Cambodia’s First Rattan Conservation Project

By BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

Rattan is one of the most important natural resources for Cambodian people and in Kompot province, the plant is now under the protection of Save Cambodia’s Wildlife (SCW), according to Tep Boonny, executive director of SCW.
“This marks the first phase of the rattan reservation project,” Boonny said. “The main objective of the project is to preserve the rattan as a natural resource. Unfortunately the rattan is now under threat, and we must encourage a return to sustainable use of rattans. This is a vital process and we hope that by preserving the plant, we will also be supporting the occupations of many local artisans in their provinces in Cambodia.”
He observed that, “…until today, no viable man-made alternative to rattan exists that is as cheap, as versatile or as useful to our farmers and workers out in the provinces. In the cities, we are used to seeing rattan in the form of furniture, but the uses to which our farmers put the plant are limited only by their ingenuity and imagination.”
“However, due to unrestrained exploitation of the rattan plant, it is now under heavy threat. Within the next decade, if this behavior is not moderated, Cambodia could face a future without this adaptable plant. So, we are going to try and preserve the rattan’s natural range and replant these areas with the crop; and we plan to do so with the help of the Government and appropriate ministries,” he added.
The project was established by SCW in 2007 and receives funds from the WWF. Boonny said that the project covers 2006 hectares of forest lands in Prek Thnoat commune, Kampot district in Kampot province. It has received recognition by the Kampot provincial authority and the Ministry of Environment.
He said, “I hope that with this rattan project, we can preserve the rattan plant in a manner that also promotes its continued use well into the future. For those whose livelihoods depend on rattan, we are all looking forward to helping them improve their standard of living.”
Boonny told the Cambodia Weekly that according to a SCW report, the fortunes of about 100 local families are directly tied to the first phase of the rattan project, with a further 500 families receiving indirect benefits. Furthermore, to ensure the permanence of these benefits, the project in Kampot province will continue for the next five to seven years. He said that so far, his organization has been working very hard in training people in the “Sustainable Use and Replanting of Rattan”, as well as tending thousands of rattan seedlings to repopulate the SCW project site.
According to the SCW master plan, the next rattan project will occur in Thmar Bung district in Koh Kong province, following the successful completion of the Kampot province project.
Chhoeng Soviriya, the SCW project officer based in Kampot province, said that most of the personnel involved in the growing project based around the Prek Thnoat Communes are farmers and fishermen. Their livelihoods depend on their harvesting the plant from the forests and mountain tops. This is then sold to local middlemen who then sell it on to dealers in the larger urban centers. This activity puts an extra 20, 000 riel (about US $5) into the pockets of the Kampot province harvesters per month, in addition to the money they earn from fishing or farming.
Soviriya continued, “Since the introduction of the rattan project in Kampot province, people can see the necessity for conservation as they can see the link between this and their livelihoods. Before our intervention, they sold the unprocessed rattan that they had collected directly to merchants at a relatively low price. With help and coordination from SCW and WWF, they have been introduced to a wider more lucrative market for their goods. They are also more confident in turning their harvests into furniture for sale in the larger towns and cities across the country.”
Kong Sao, 47, a farmer in Prek Kreng village, Prek Thnoat commune, Kampot province, said that he and his friends had been involved in the collection of rattan for the last decade, bringing in between 20,000 to 50,000 riel every fortnight
Yang Seth, 40, another farmer living in Kampot district, Kampot province, said that his income was greatly enhanced by collecting raw rattan. He said, “It is my second source of income and I can make up to 15 000 riel each month to support my family and children.”
Ek Sopheak, chief of the information office at the Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that the ministry appreciated the work of SCW and its efforts to preserve the rattan range in Kampot province. According to him, the rattan’s range is limited to Kampot, Koh Kong, Pursat, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear provinces.
He continued, “I think that the rattan project is a big help to the Ministry of Agriculture. The rattan is a very important and supremely useful natural resource. Their activities are also a great source of help to the farmers whose lives depend on these versatile plants.”
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