Climate change, forest governance and REDD+ in Cambodia:

workshop series for university students

From February 15 to June 21, 2014

Coordinated by: Nguon Pheakkdey Lecturer, Department of International Studies

Royal University of Phnom Penh

Workshop series on climate change, forest governance and REDD+ in Cambodia Pheakkdey Nguon

Lecturer, Department of International Studies Royal University of Phnom Penh

Introduction The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has been making significant progress at national and

subnational level on the development and implementation of REDD+, an international policy that

aims at addressing climate change through improved forest governance in developing countries.

The RGC has also involved various groups of stakeholders including civil society organizations and

private sector to work in partnership with the government on REDD+. There has been a variety of

awareness raising activities that have been conducted by different institutions, in particular the

Cambodia REDD+ Taskforce Secretariat, for various groups of stakeholders. However, this line of

work has been limited for the academic community, especially for students who might be interested

in pursuing REDD+ as a thesis topic. For example, there is no program at national universities such

as the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) or the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) that

prepares or even introduces students to the development and implementation of REDD+ policies

and projects in Cambodia.

Therefore, to bridge this current gap, a series of workshops (total 10) on REDD+, forest governance

and climate change was conducted from February 15 to June 21, 2014 at the Department of

International Studies, Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). This workshop series attracted

about 35 students from various departments of the RUPP and the RUA. The NGO Forum on

Cambodia provided the financial supports to cover the arrangement and refreshment for each

workshop. Overall, the goals of this workshop series were to:

1. Introduce students to the development and implementation of REDD+ in Cambodia

2. Encourage students to explore this area of work (forest governance, REDD+, and climate

change) as potential topics for their undergraduate theses

3. Introduce students to different institutions that have been involved in realizing REDD+ in

Cambodia

4. Establish network between the two leading universities and institutions involved in realizing

REDD+ in Cambodia

5. Prepare students for potential internships or careers with institutions working on REDD+ in

Cambodia

Guest speakers The 10 workshops took place every Saturday from 14:00pm to 17:00pm at Room 16, Building C,

DIS, RUPP campus. The first part of the workshop usually started with a presentation by the guest

speaker on the overview of the work that their institution is undertaking in regards to the

development and implementation of REDD+, forest governance and climate change in Cambodia.

The second part of the workshop involved an interactive discussion between the guest speaker and

the students on potential topics that students can explore as the topics for their theses. Often times,

conversations in this second part of the workshop also focused on the possibilities for internships at

the invited guest’s institution. The following table summarized the list of invited guests of the

workshop series.

Table 1: Summary of the workshop series

Invited Guests Presentation Title Key Points

Feb 15 Nguon

Pheakkdey DIS, RUPP

Introduction to research on

climate change and

REDD+

1. Introduction to the workshop series

- Purposes

- Expectations

- Participants self-introduction

2. Brief introduction on

- Basic science of climate change

- Current research on forest governance and REDD+

3. Overview of REDD+ development and implementation in Cambodia

Feb 22 Koe Kalyan UNDP

United Nations and

Climate Change in

Cambodia

1. The United Nations

- History and works of the UN

- UN activities in Cambodia since 1950s

2. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

- Objectives of the UNDP

- UNDP in Cambodia

3. The UNDP’s work on climate change

- Cambodia Climate Change Alliance

- Community based adaptation

- Climate resilience in agriculture and water

- Cambodia UN-REDD National Programme

- Sustainable forest management

- Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

4. UNDP’s key achievements on climate change in Cambodia

Mar 15 Peter Iversen Cambodia REDD+

Secretariat

REDD+ negotiations at the

UNFCCC

1. Climate change science and politics

- Current scientific consensus and global policy negotiations

- Roles of land use and forestry sector in global climate change mitigation

and adaptation

2. REDD+

- Challenges

• Political/economic

• Technical

- Scale of implementation

- Other issues

3. Current works on REDD+ in Cambodia

- National forest monitoring systems and GHG inventory

- Forest definition

- Establishment of reference level

• REDD+ activities

• Carbon pools

• Lack of historic data (especially degradation)

