Creative Initiative of Cheang Tung Commune Council, Traim Kok District, Takeo Province
In Cheang Tung commune, located in Traim Kok district, Takeo province, the commune council has initiated a project to conserve palm trees within the commune boundaries and to protect them from being cut down and sold. The commune council issued an order in 2003 to prohibit the logging of the commune’s palm trees, which identified which kinds of palm trees people were permitted to cut down and which were not. The order also set forth provisions concerning punishment.
The Local Initiative Working Group is a component of the Department of Local Administration, Ministry of Interior, and receiving technical assistance from German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) through the GTZ Administrative Reform and Decentralization Project, with close cooperation from provincial authorities and the Provincial Local Administration Unit. When the Working Group heard of this interesting initiative, a visit was arranged for August 5, 2008, including interviews with the commune council.
Commune Chief Mr. Mom Chea revealed that, in late 2003 and early 2004, the commune council observed that more and more palm trees were being cut down in the commune.
After the Khmer Rouge regime, palm trees were allocated to village families in the commune but, by the time of the commune council elections in 2002, logging had become rampant; no proper recognition of this as an issue had been forthcoming from the council. Both villagers and the council felt that palm trees served as a source of family income and represented
Cambodian culture; therefore, cutting them down was not good for the commune.
Additionally, such activities affected the environment in the area. Most logging was carried out for the purposes of selling and construction. According to the council, in most cases, logging took place without re-plantation. In order to solve the problem, the commune council first called a meeting with village chiefs and relevant stakeholders from different villages.
They reported on the actual situation in their respective areas, and most of them expressed concern over the loss of palm trees in the villages. They solemnly requested that appropriate measures be taken in order to cope with the problem. Commune councilors proposed a ban on cutting down palm trees, although they agreed that people could log if they received approval from the commune council. This idea was taken back by the village chiefs for dissemination to villagers in order to collect feedback and comments. Village chiefs were to report back during the next monthly council meeting.
Both village chiefs and councilors approved the decision to stop cutting down palm trees without prior permission from the commune council. Punishment would be incurred by those abused the order. Villagers would play the role of watchdog in their area. The kinds of palm trees it was prohibited or permitted to cut down were as follows:
1. Palm trees adjacent to buildings, which might fall down during a thunderstorm, could be cut down
2. Palm trees that a majority of people considered too high, thin and/or old could be cut down
3. Apart from the above, it was prohibited to cut down any other palm trees without prior permission from the commune council. If anyone abused this regulation, a fine of 70,000 Riel would be demanded According to the commune chief, the order was issued in 2003 and fully implemented in 2004. After this time, the situation improved remarkably and palm trees were conserved.
Commune Chief Mr. Mom Chea stated that the number of palm trees cut down had reduced significantly, which meant that the council’s action had been highly effective. The council had also encouraged re-plantation of palm trees and villagers appreciated this policy. The commune chief often talked about the palm tree issue in commune monthly meetings; councilors disseminated information about the economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits of palm trees to the local people. In the future, the council will promote the growing of more palm trees in areas where there currently are few and will try to increase family-scale growing of palm trees.
Palm tree conservation is a unique creative initiative of Cheang Tung commune council, one which also responds well to local demand. The Working Group of the Department of Local Administration, Ministry of Interior, expressed its strong appreciation for this innovative idea and hoped that other communes in Cambodia would try to come up with initiatives that serve the best interest of local citizens.
(Source: D&D Bulletin, Volume 8 No. 3 July-September 2008)
January 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Palm trees are handy and could be a source of income if it is still producing jusice for palm sugar. Palm tree shall only be cutting down if they are too old or to close to the property which could be an hazard during storm or strong wind otherwise shall be preserved – leaves can be used to make hats, handicrafts or roofing