Proceedings of National Workshop on Priority Tree Species

2. Knowledge and capabilities <strong>of</strong> selected staff at relevant national institutions upgraded
and methods and technologies imparted to seed users.
3. Methods, documentation and technologies for collection, handling and storage <strong>of</strong>
forest seed improved.
4. <strong>National</strong> and regional strategies for conservation and use <strong>of</strong> genetic resources <strong>of</strong>
indigenous priority species initiated. (See Annex 5 for details).
Address by Mr. Vong Sarun, Director <strong>of</strong> Forest and Wildlife Research Institute on the
contibution <strong>of</strong> priority tree species to forest sector in Cambodia. Before 1970, Cambodia
had 13,227,100 ha <strong>of</strong> forest distributed all over the country. Through nearly 30 years,
according to the data from GIS/RS unit in 1997, the forestland has changed (as shown in a
table).
Forest rehabilitation program
The objective <strong>of</strong> RGC’s forest rehabilitation program is:
-Replanting barren land for the effective conservation <strong>of</strong> ecosystems,
biodiversity and environment and increase watershed potentials
-Bringing barren land into effective production to contribute in the poverty
alleviation, and
-Strongly promoting fast growing tree species planting movement for
environmental improvement and wood self-sufficiency.
Program target: In the five-year plan (2001-2005) Department <strong>of</strong> Forestry and Wildlife
planned to plant 50,000 ha annually.
Advantages <strong>of</strong> species selection
There are several observations on which species should be planted in order to achieve the
program. In general, the species selected for planting are to:
-Enable genetic conservation (in-situ conservation and ex-situ conservation
combined with reforestation program),
-Match plant with site for increasing forest quality,
-Meet a variety <strong>of</strong> demands <strong>of</strong> a large-scale reforestation program.
-Meet the need <strong>of</strong> end-user
In the past reforestation in Cambodia was small scale with planting rate <strong>of</strong> approximately
500 ha per year and species were planted without studying origin or provenance. The
species planted before were:
a) Exotic species: Acacia sp., Eucalyptus sp. and Tectona grandis.
b) Indigenous species: Anisoptera glabra, Afzelia xylocarpa, Aquilaria crassna,
Azadirachta indica, Cassia siamea, Dalbegia bariensis, Hopea odorata, Khaya
senegalensis, Pterocarpus sp., Terretia javanica and Peltphorum ferruginum.
Seed selection methods
Tree seed is the important component in a reforestation program, because through the
correct selection we can get more effective production with less expense. In order to
produce seed or seedlings meeting the need <strong>of</strong> the market, the seed producers and
consumers have to prioritise tree species. After recognizing the priority tree seed species
for the consumers, producers must produce seed based on technical procedures to provide
seed with high quality and <strong>of</strong> known provenance (refer annex 6).
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