State of forests and REDD+ activities in continental South-East Asia.
Date: 2018-05-18
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar/Burma, South-East Asia, Thailand, Viet Nam, database, deforestation, environmental monitoring, forest conservation, forestry legislation, forestry policy, land use, research report, tropical forest

Funded by the European Union 

 State of Forests and REDD+ Activities 
in Continental South-East Asia 

A project implemented by FCG International, Forest Carbon, kartECO and VAFS 

 
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents 
are the sole responsibility of the consortium consisting of FCG International (Lead Partner) 
and Forest Carbon and kartECO (Partners) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 
European Union. 

Page 1 of 99 

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018 

© European Union, 2018 

Reuse is authorised provided that the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European 
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For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, 
permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. 

Pictures in order: 
Forest Carbon – Kyle Hemes – Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, 2013. 
Forest Carbon – Jeremy Ferrand – Lamam District, Sekong Province, Laos, 2016. 
Forest Carbon – Chanthavone Phomphakdy, Paksong District, Champasak Province, Laos 2015. 
Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia, 2017. 
Forest Carbon – Jeremy Ferrand – Nakai District, Khammouane Province, Laos, 2017. 
Forest Carbon – Jeremy Ferrand – Tuyen Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, 2013. 

How to cite this report: Ferrand, J., Härkönen, J., Moore, C., Tsiros, E., and Luu, T.C. 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, ISBN 978-92-79-79976-1, 
doi:10.2760/58969, JRC110760 

 
Page 2 of 99 

State of Forests and REDD+ Activities 
in Continental South-East Asia 

Ferrand, J.2, Härkönen, J. 1, Moore, C. 2, Tsiros, E. 3, and Luu, T.C. 4 

1 FCG International Ltd (FCG), Osmontie 34, Helsinki, 0061O – Finland. E-mail: 
fcginternational@fcg.fi  

2 PT Forest Carbon Consultants Indonesia (Forest Carbon), Gedung Manggala Wanabakti 
Block IV, Floor 6, Wing B Nr. 614 Jl. Gatot Subroto Senayan, Central Jakarta 10270, 
Indonesia. E-mail: info@forestcarbon.com 

3 KARTERIS APOSTOLOS - KARTERIS MARINOS OE (kartECO - Environmental & Energy 
Engineering Consultancy), Philippos Business Center, Ag. Anastasias & Laertou str, 57001, 
Thessaloniki, PO Box 60824, Greece. E-mail: info@karteco.gr 

4 Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences (VAFS), Silviculture Research Institute, Dong 
Ngac Commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam. E-mail: vkhln@hn.vnn.vn 

Service  contract  to  support  the  establishment  of  a  prototype  of  a  regional  forest 
observatory  in  continental  South-East  Asia,  including  the  countries  of  Cambodia,  Laos, 
Myanmar/Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.  

EuropeAid/137722/DH/SER/MULTI 
 31 March 2018 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Abstract 

The Regional Forest Observatory in Continental South-East Asia (RFO-SEA) is a platform that 
acts as an information repository (database and website) for exchanging knowledge and 
information related to monitoring and reporting on forests in the context of REDD+, as well 
as  the  EU  Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  (FLEGT)  program.  More 
specifically,  the  RFO-SEA,  which  at  this  stage  covers  the  countries  of  Cambodia,  Laos, 
Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, provides information and figures related to the status of 
forest cover, forest condition and REDD+ implementation at national and regional levels, as 
well as a summary of the identified drivers of forest cover change in each country. 

Utilizing the platform, the RFO-SEA project has produced a Report of the State of Forests and 
REDD+  in  Continental  South-East  Asia.  This  report  leverages  the  data  and  information 
contained  in  the  RFO-SEA  to  describe  the  forest  status  and  progress  of  REDD+ 
implementation  at  national  and  regional  levels.  The  report  showcases  the  types  of 
information that can be gleaned from the observatory and gives practitioners involved in 
forest monitoring and REDD+ an understanding of forest status and REDD+ activities in the 
region.  Target  stakeholders  of  the  RFO-SEA  are  national  institutions  involved  in  forest 
monitoring,  management  and  REDD+,  as  well  as  development  agencies,  NGOs  and 
research institutions involved in the REDD+ process. 

Key  words:  forest  observatory,  REDD+,  forest  cover,  FLEGT  (Forest  Law  Enforcement, 
Governance and Trade), database, continental South-East Asia 

Acknowledgement 

This  publication  was  produced  through  financial  support  from  the  European  Union  and 
technical  support  provided  by  the  EC  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC).  We  are  especially 
thankful for the expertise provided by Hans-Jürgen Stibig from JRC which greatly assisted 
our work and his efforts to connect us with ReCaREDD (Strengthening National and Regional 
Capacities  for  Reporting  on  the  Mitigation  Actions  of  the  Forest  Sector),  a  project 
implemented by JRC in South-East Asia and other tropical regions. We are also grateful to 
Vu  Tan  Phuong,  Tran  Lam  Dong,  Hoang  Nguyen  Huy,  Pham  Tiem  Dung  and  Phung  Dinh 
Trung  from  the  Vietnamese  Academy  of  Forest  Sciences  (VAFS),  together  with  Aapo 
Kuusela, who contributed to the establishment and hosting of the database and website of 
the  Regional  Forest  Observatory  in  Continental  South-East  Asia  (RFO-SEA),  and  Ioannis 
Kapanidis who designed the layout of the document. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Executive Summary 

Background 

The European Commission, through the Joint Research Centre (JRC), has conducted the 
ReCaREDD project (Strengthening Regional Capacities for REDD+) in Cambodia, Laos and 
Vietnam  since  2013.  It  provides  technical  support  and  training  in  remote  sensing 
methodologies  to  national  technicians  involved  in  forest  monitoring  and  REDD+.  To 
complement  these  activities,  ReCaREDD  has  launched  a  pilot  phase  to  develop  a 
prototype  of  the  Regional  Forest  Observatory  for  South-East  Asia  (RFO-SEA).  For  this 
prototyping phase, the geographical focus of the observatory is on continental South-East 
Asia, covering the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. 

The RFO-SEA, developed during 2016 – 2018, provides information and figures related to the 
status of forest cover and REDD+ implementation at national and regional levels as well as 
a summary of the identified drivers of forest cover change in each country included in the 
database.  The  RFO-SEA  contents  are  freely  accessible  through  the  website  www.rfo-
sea.org.  