- Safeguards

4. Dilemma for REDD+ countries

5. UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism versus voluntary market REDD+ schemes

Mar 22 Yeang Donal Fauna and Flora

International

Empirical experience from

Siem Reap

1. Introduction to REDD+ and global negotiations

2. Decisions on REDD+ at the UNFCCC

3. Kyoto Protocol

4. Cambodia progress at the UNFCCC and REDD+

5. Social and environmental safeguards for REDD+

6. Three phases of REDD+ development and implementation

7. Legal context for REDD+ implementation in Cambodia

8. Experience from REDD+ pilot projects in Cambodia

- Oddar Meanchey

- Siem Reap

Mar 29 Teng Rithiny NGO Forum on

Cambodia

Experience of NGO

Forum on REDD+ and

CSOs Perspective

1. Background of the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF)

- History and overview of NGOF

- Membership and networking

2. Programs and activities of the NGOF

- NGOF’s organizational structure

- Roles and functions of the four main programs

3. NGOF’s activities on REDD+

- REDD+ policy monitoring project

- Activities and outputs on REDD+

4. Cambodia CSO-REDD+ Network

- History and objectives of CSO-REDD+ Network

- Memberships and activities

- Participation at the national and local levels

5. Stakeholders engagement and representation in policy process

May 03 Chhoeng

Soviriya

Non-Timber Forest

Products-Exchange

Programme

Regional experience with

REDD+ and social

forestry in ASEAN

1. Brief overview on NTFP-EP

2. NTFP-EP programs and activities in Cambodia and the region

- Conservation and resource management

- Food and health security

- Enterprise development

- Advocacy

3. Operationalization of NTFP-EP, community based forest enterprise (CBFE)

in Cambodia

- Organizing and strengthening CBFEs

- Capacity building

- Incorporating indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices into CBFEs

- Integrating sustainable resource management plans in CBFE operations

- Identifying appropriate markets

- Developing products and appropriate technologies

- Linking CBFEs to value chain actors

- Conducting needs-based research

- Designing standards and applying appropriate certification schemes

- Providing access to finance

- Monitor impact

4. Lessons learnt from NTFP-EP works in Cambodia

May 24 Chhun Delux Forestry

Administration

Forest Governance and

REDD+ for the Royal

Government of Cambodia

1. Defining governance

2. Governance components in natural resource management

- Institutions

- Process

- Statutory and customary law

3. Governance principle in natural resource management

- Transparency

- Rule of law

- Accountability

- Participation

4. Forest governance and REDD+ implementation in Cambodia

- Institutions

- Process

- Statutory and customary law

5. Governance principle for REDD+ in Cambodia

- Transparency

- Rule of law

- Accountability

- Participation

6. Roles of government agencies to ensure successful implementation of

REDD+ in Cambodia

- As a coordinator

- As a facilitator

Jun 07 Sao Sotheary East West

Management Institute

Grassroots Networking

and Advocacy

Coordination: Prey Lang

Communities Network

1. Overview of EWMI

2. Forest and communities, linkages

3. Prey Lang Communities Network

- History of the network

- Objectives

- Members and activities

- Personal accounts of community members

4. Social justice and grassroots movement

Jun 14 Kim Narong Wildlife

Conservation Society

Status, experience, and

recommendations from

development and

implementation of Seima

REDD+ pilot project,

Mondulkiri Province

1. History of the Seima Protection Forest

2. Development of REDD+ pilot project in Seima

3. Status of Seima REDD+ pilot project

4. REDD+ and local communities

5. Land tenure and land uses in Seima

6. Importance of consultation

7. Experience of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) with local

communities in Seima

8. Results of the FPIC processes in Seima

9. Recommendations

Jun 21 Nguon

Pheakkdey DIS, RUPP

Research and Scholarship:

Climate Change, Forest

Governance and REDD+

1. Recaps of to the workshop series

- Purposes

- Expectations

2. Summary of key messages from previous sessions

3. Overview of the progress of REDD+ development and implementation in

Cambodia

4. Possible topics for research on REDD+, forest governance and climate

change in Cambodia

5. Tips on where and how to get support for thesis research

Workshops evaluation At the end of the 10

th workshop, all participants were asked to voluntarily complete an evaluation

form that focuses on the positive and constructive comments on each of the workshop. The

following table presents the comments from students. Out of the 35 participants, 25 students

submitted their evaluation of the workshop series. Similar comments are grouped together. This

evaluation was done anonymously. It should be noted that these comments are typed exactly as

written by students.

