palm and jatropha.
History of utilization of forest resources in Reaksmei Samaki commune
Before 1993, Reaksmei Samaki commune had a dense forest with lots of big trees, some having
diameters bigger than 50 cm. Local people cut these trees to build their houses and to sell for household
income. During the Khmer Rouge regime, explosive mines were widely scattered in the forests so the
local people were afraid to go in to cut trees.
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Research Team