Utilizing the platform, the RFO-SEA project has produced a Report of the State of Forests and 
REDD+  in  Continental  South-East  Asia.  This  report  leverages  the  data  and  information 
contained  in  the  RFO-SEA  to  describe  forest  status  and  REDD+  at  national  and  regional 
levels in continental South-East Asia. The intent of this report is to demonstrate the utility of 
the  RFO-SEA  by  showcasing  the  types  of  information  that  can  be  gleaned  from  the 
observatory  and  give  all  practitioners  involved  in  forest  monitoring  and  REDD+  an 
understanding of forest status and REDD+ activities in the region. This first report is intended 
to serve as precursor for potential regular reporting. 

Forests of South-East Asia 

Forests produce a number of ecosystem benefits, covering goods and services that benefit 
people  in  different  ways.  These  benefits  include  i)  provisioning  services  (forest  goods);  ii) 
regulating  and  supporting  services  related  to  water,  soil,  climate,  agriculture  and 
biodiversity conservation; and iii) cultural services.  

Provisioning services, often referred as forest goods, cover timber, fuelwood and non-timber 
forest products such as food, fiber, and medicinal plants. In continental SE Asian countries 
these  valuable  NTFPs  include,  for  instance  pine  resin,  rattan  and  medicinal  plants.  These 
forest goods often create the foundation in South-East Asia for rural livelihoods, SMEs and 
industry in related processing and marketing sectors. 

Additionally, forests produce  important regulating and supporting services having effects 
on the qualities of land, watercourses, atmosphere and biological resources. As elsewhere, 
in  South  East  Asia  these  services  refer  to  water,  soil,  climate,  agriculture,  biodiversity 
conservation  and  cultural  services.  In  the  context  of  climate  change,  forests  work  as  a 
carbon  sink  -  they  do  not  only  store  carbon  but  continue  to  sequester  it  from  the 
atmosphere.  

Forests play a significant role in South-East Asia by hosting a home to a rich array of flora 
and  fauna,  providing  essential  resources  to  the  local  communities,  while  also  providing 

 
 
 
 
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timber for domestic use and local or international trade. As an example, in a country like 
Laos, 80% of the population rely on forest resources. Also, the forests of South-East Asia are 
often qualified as some of the most species-rich in the world. 

According to FAO statistics (FAO-FRA 2015), the forest area of the five countries covered by 
the RFO-SEA is 884,310 km2, covering 46% of the land area of these countries (Cambodia 
54%, Laos 81%, Myanmar 44%, Thailand 32% and Vietnam 48%). However, there is a growing 
pressure  on  forests  and  forest  land  due  to  the  increasing  demand  for  land  and  natural 
resources  directly  linked  to  population  growth,  infrastructure  development,  and  the 
expansion  of  industrial  agriculture.  For  instance,  the  road  net  development  by  providing 
access to markets and remote resources, has also increased opportunities for investment 
and trade, as well as facilitated the encroachment of loggers or agribusinesses. This issue 
particularly affects the northwest and southern parts of Laos and northeast Cambodia. 

The  establishment  of  cash  crop  plantations  has  become  a  primary  driver  of  forest 
conversion in Southeast Asia. In the Mekong region, the production of rubber, cashew nuts, 
coconut and sugar cane has been a major cause of forest conversion while in coastal areas 
shrimp ponds and agriculture have resulted in the loss of mangroves. In southern Thailand 
and  southern  Myanmar,  oil-palm  plantation  establishment  has  also  been  an  important 
cause of forest conversion. 

As  per  FAO-FRA  2015,  between  2005  and  2015,  only  Cambodia  and  Myanmar  suffered 
ongoing forest loss, while Laos and Vietnam experienced forest gains. Thailand’s total forest 
area remained relatively constant during this period. It should be noted, however, that the 
FAO FRA report is based on self-reported data from each country. Additionally, even the 
RFO-SEA countries with a stable or increasing forest cover are faced with the loss of natural 
forests while forest plantation areas increase.  

The global land cover maps and datasets produced by the Climate Change Initiative Land 
Cover  project  (CCI-LC)  of  the  European  Space  Agency  indicate  that  the  forest  cover 
consistently decreased in Cambodia over the period of 2000 – 2015. Forest loss occurred 
between  2000  and  2010  also  in  Laos  and  Myanmar,  before  stabilizing  for  2010  –  2015.  In 
Thailand, forest cover decreased between 2000 and 2005 but has steadily increased after 
this year. In Vietnam, forest loss occurred during the first period from 2000 to 2005, but the 
forest area has mostly been stable after this. 

While the trends from national datasets should be considered the most authoritative, the 
regional datasets still provide value with respect to viewing forest losses and gains across 
the region through a consistent analytical lens.  

Regional REDD+ developments 

Vietnam  and  Cambodia  are  the  most  advanced  in  the  region  with  respect  to  REDD+ 
implementation.  Both  countries  benefited  from  receiving  early  stage  REDD+  readiness 
support from the UN-REDD programme in addition to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 
(FCPF) from whom both countries have received additional readiness funding in addition to 
the  initial  US$3.6  million  readiness  grant.  Both  of  the  countries  have  developed  national 
REDD+ strategies, identified implementation arrangements for REDD+, and developed and 
officially  submitted  their  country’s  Forest  Reference  Emission  Level  (FREL)  to  the  UN 
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They still need to better articulate 

 
 
 
 
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the  Safeguards  Information  Systems  (SIS)  and  further  develop  their  National  Forest 
Monitoring Systems (NFMS).  

Laos and Myanmar are slightly further behind Vietnam and Cambodia when it comes to 
REDD+ readiness. While the institutional arrangements for REDD+ are in place in both of the 
countries,  they  are  still  undertaking  the  analytical  steps  to  develop  their  national  REDD+ 
strategies,  develop  their  Forest  Reference  Emission  Levels  (FREL),  finalize  the  safeguard 
assessments as well as develop their NFMS. Currently Laos is developing its national REDD+ 
strategy with a draft available for public viewing likely to emerge in early 2018. Both of the 
countries will submit FRELs to the UNFCCC for technical assessment in early 2018, while the 
development of the NFMS will continue throughout 2018. 

