Keo Seima REDD+, Cambodia

This Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) project in eastern Cambodia mitigates drivers of deforestation such as in-migration and small-scale agriculture, and to enhance local livelihoods. 

The project is working with 2,500 households (~12,500 people) within the 20 participating villages by the project area which is nearly 300,000 hectares of forest. 

Key project activities include patrols, clarifying and securing indigenous community tenure, and law enforcement. The project is being implemented with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Forestry Administration that work together on the project.

In addition to delivering emissions reductions to help take urgent action to combat climate change (SDG 13), the project delivers a number of other sustainable development benefits. These include:

• No Poverty: Alternative livelihoods provide income generation and skill development opportunities, including literacy and numeracy education for increased off farm livelihoods.
• Zero Hunger: Agricultural extension work, like training and development of local agriculture infrastructure, helps local farmers develop the capacity to successfully combine sustainable farming of high value cash crops with crops suitable for household consumption.
• Clean Water and Sanitation: Water catchments have historically been poorly managed and polluted from unchecked agricultural and mining operations. Mandates now protect water resources in the park, maintaining stability and quality of local water sources.
• Decent Work and Economic Growth: Local ecotourism has been developed in the project area. Carbon revenues address poverty reduction and local economic growth through much needed information and communication technology investments and financing community patrols, agricultural extension services, and infrastructure upgrades for water and storage irrigation.
• Life on Land: Conservation of forest landscape for critically important endangered species, such as Asian elephant, Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon, Guar, and Green Peafowl. 60 globally threatened species inhabit the Seima protection forest.