(1) Background: In Cambodia, the deforestation has advanced since the 1970’s due to the expansion of agricultural lands under the Pol Pot regime policy, and causes severe flooding or drought downstream, environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. Attention has been paid to promote restoration and conservation of environment and sustainable use and management of natural resources.

(2) Objectives: The objectives of this program are to enhance sustainable use of natural resources, to create harmony between people and nature, and to increase local awareness on environmental conservation with providing incentives to local people in Cambodia.

(3) Target areas: Kampong Cham province, Mondol Kiri province, and Battam Bang province

(4) Contents: For achieving above objectives, following activities are planned.

A) Research on the effective approach for the sustainable use of natural resources by local peoples
The research aims to: 1) understand how local community use natural resources, the relationships between livelihoods and natural resources, and the degree of degradation of natural resources; 2) assess the effectiveness of the approach through participating and observing the activities described below based on the understanding of 1), and thus contribute to improving the means and ways to ensure the sustainable resource management by local peoples.

B) Promotion on socio-ecological production landscapes through sustainable use of natural resources
Workshops and seminars on restoring and conserving socio-ecological production landscapes will be held to raise awareness of local people and elementary school students. In addition, the leaders training and the symposium will be organized and the pamphlets will be distributed to promote socio-ecological production landscapes in Cambodia.

C) Reforestation in socio-ecological production landscapes for sustainable use of natural resources
Nursery systems for growing nursery trees will be set up for reforestation activity with local people as well as for establishing the school forests for the elementary schools.

D) Promotion of eri-culture in socio-ecological production landscapes for sustainable use of natural resources
For restoring and conserving socio-ecological production landscapes, Eri-culture, a kind of wild silk worm breeding, will be promoted. Eri-culture is expected to provide incentives to local people for promoting sustainable use and management of natural resources in Cambodia.

(5) Expected outcome: This program deals with the restoration and conservation of socio-ecological production landscapes in Cambodia through promoting sustainable use and management of natural resources under the collaboration with local communities, elementary schools and local government. To promote sustainable use of natural resources, the various workshops and seminars will be conducted at the local communities and elementary schools as well as the natural resource surveys. Also, the plant nursery system will be set up and the reforestation activities will be conducted with local people and elementary school students, in addition to popularizing Eri-culture.

Through various activities for restoring and conserving socio-ecological production landscapes in Cambodia, it is expected that local people and elementary school students obtain deeper understanding of the importance of natural resources and enhance socio-ecological production landscapes to create harmony between people and nature in Cambodia.

Clusters to be allocated:
Cluster 2, Policy Research
Cluster 4, Capacity Building
Cluster 5, On-the-ground activity

IPSI member organizations to be involved:
Institute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation (ERECON)
United Nations University (UNU)
Ministry of Environment, Cambodia (MoE, Cambodia)

Time frame:
March 2011-September 2013

Contact detail:
Machito MIHARA, Prof. Dr.
Institute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation (ERECON)
2987-1 Onoji Machida-shi, Tokyo 195-0064, Japan.
Tel/ Fax +81-42736-8972
]E-mail: hq-erecon@nifty.com