Thailand is the furthest behind of the five countries with respect to REDD+ readiness. While 
its REDD+ institutions have been established these have met infrequently and primarily only 
in the context of developing the country’s Readiness Plan Idea Note (R-PIN) and Readiness 
Preparation  Proposal  (R-PP).  Work  to  develop  the  country’s  main  REDD+  components  is 
expected  to  begin  in  2018  once  R-PP  grant  funding  is  released  for  technical  assistance 
support. 

Regional EU FLEGT developments 

The  EU  Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  (EU  FLEGT)  Action  Plan  was 
established in 2003 aiming to reduce illegal logging by strengthening sustainable legal forest 
management, improving governance and promoting trade of legally produced timber. In 
developing countries, this principally takes the form of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement 
(VPA),  a  legally  binding  trade  agreement,  between  the  EU  and  the  timber-producing 
country outside the EU to ensure that timber and timber products exported to the EU come 
from  legal  sources,  while  also  engendering  improvements  in  regulation  and  forest 
governance within the timber-producing country.  

Of the five RFO-SEA target countries, Myanmar and Cambodia are still at an early stage in 
the FLEGT process, focusing on information and consensus building. Myanmar entered the 
preparation  stage  for  the  VPA  in  2015,  thereafter  improving  the  design  of  its  Myanmar 
Timber Legality Assurance System (MTLAS) through the commissioning of a gap analysis and 
initiating in-country dialogues on the VPA process with a broad set of national stakeholders. 
In Cambodia, the VPA process is even at an even earlier stage with the current focus being 
on building internal capacity to engage with the VPA process. 

Laos, Thailand and Vietnam have progressed to formal negotiations on the VPA with the 
EU. Laos initiated these negotiations in April 2017, aiming at the completion of this stage still 
during 2018. Thailand on the other hand started its negotiations in 2013 but due to political 
instability,  these  were  put  on  hold  until  recently;  in  June  2017,  negotiations  resumed. 
Vietnam is the most advanced of the RFO-SEA target countries with its VPA initialled in May 
2017. Following this, the EU and Vietnam commenced a final review of the VPA text and 
annexes to start the procedures to ratify the VPA in 2018. 

Information repository 

information 

RFO-SEA 
is  available  at  http://www.RFO-
SEA.org/geonetwork/. It has been built using GeoNetwork application with modifications to 
comply with the RFO-SEA requirements. GeoNetwork user interface is straightforward and 

repository  user-interface 

 
 
 
 
easy to use for end users. Users can upload new data to the information repository database 
through  the  user  interface  without  complex  database  scripts.  The  interface  also  has  a 
powerful search tool embedded, which allows users to easily find the data that they are 
looking for in the database. 

Page 7 of 99 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Abbreviations and Acronyms 

Page 8 of 99 

CARPE 

CCBC 

CCR 

CMS 

COP 

DEVCO 

DMP 

ECD 

EIA 

ER-PD 

ER-PIN 

ESMF 

EU 

FC 

FCG 

FCPF 

FFI 

FLEGT 

FMU 

Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (USAID) 

Climate, Communities, and Biodiversity Certification 

Climate Change Response 

Content Management System  

The United Nations Climate Change Conference / Conference of the Parties  

Directorate-General  for  International  Cooperation  and  Development  (of 
European Commission) 

Data Management Plan 

European Commission Delegation 

Environmental Impact Assessment 

Emission Reduction Program Document 

Emissions Reduction Project Idea Note (ERPIN) 

Environment and Social Management Framework 

European Union 

Forest Carbon (PT Forest Carbon Consultants Indonesia) 

Finnish Consulting Group (FCG International) 

Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 

Flora & Fauna International 

Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade 

Forest Management Unit 

FORMIS 

Forest Management Information Systems Project 

FREL 

GIS 

GHG 

ICT 

JRC 

JV 

LED 

Forest Reference Emission Level (FRL) 

Geographical Information System 

Green House Gas(es) 

Information and communications technology 

Joint Research Centre (the European Commission's science and knowledge 
service) 

Joint Venture 

Low-Emission Development 

LULUCF 

Land Use, Land Use Change, Forestry 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 9 of 99 

LUP 

M&E 

Landuse Plan(ning) 

Monitoring and Evaluation 

MONREC 

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (of Myanmar) 

MRV 

NFI 

NFIS 

NGO 

OFAC 

PA 

PHP 

Measurement, Reporting and Verification 

National Forest Inventory 

National Forest Inventory and Statistics 

Non-Government Organization 

Observatoire des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (Observatory of Central African 
Forests) 

Protected Areas (The Law on Protected Areas , Cambodia) 

An open-source server-side scripting language 

ReCaREDD 

Strengthening  National  and  Regional  Capacities  for  Reporting  on  the 
Mitigation Actions of the Forest Sector   

REDD 

REDD+ 

RFO 

REL 

R-PP 

SEA 

SESA 

SME 

SRV 

TOR 

Reducing  Emissions 
Development Countries 

from  Deforestation  and  Forest  Degradation 

in 

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and foster 
conservation,  sustainable  management  of  forests,  and  enhancement of 
forest carbon stocks 

Regional Forest Observatory 

Reference Emission Level 

Readiness Preparation Proposal (to FCPF) 

South-East Asia 

Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment 

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises 

Socialist Republic of Vietnam 

Terms of Reference 

TmFO 

The Tropical managed Forest Observatory 

UNFCCC 

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 

UN-REDD 

The  United  Nations  Collaborative  Programme  on  Reducing  Emissions  from 
Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries 

USAID 

VAFS 

VPA 

United States Agency for International Development 

Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences 

(FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents 

Abstract 

Acknowledgement 

Executive Summary 

Abbreviations and Acronyms 

Contents 

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes 

1  Introduction 

1.1  Background 

1.2  Objectives of the Regional Forest Observatory 

1.3  Report of the State of the Forest in continental South-East Asia 

2  Regional Forest Observatory for South-East Asia (RFO-SEA) 

3  Forests of South-East Asia 

3.1  Values of forests in South-East Asia 

3.2  State of the forests 

3.3  Regional REDD+ developments 

3.4  Regional EU FLEGT developments 

4  NATIONAL STATUS: Cambodia 

4.1 

Institutional context 

4.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

4.3  Forest management and conservation 

4.4  Drivers of forest change 

4.5  Forest status 

5  NATIONAL STATUS: Laos 

5.1 

Institutional context 

5.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

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5.3  Forest management and conservation 

5.4  Drivers of forest change 

5.5  Forest status 

6  NATIONAL STATUS: Myanmar 

6.1 

Institutional context 

6.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

6.3  Forest management and conservation 

6.4  Drivers of forest change 

6.5  Forest status 

7  NATIONAL STATUS: Thailand 

7.1 

Institutional context 

7.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

7.3  Forest management and conservation 

7.4  Drivers of forest change 

7.5  Forest status 

8  NATIONAL STATUS: Vietnam 

8.1 

Institutional context 

8.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

8.3  Forest management and conservation 

8.4  Drivers of forest change 

8.5  Forest status 

9  Information Repository 

9.1 

Interface and use 

9.2  Content by country and type 

10  Conclusion 

11 References 

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List of tables, figures and boxes 

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List of tables 

Table 1. 