Table 2: Evaluation of the workshop

Positive comments Constructive comments

I am very grateful to the organizer for this workshop

series. I have learned a lot.

I suggest that the organizer should increase

the numbers of announcement for each of

the workshop to attract more students

I learned a lot about climate change and environment

in general, REDD+ and climate change in Cambodia,

why Cambodia needs REDD+. I also appreciate the

tips and advice from guest speakers on internship and

work opportunities

I suggest that the organizer advertise about

this workshop on the internet to make sure

other students are aware of this great

workshop

I learned about what is REDD, REDD+, the

importance of environmental protection globally and

in Cambodia

Please provide the presentation slides

before the workshop, if possible. Also, if

possible, I would suggest that we have a

roundtable discussion which allow

everyone to answer the question

I learned a lot about REDD+, which before the

workshop series I did not really know about. I also

learned a lot about climate change in Cambodia and

globally

I suggest that the organizer advertise about

this workshop on the internet to make sure

other students are aware of this great

workshop

Each workshop was very interesting. I learned a lot

about the REDD+ projects in Mondulkiri province

I hope that there is a part two of this

workshop series

I get clearer view about REDD+ from the workshop,

especially on its background and its progress in

Cambodia. It was also a pleasure to have the

opportunity to meet these amazing speakers. I also

get a lot of ideas of what I can research for my thesis.

Finally, additional to REDD+, I also learned a lot

about other topics such as civil society involvement

in Cambodia, and grassroots activities, etc.

In conclusion, although this is a small group, it is a

splendid workshop. It gives detail about something I

cannot learned at other places

Sometimes the presentation is a bit abstract

and I cannot fully understand

I have learned a lot. I used to be so interested in

environment, but since my major is International

Studies, I got no chance to know much about it.

Attending this workshop gives me chances to know

how enthusiastic the national as well as international

society concerned about climate change issues. I

started to feel more concerned about this important

issue

Overall, this workshop has been produced

greatly already. I do thank and appreciate

all the efforts from Lecturer Pheakkdey and

all the guest speakers

Overall, I think this is a great workshop series. There

are so many interesting topics

I suggest that registration for this workshop

should be done online, if possible. I also

think that third year students should be

prioritized to attend this workshop series

because it might help them to think about

their thesis topics. Maybe, in the next

workshop series, there should be a topic

that talks about geographic information

system and remote sensing application for

climate change and REDD+

I have learnt a lot of things related to REDD+, the

implementation of REDD+ and agencies that have

been working on REDD+. Furthermore, I also have

learnt how indigenous people depend on forest

products as well as protect the forest. In additional to

that I now know a lot of NGOs that work on these

topics

The workshops should take shorter time

than the full three hours because some of

the students might be busy with their

school’s works

I learnt a lot about how to work with local

communities and indigenous people on climate

change and REDD+. I also learnt about the important

link between forest and climate change

The guest speakers were great, but I wish

that we had more speakers who work on

REDD+ in Cambodia

I learned a lot about REDD+ and how it works in

participating countries, including Cambodia. I

appreciated most about the experiences on livelihood

activities with local communities by government and

non-government groups.

I have no suggestions. Thank you for the

workshops

After the workshops, I have learnt so much about

REDD+ programme and activities, and how the

international community has been working on this

topic. Importantly, these workshops illustrated how

stakeholders have been involved in forest governance

in Cambodia. Also, I appreciate the opportunities to

interact with guest speakers

In my opinion, the workshops are very

good with interesting topics and guest

speakers. In order to improve, I would

suggest that students talk more during the

workshops. I would also suggest that the

next workshop series, if there is a plan,

should focus on development and climate

change related issues

Photos from the workshops

Caption: Introducing guest speaker, Ms. Keo Kalyan, UNDP Programme, Cambodia

Caption: Group photo with guest speaker

Caption: Presentation by Mr. Peter Iversen, Cambodia REDD+ Taskforce Secretariat

Caption: Presentation by Ms. Teng Rithiny, NGO Forum on Cambodia

Caption: Presentation by Mr. Yeang Donal, Fauna and Flora International

Caption: Group photo

Caption: Presentation by Mr. Chhun Delux, Forestry Administration

Caption: Presentation by Mr. Kim Narong, Wildlife Conservation Society

Caption: Presentation by Mr. Nguon Pheakkdey, Royal University of Phnom Penh

Caption: Final group photo