Beyond Conservation

How Keo Seima REDD+ Benefits Nature and People

By WCS Cambodia

April 22^nd, 2024

Deforestation is rampant in Cambodia. Even in recent years, it’s difficult to grasp the extent of its transformation. Route 76, once a dirt road flanked by 30km of dense tropical forests connecting Snuol to the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), is now lined with industrial rubber plantations and has seen its human population triple.

This scene is a harsh reality throughout Cambodia, which lost over 30% of its forest cover between 2010 and 2021. That’s 33,400 km2 of forest, an area larger than Belgium (33.20±12.06% of total forest area or 3.32±1.21%/year, likely the highest rate of any major forest nation in the world. This wholesale loss of an entire ecosystem has occurred since the iPad was first released and Avatar was in theaters. The global demand for agricultural commodities in Asia, Europe, and North America ultimately drives these immense pressures on Cambodia’s forests.

While forests provide immense global and regional benefits, maintaining natural forests does not produce foreign exchange or local employment that drives local economic decision-making. Without an economic rationale, Cambodia’s forest conservation forces must constantly justify the continued expense and opportunity cost of maintaining protected areas versus the alternative of commodity production.

The nearby Snuol Wildlife Sanctuary (an area with the same protection status as KSWS) demonstrates the heartbreaking consequences when conservation voices cannot secure sufficient financial support to counteract deforestation pressures. Snuol experienced the near complete loss of forests by 2018 and was subsequently stripped of its status as a protected area. Unlike Snuol, KSWS received a critical lifeline in the form of carbon finance, allowing it to fund protection at a level where it can compete with alternative destructive economic pressures. In stark contrast to Snuol, KSWS has largely retained its forest cover, as evidenced by satellite imagery below.

A New Chapter in Forest Conservation

Started in 2010, the Keo Seima REDD+ Project covers 166,983 hectares, which constitutes 57% of KSWS. Within this area, there are 20 communities, 60% of whose residents are Indigenous Bunong people. Over two decades of biodiversity monitoring have recorded 1,034 species, 85 of which are globally threatened species, along with 20 species newly discovered by science.

The sanctuary hosts the world's largest populations of the Black-shanked douc langur and the Yellow-cheeked crested gibbon. However, these habitats are under constant threat by small-scale clearance for cash crops, land speculation, commercial hunting, illegal selective logging, and private land concessions.

The Keo Seima REDD+ Project exemplifies the critical role that REDD+ projects play in preserving biodiversity and supporting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities against overwhelming economic and environmental pressures.

Essential Funding and Local Empowerment

Funding from the sale of verified carbon emissions reductions is critical for the project’s ability to invest in forest protection, livelihood improvements, jobs, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and land rights for Indigenous people and local communities. Without REDD+, these investments would not be possible, and the communities and forests served by KSRP would be far worse off.

In other areas across Cambodia, Indigenous communities have suffered due to a history of economic land concessions, forced evictions, and insufficient consultation and compensation that started in the early 2000s. They have faced these issues without access to further support and in many cases, have been completely disposed from their ancestral lands, often cleared in the name of large economic land concessions for rubber and cassava.

Conservation Successes and Community Advances

In terms of impact, the project has successfully avoided emissions of nearly 21 million tons of CO2 equivalent and prevented unplanned deforestation across 25,000 hectares. The conservation efforts have resulted in dozens of globally threatened species outperforming baseline predictions, particularly among arboreal species.

The project has also led to the establishment of seven Indigenous Communal Land Titles—the highest concentration in any Cambodian protected area—and four Community Protected Areas.

The project’s commitment to strengthening and supporting local communities over the past decade has resulted in clear and meaningful improvements.

Third-party verified evaluations indicate significant livelihood improvements for close to 12,000 individuals and valuable skill-building for nearly 8,000 community members. Additionally, the project has improved educational access for hundreds of children and water quality for over 2,000 people. These figures reflect the project's tangible, positive impact on the ground, and the story of Keo Seima REDD+ Project can’t be told without them.

Financially, the Cash for Communities (C4C) benefit-sharing program has already distributed $2 million in direct cash payments to communities. Further, ecotourism projects supported by the project have become the biggest employer of Indigenous Bunong residents, aside from agriculture. Nearly 9,000 Bunong individuals can access community savings groups that allow them to borrow money at fair terms from a collective capital pool of over USD 100,000.

Community involvement is strong, with community patrols in every village conducting over 1,100 patrolling sessions since 2019 and 348 community C4C development projects selected by the communities themselves being funded.

The project has also funded full university scholarships to a dozen Indigenous Bunong students, with several more slated for the upcoming school year. Innovative programs that merge conservation and income generation, like chicken raising and bird nest protection, are aiding financial sustainability and reducing reliance on harmful microloans.

Positive Changes in Community Life

Many community members who are engaged in the process of protecting the forest and developing local economies say the project has made a positive difference in their lives.

Indeed, the project has demonstrably improved the quality of life for many, with 2,268 individuals gaining access to clean water, 2,242 benefiting from improved healthcare, and 662 students receiving better educational opportunities, 54% of whom are girls. Since project inception, the increase in Basic Needs Scores indicates a decrease in poverty rates across the communities, confirmed by publicly available social impact assessments from 2017 and 2023.

The multifaceted livelihoods program enhances access to sustainable income for thousands of families, including 1,500 IBIS Rice farmers who benefit from premium prices for wildlife-friendly organic jasmine rice. Additionally, reforestation efforts have been made, with over 30,000 trees planted and another 60,000 seedlings in preparation.

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