Forest area in 2005, 2010 and 2015  

Table 2. 

Forest cover area from 2000 to 2015 from CCI-LC maps 

Table 3 

Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Cambodia 

Table 4. 

Forest definition in Cambodia 

Table 5. 

Forest types in Cambodia 

Table 6. 

Forest status summary for Cambodia 

Table 7. 

Estimation of above ground biomass (tC/ha) by forest types in 
Cambodia 

Table 8. 

Carbon pools considered to calculate Cambodia’s FRL  

Table 9 

Total Annual CO2 Emissions and Removals (t CO2 / year) FRL 
reference period 

Table 10 

Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Laos 

Table 11. 

Forest categories in Laos according to 2007 Forestry Law 

Table 12. 

Summary of forest category areas managed at national level in Laos  

Table 13. 

Forest definition in Laos 

Table 14. 

Land and forest classification system in Laos 

Table 15. 

Forest status summary for Laos 

Table 16. 

Historical area of stratified land cover in Laos 

Table 17. 

Activity data per period in Laos 

Table 18. 

Description of Activity Data for Laos 

Table 19. 

Carbon pools considered in calculation of FREL/FRL in Laos 

Table 20. 

Proposed FREL/FRL for Laos 

Table 21. 

Carbon stocks per strata 

Table 22 

Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Myanmar 

Table 23. 

Forest categories area in Myanmar 

Table 24. 

Forest definition in Myanmar 

Table 25. 

Forest cover summary for Myanmar 

Table 26. 

Carbon pools considered in Myanmar for the calculation of FREL/FRL 

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Table 27 

Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Thailand 

Table 28. 

Forest area under DNP, RFD and MoA jurisdiction 

Table 29 

Forest definition in Thailand 

Table 30. 

Forest cover summary for Thailand 

Table 31 

Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Vietnam 

Table 32. 

Breakdown of forest categories by forest type 

Table 33 

Breakdown of forest management entities 

Table 34. 

Forest definition in Vietnam 

Table 35. 

Forest types in Vietnam 

Table 36. 

Forest cover summary for Vietnam 

Table 37. 

Historical forest cover area in Vietnam 

Table 38. 

Carbon pools considered in Vietnam for FREL/FRL 

Table 39. 

Carbon stock per forest type in Vietnam 

Table 40. 

Main document of the information repository 

List of figures 

Figure 1. 

Land cover 2015 

Figure 2. 

Deforestation and reforestation 2000-2015 from CCI Landcover maps 

Figure 3. 

Three phases of REDD+ 

Figure 4. 

Summary of the EU FLEGT VPA process 

Figure 5. 

Protected areas in Cambodia  

Figure 6. 

Drivers of forest change in Cambodia 

Figure 7. 

Land cover 2014 in Cambodia 

Figure 8. 

Forest cover change in Cambodia from 2005 to 2014  

Figure 9. 

Forest cover change 2010-2014 in Cambodia 

Figure 10.  Map of forest categories in Laos 

Figure 11. 

Direct drivers of forest cover change in Laos 

Figure 12. 

Indirect drivers of forest cover change in Laos 

Figure 13. 

Slash-and-burn cycle and land/forest classes 

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Figure 14. 

Forest and Land cover map 2015 - Laos 

Figure 15.  Map of Activity Data in Laos for the period 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 

Figure 16.  Map of forest category in Myanmar 

Figure 18. 

Drivers of forest change in Myanmar 

Figure 18.  Myanmar historical forest cover maps 

Figure 19.  Map of forest cover change in Myanmar between 2002 and 2014 

Figure 20. 

Drivers of forest change in Thailand 

Figure 21. 

Forest cover map of Thailand in 2016 

Figure 22.  Map of forest category in Vietnam 

Figure 23. 

Drivers of forest change in Vietnam 

Figure 24.  Map of forest status in Vietnam in 2016 

List of boxes 

Box 1. 

Wood and wooden products export of Vietnam 

Box 2. 

Forest Reference Level (FRL) and Forest Reference Emission Level 
(FREL) 

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1  Introduction 

1.1  Background  

Reducing  emissions  from  deforestation  and  forest  degradation  (REDD+)  is  a  mechanism 
developed  by  Parties  to  the  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change 
(UNFCCC).  Cambodia,  Laos,  Myanmar,  Thailand  and  Vietnam  are  all  in  the  process  of 
establishing national REDD+ programs to address the impacts that changes in land-use and 
forest  management  are  having  on  climate  change,  biodiversity  conservation,  and  the 
livelihoods  of  forest  dependent  communities.  To  better  understand  the  contribution  of 
REDD+ interventions on reductions in GHG emissions – and for reporting on the latter – these 
countries,  as  well  as  sub-national  REDD+  programs  are  required  to  collect,  process  and 
analyse  various  datasets  (satellite  imagery,  forest  inventories,  drivers  of  deforestation, 
mitigation  activities,  etc.)  to  establish  their  Forest  Reference  Emission  Levels  (FRELs)  and 
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems. Doing this, however, is hindered by 
the ability of governmental, non-governmental, multilateral and civil society organizations 
to  produce,  access  and  share  existing  and  emerging  REDD+  relevant  information  and 
datasets. 

The European Commission, through the Joint Research Centre (JRC),  has conducted the 
ReCaREDD project (Strengthening Regional Capacities for REDD+) in Cambodia, Laos and 
Vietnam  since  2013.  It  provides  technical  support  and  training  in  Remote  Sensing 
methodologies  to  national  technicians  involved  in  forest  monitoring  and  REDD+  in  these 
countries.  To  complement  these  activities,  ReCaREDD  has  launched  a  pilot  phase  to 
develop a prototype of a Regional Forest Observatory. 

A  consortium  led  by  FCG  International  (FCG),  in  partnership  with  kartECO  and  Forest 
Carbon, has developed the observatory in collaboration with the Vietnamese Academy of 
Forest Science (VAFS). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For  this  prototyping  phase,  the  geographical  focus  of  the  observatory  is  on  continental 
South-East Asia, namely in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Page 16 of 99 

1.2  Objectives of the Regional Forest Observatory 

The  Regional  Forest Observatory  for  South-East  Asia  (RFO-SEA)  is  a  regional  platform  that 
acts as an information repository (database and website) for exchanging knowledge and 
information related to monitoring and reporting on forests in the context of REDD+, including 
aspects  related  to  the  EU  Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  (FLEGT) 
program. The targeted stakeholders are the national institutions involved in forest monitoring 
and  management  as  well  as  REDD+,  but  also  other  stakeholders  involved  in  the  REDD+ 
process, including, for instance NGOs and research institutes. 

1.3  Report of the State of Forests and REDD+ in continental South-East Asia 

This report, leverages the data and information contained in the RFO-SEA to describe forest 
status and REDD+ at national and regional levels in continental South-East Asia. The intent 
of  this  report  is  to  demonstrate  the  utility  of  the  RFO-SEA  by  showcasing  the  types  of 
information that can be gleaned from the observatory and give all practitioners involved in 
forest monitoring and REDD+ an understanding of forest status and REDD+ activities in the 
region. This first report is intended to serve as a precursor for potential regular reporting on 
the status of regional forest cover and REDD+  for the region.  As a tangible output of the 
RFO-SEA, the report will act as a communication tool to engage with stakeholders. 

Following this Introduction, Section 2 provides greater detail on the history and objectives of 
the RFO-SEA. Section 3 then provides a regional overview on: (i) the importance of forests 
in S.E. Asia; (ii) forest cover status; and (iii) the status of REDD+ and FELGT implementation. 
Sections 4 through 8 describe the status of forest management, REDD+ implementation and 
forest cover in  each  of  the  five countries  covered  by  the  RFO-SEA  before  describing  the 
contents of the RFO-SEA’s Information Repository in Section 8 and offering some concluding 
remarks in Section 9.  

To quantify forest cover at the regional level, the report uses a global forest cover map to 
give a consistent and comparable view of forest cover change within the region. At the 
national level, the report uses the best available national forest cover map or the official 
published  figures  by  the 
in  charge  of  forest 
management and monitoring. 

respective  governmental  agencies 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2  Regional Forest Observatory for South-East Asia 

(RFO-SEA) 

Page 17 of 99 

Initiated in late 2016, the prototyping of a Regional Forest Observatory for South-East Asia is 
now  complete  and  the  website  freely  accessible  at:    www.rfo-sea.org.  The  RFO-SEA  was 
officially launched in March 2018  and promoted to potential users and stakeholders. This 
next phase of the RFO-SEA will focus on seeking a partner to host and sustain the RFO-SEA. 

The  RFO-SEA’s  vision  is  to  promote  knowledge  sharing  and  transparency  through  a 
collaborative  effort.  As  such,  the  RFO-SEA  is  populated  via  shared  data  and  information 
from  government  agencies,  multilateral  and  bilateral  institutions,  INGOs/NGOs  and  the 
academic sector. By providing relevant information on forest status and REDD+, the RFO-
SEA aims to: 

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

Support  practitioners  to  understand  local,  national,  and  regional  land-use  change 
dynamics; 
Support  coordination  between  projects  and  facilitate  dialogue  between  partners; 
and, 
Foster  regional  cooperation  and  an  integrated  approach  on  forest  and  land-use 
issues.  

A  similar  regional  observatory  has  been 
developed in Central Africa through the 
OFAC  (Forest  Observatory  of  Central 
Africa (www.observatoire-comifac.net). 

The Observatory, RFO-SEA  

The Regional Forest Observatory for South-East Asia, called RFO - SEA, is intended to be a 
platform to share knowledge on the regional status of forests and REDD+. The RFO - SEA will 
act as a repository for maps, statistics, GIS layers, reports, and scientific papers stored in a 
database and accessible through a user-friendly website.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 18 of 99 

The implementation of the RFO-SEA prototype started with a screening of key stakeholders 
in the region to assess their interest in the RFO-SEA content and approach, which informed 
the  final  design  of  the  RFO-SEA.  The  database  and  website  were  developed  with  the 
support of VAFS and in regular communication with JRC. The data and information were 
sourced from contributing stakeholders or other freely available sources. 

The RFO-SEA is composed of three main components: 

1.  A general website which provides information on the status of forests and REDD+ in each 

country;   

2.  A geoportal; and  
3.  An information repository.  

The  RFO-SEA  provides  information  and  figures  related  to  the  status  of  forest  cover  and 
REDD+ implementation at national and regional levels as well as a summary of the identified 
drivers of forest cover change in each country. This overview is linked to source documents 
available in the RFO-SEA’s information repository. 

The geoportal provides geographical information that will help users to comprehend forest 
cover  and  forest  cover  change  dynamics  at  regional,  national,  or  local  levels.  It  also 
provides information on land-use and management, for example the location of protected 
areas.  Finally,  it  provides  global  information  on  landscapes  such  as  soil  type  or  average 
rainfall or fire occurrence. 

Practitioners who work on mapping forest cover change can use the RFO-SEA geoportal as 
a comparison tool. As such, they can verify if forest cover change trends given by their own 
maps match with other provided datasets in the portal or assess which forest cover type 
was affected by deforestation. 

The  information  repository  is  a  knowledge  pool  with  relevant  documents  related  to:  the 
implementation status of REDD+ in each country; forest monitoring, especially forest cover 
change;  relevant  forestry  and  REDD+  projects  from  the  region;  methodologies;  and, 
technical guidance. For the most part, this data is stored in standard pdf format so that end 
users can access it easily. The majority of REDD+ relevant literature was sourced from the 
UNFCCC, FCPF, UN-REDD or national REDD+ websites. The information repository provides 
access to country’s latest officially submitted reports such as FREL reports, R-PPs or REDD+ 
National Strategies. Relevant studies or academic publications regarding forest monitoring 
are  available  in  the  repository.  The  repository  also  provides  the  material  produced  and 
collected in the context of the ReCaREDD project. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3  Forests of South-East Asia 

Page 19 of 99 

3.1  Values of forests in South-East Asia 

Ecosystem  services  are  the  benefits  people  obtain  from  ecosystems.  Forests  produce  a 
number of ecosystem benefits, covering goods and services that benefit people in different 
ways.  These  benefits  include  i)  provisioning  services  (forest  goods);  ii)  regulating  and 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 20 of 99 

supporting services related to water, soil, climate, agriculture and biodiversity conservation; 
and iii) cultural services. Contents of these services are given below. 

Provisioning services – forest goods 

Key  provisioning  services  –  also  known  as  forest  goods  –  provided  by  forests  in  SE  Asia 
include: 

Timber 
Fuelwood 

- 
- 
-  Non-timber forest products such as food, fiber, and medicinal plants (in continental SE 
Asian countries valuable NTFPs include e.g. pine resin, rattan and medicinal plants). 

In SE Asia, forest goods often lay the foundation for rural livelihoods, SMEs and industry in 
related processing and marketing sectors. An example of forest industry and related export 
regarding Vietnam is given in Box 1 below.  

Vietnam  was  the  world’s  fourth-largest  wood  and  wooden  product  exporter  in  2015,  after 
China,  Germany  and  Italy.  In  2015  export  turnover  reached  $6.9  billion,  up  10.7  per  cent 
compared  to  2014.  During  recent  years  the  growth  has  remained  level  at  8  to  10  per  cent.  
Even though a part of the required raw material is imported, this production is mainly based on 
timber grown and harvested in Vietnam.  

According  to  the  Ho  Chi  Minh  City  Handicraft  and  Wood  Industry  Association  (HAWA),  the 
export of wood and wooden products saw better performance than other key export sectors. 

The US, China, Japan and the EU remained the largest markets. 

Wooden furniture accounted for the  majority of  exports. Labor-intensive products previously 
dominated  the  market  but  enterprises  have  now  become  involved  in  product  design, 
accelerated  the  application  of  advanced  technology  in  processing,  and  improved 
management skills and services. 

Figures from the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association show that in 2000 there were 
only 741 wood and wooden product enterprises in the country but the number increased to 
3,934 by 2015. Given its potential the wood and wooden products processing industry is one of 
Vietnam’s most valuable export industries. 

Box 1. Wood and wooden products export of Vietnam 

(Vietnam Economic Times, 2.2.2016) 

Box 1. Wood and wooden products export of Vietnam 

According  to  a  2015  International  Tropical  Timber  Organization  (ITTO)  report,  Myanmar 
produced  about  6  million  m3  of  logs  in  2014  with  a  total  export  value  of  primary  timber 
products being about 1.78 billion US dollars. In addition to Vietnam and Myanmar, forestry 
and  forest  industry  largely  contribute  to  livelihoods  and  economies  of  other  continental 
South-East Asian countries, too. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 21 of 99 

Regulating & supporting services 

Forests produce many regulating and supporting services that have effects on the quality 
of  land,  watercourses,  atmosphere  and  biological  resources.  In  South  East  Asia,  as 
elsewhere, these services refer to water, soil, climate, agriculture, biodiversity conservation 
and cultural services. 

Regarding  water,  forests  have  an  important  role  regulating  water  quality  and  quantity, 
recharging groundwater and reducing flooding (frequency and damage), mitigating sea 
level rise and storm surges. Moreover, forests stabilize soil, control erosion and reduce the 
potential for landslides. 

In  the context  of  climate  change,  forests  work  as  a  carbon  sink  -  they  store  carbon  and 
continue  to  sequester  carbon  from  the  atmosphere.  Forests  also  regulate  rainfall  and 
temperatures  and  provide  shade  and  shelter.  For  agriculture,  forests  provide  pollination 
services and pest control. 

With regards to biodiversity conservation, forests provide habitat for biodiversity. Biodiversity 
supports other ecosystem services (resilience of forests and their services, pollination, forest 
products,  and  cultural  services).  Biodiversity  values  are  affected  by  species  richness, 
presence of threatened or endemic species and connectivity with other forests.   

Concerning  cultural  services,  forests  support  (eco-)tourism,  attract  tourists  (e.g.  wildlife 
spotting,  bird-watching,  hiking).  They  also  have  cultural  and  spiritual  value  (sacred  and 
historical sites) and recreational values, providing access to nature, pleasant landscapes 
and peaceful areas. 

3.2 

 State of the forests 

There is a growing pressure on forests and forest land due to increasing demands for land 
and natural resources directly linked to population growth, infrastructure development, and 
the  expansion  of  industrial  agriculture.  For  instance,  while  road  development  provides 
access to markets and remote areas while also increasing opportunities for investment and 
trade, it has also facilitated encroachment by loggers and the expansion of agribusinesses 
into forests. This issue has particularly affected the northwest and southern parts of Laos and 
northeast Cambodia.  

The  establishment  of  cash  crop  plantations  has  become  a  primary  driver  of  forest 
conversion in Southeast Asia. Deforestation and loss of canopy cover has been particularly 
intense  in  Myanmar.  Smaller  scale  forest  loss  in  Laos,  Viet  Nam,  and  Cambodia  has  also 
been recorded. In the Mekong region the production of rubber, cashew nuts, coconut and 
sugar  cane  has  been  a  major  cause  of  forest  conversion,  while  in  coastal  areas  shrimp 
ponds  and  agriculture  have  resulted  in  the  loss  of  mangroves.  In  southern  Thailand  and 
southern  Myanmar,  oil-palm  establishment  has  also  been  an  important  cause  of  forest 
conversion.  Greater  details  on  the  specific  drivers  impacting  each  target  country  of  the 
RFO-SEA are provided in the respective country profiles. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 22 of 99 

According to the 2015 FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report, in 2015, total 
forest area in the target countries covered by RFO-SEA was 884,310 km2 or 46% of the whole 
extent of the five countries.  

Table 1. Forest area in 2005, 2010 and 2015. (FAO, 2015) 

Forest cover 

2005 

2010 

2015 

Country 

Area (km2) 

% 

Area (km2) 

% 

Area (km2) 

% 

Cambodia 

Laos 

Myanmar 

Thailand 

Vietnam 

Total 

107,310 

168,700 

333,210 

161,000 

130,770 

900,990 

61 

73 

51 

32 

42 

47 

100,940 

178,160 

317,730 

162,490 

141,280 

900,600 

57 

77 

48 

32 

46 

47 

94,570 

187,610 

290,410 

163,990 

147,730 

884,310 

54 

81 

44 

32 

48 

46 

Biogeosciences 11/2014 reports a change in tropical forest cover of entire Southeast Asia 
from  268.0  million  hectares  in  1990  to  236.3  million  hectares  in  2010  1.  Regarding  the  five 
countries  currently  covered  by  RFO-SEA,  as  per  the  dataset  given  in  Table  1  above, 
between 2005 and 2015 only Cambodia and Myanmar suffered ongoing forest loss, while 
Laos and Vietnam experienced forest gains. Thailand’s total forest area remained relatively 
constant during this period. It should be noted, however, that the FAO FRA report is based 
on self-reported data from each country, which often is not reliable due to poor quality. For 
example, the datasets leveraged in Myanmar to report to the FRA were considered of too 
low a quality to be used for the country’s FREL. Additionally, if data is not available, FAO 
uses previous data to make projections to arrive at a figure for the subsequent period. This 
is known to be the case for Laos where the forest area trends between 2002 and 2010 were 
used to arrive at a value for 2015. As such, the FAO FRA numbers, while informative, must be 
considered with caution. 

A different dataset to understand regional forest cover trends in the five RFO-SEA countries, 
are the global land cover maps produced by the  Climate Change Initiative Land Cover 
project (CCI-LC) 2 of the European Space Agency. Figure 1 provides an example of these 
land cover maps. The CCI-LC maps can be considered as a more robust dataset to make 
comparisons between countries over time due to the consistency in the underlying imagery 
used and the land cover interpretation methods employed. Nevertheless, its low resolution 
of  300  meters  may  impact  its  ability  to  identify  small-scale  deforestation  event  and  thus 
under-estimate  slightly  the  deforestation.  As  such,  they  cannot  be  considered  as 
authoritative as nationally produced datasets.  

1 H.-J. Stibig et al.: Change in tropical forest cover of Southeast Asia from 1990 to 2010 
(https://www.biogeosciences.net/11/247/2014/) 

2 http://maps.elie.ucl.ac.be/CCI/viewer/index.php 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
                                                 
Page 23 of 99 

Figure 1. Land cover 2015. (ESA, 2016) 

 
 
 
 
 
As per the CCI-LC dataset as shown in Table  2, total forest cover consistently decreased 
over the 2000 – 2015 period in Cambodia. Forest loss occurred between 2000 and 2010 in 
Laos and Myanmar, before stabilizing for the 2010 – 2015 period. In Thailand, forest cover 
decreased between 2000 and 2005 before but steadily increased after this year. In Vietnam, 
forest loss occurred during the first period, but the forest area was mostly stable after this.  

Page 24 of 99 

Table 2. Forest cover area from CCI-LC maps. (ESA, 2016) 

Forest  Cover 
Area (km2) 

2000 

2005 

2010 

2015 

Cambodia 

91,839  

87,038  

85,161  

83,714  

Laos 

131,495   129,808  

128,862  

129,151  

Myanmar 

344,390   343,716  

343,154  

344,042  

Thailand 

129,193   128,194  

128,816  

130,202  

Vietnam 

119,083   115,971  

115,976  

115,320  

Total 

816,000   804,726  

801,969  

802,430  

The CCI-LC dataset is consistent with forest cover trends identified in national datasets for 
Cambodia and Thailand. The CCI-LC dataset appears to overestimate the stabilization of 
forest cover in Laos and Myanmar compared to national datasets, while also not capturing 
the  greater  forest  gains  achieved  in  Vietnam  during  this  period.  While  the  trends  from 
national  datasets  should  be  considered  the  most  authoritative,  the  regional  datasets  still 
provide value with respect to viewing forest losses and gains across the region through a 
consistent  analytical  lens.  Sections  4  through  8  provide  a  greater  discussion  of  the  forest 
cover trends in each of the five RFO-SEA target countries. 

Figure 2 illustrates where deforestation and reforestation occurred between 2000 and 2015 
according to the CCI-LC dataset. In Vietnam, deforestation was most evident in the Central 
Highlands  and  Central  Coast  areas.  Here,  degraded  forests  were  replaced  by  forest 
plantations, mostly rubber in the Central Highlands  and acacia in the Central Coast. This 
reforestation trend in the Central Highlands is visible on the map; the other notable area of 
reforestation  in  Vietnam  is  in  the  South  Central  Coast.  In  Cambodia,  the  majority  of 
deforestation occurred in the Central Plains area due to the establishment of commercial 
plantations  in  economic  land  concessions.  The  Cardamoms  mountain  range  was  also 
impacted by deforestation on its edge. The visible reforestation occurred in only a few spits 
and  corresponds  to  the  establishment  of  plantations.  In  Myanmar,  forest  located  in  the 
south, in the Tenasserim range, was heavily impacted by deforestation due to agriculture 
expansion, oil palm plantations and the development of infrastructure. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 25 of 99 

Figure 2. Deforestation and reforestation 2000-2015 from CCI Land cover maps. (ESA, 2016) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 26 of 99 

In Thailand, deforestation occurred in the northern provinces as well as in the proximity to 
the Myanmar border. It is known that in Thailand reforestation programs supported by the 
government have mostly counter-balanced the loss. Reforestation comes most likely from 
plantations in the south and reforestation of degraded land in the mountainous area in the 
north. In  Laos,  the  implementation  of  rubber  plantations,  starting  in  the  mid-2000  lead  to 
deforestation  in  the  north-west  and  south-east  provinces  fueled  largely  by  Chinese  and 
Vietnamese investors. The growth of these plantations, as well as the regeneration of former 
shifting cultivation areas are the likely cause of the observed reforestation in the north. The 
development  of  numerous  hydropower  projects,  encouraged  by  national  policies 
supporting the development of Laos as an exporter of power, caused deforestation. Small-
scale  shifting  agriculture,  which  is  still  practiced  throughout  Laos  but  particularly  in  the 
northern parts, also causes encroachment into forest areas. 

It  should  also  be  noted,  that  in  all  countries  forest  quality  is  being  lost,  even  in  countries 
where forest cover appears to be stable or increasing. This is due to the concurrent loss of 
natural forests while forest plantation areas increase.  

3.3 

 Regional REDD+ developments 

The Warsaw Framework for REDD+, a series of seven decisions adopted at the COP 19 held 
in Warsaw, Poland, in November 2013, is the most important guidance under the UNFCCC 
for developing countries on REDD+ implementation.  Between the Warsaw Framework for 
REDD+ and previous decisions on REDD+ adopted by the COP, it is possible to summarize 
the main features that a country must have in place to receive results based payments for 
REDD+. These are: 

  National  REDD+  Strategy  or  Action  Plan:  A  national  REDD+  strategy  or  action  plan 
addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, land tenure issues, forest 
governance issues, gender considerations and REDD+ safeguards including the full and 
effective participation of relevant stakeholders, inter alia indigenous peoples and local 
communities. 

  Safeguards: A system for providing information on how the REDD+ safeguards under the 
Cancun  Agreement  are  being  promoted  and  supported  when  implementing  REDD+ 
activities. Taking into account national circumstances and respective capabilities, and 
recognizing national sovereignty and legislation, relevant international obligations and 
agreements, and respecting gender considerations, the safeguards information systems 
should provide transparent and consistent information that is accessible by all relevant 
stakeholders  and  updated  on  a  regular  basis.  The  systems  should  build  upon  existing 
systems, be implemented at the national level and also be transparent and flexible to 
allow for improvements over time. 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 27 of 99 

  Forest Reference Levels: A national forest reference emission level (FREL) and/or forest 
reference level (FRL) or as an interim level a sub-national FREL/FRL. These reference levels 
form the basis to assess a country’s REDD+ performance. FREL/FRLs should be developed 
in a manner consistent with IPCC guidance, take national circumstances into account, 
be  built  iteratively  if  necessary,  and  use  data  and  information  that  is  transparent, 
complete,  consistent  and  accurate.  FREL/FRLs  are  to  be  submitted  to  the  REDD+ 
secretariat to be technically assessed as a pre-requisite to being eligible for results based 
payments. 

Although the term FREL/FRL is used extensively throughout UNFCCC COP REDD+ decisions, no 
formal  distinction  between  the  two  has  been  provided.  An  FREL  is  generally  understood  to 
include only emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, while a FRL includes all of the 
potentially eligible REDD+ activities, including both emissions by sources and removals by sinks 
(i.e. enhancement of forest carbon stocks). 

Box 2. Forest Reference Level (FRL) and Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) 

  National Forest Monitoring System: A robust and transparent national forest monitoring 
system  to  monitor,  measure  and  report on  changes  in  forest  carbon.  National  forest 
monitoring  systems  should  be  flexible,  allow  for  improvement  and  build  upon  existing 
systems,  as  appropriate.  They  should  reflect  the  phased  approach  of  REDD+ 
implementation  and  enable  the  assessment of  different  types  of  forest in  the  country 
according  to  national  definitions,  including  natural  forest.  They  may  also  provide 
relevant 
information  systems  (SIS).  As  with  the 
development  of  FREL/FRLs,  the  data  and  information  provided  by  national  forest 
monitoring  systems  should  be  transparent,  consistent  over  time,  and  suitable  for 
measuring,  reporting  and  verifying,  taking  into  account  national  capabilities  and 
capacities. 

information  to  the  safeguards 

REDD+ readiness  is  typically  described  as  one  of  the  three  phases  of  REDD+  as countries 
move along a process towards increasingly being prepared to achieve emission reductions 
from REDD+ activities and receive results based payments. These three phases are outlined 
below in Figure 3 including an assessment of where each of the five countries covered by 
the RFO-SEA falls along the various phases.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 28 of 99 

IREADINESS

E
S
A
H
P

Capacity Building

Elaborate REDD+ 
Strategy

Identify REDD+ 
Institutions

IIMPLEMENTATION
I

E
S
A
H
P

Implement REDD+ 
Strategy

Develop PAMs

Initial Results 
Based Payments 
(Funds, voluntary 
markets, other)

IRESULTS BASED 
I
I

PAYMENTS

Full MRV

Results Based 
Finance

E
S
A
H
P

Figure 3. Three phases of REDD+ 

Vietnam  and  Cambodia  are  the  most  advanced  in  the  region  with  respect  to  REDD+ 
implementation.  Both  countries  benefited  from  receiving  early  stage  REDD+  readiness 
support from the UN-REDD programme in addition to the FCPF from whom both countries 
have received additional readiness funding in addition to the initial US$3.6 million readiness 
grant. Both countries have developed national REDD+ strategies, identified implementation 
arrangements for REDD+, and developed and officially submitted their country’s FRL to the 
UNFCCC.  These  are  notable  achievements  and  place  both  countries  well  on  their  way 
towards establishing the necessary components under the Warsaw Framework to receive 
results based REDD+ payments. Both countries need to better articulate their SIS and further 
develop their NFMS, activities that both countries are currently undertaking.  

Laos and Myanmar are slightly further behind Vietnam and Cambodia when it comes to 
REDD+  readiness.  While  the  institutional  arrangements  for  REDD+  are  in  place  in  both 
countries,  they  are  still  undertaking  the  analytical  steps  to  develop  their  national  REDD+ 
strategies, develop their FRL, finalize their safeguard assessments, as well as develop their 
NFMS. Laos is further ahead in the development of its national REDD+ strategy with a draft 
available for public viewing likely to emerge in early 2018, while this will likely emerge in late 
2018 for Myanmar. Both will submit FRLs to the UNFCCC for technical assessment in early 
2018, while the development of the NFMS will continue throughout 2018. As such, important 
progress has been made to date in both countries and further gains will be made following 
the disbursement of the additional readiness grant from the FCPF in Laos and the ongoing 
support of the UN-REDD program in Myanmar. 

Thailand is the furthest behind of the five countries with respect to REDD+ readiness. While 
its REDD+ institutions have been established these have met infrequently and primarily only 
in the context of developing the country’s R-PIN and R-PP. Thailand’s R-PP readiness grant 
was only signed in 2016 and disbursement of these funds to kick-start the REDD+ readiness 
process has been slow to date. Work to develop the country’s main REDD+ components is 
expected  to  begin  in  2018  once  R-PP  grant  funding  is  released  for  technical  assistance 
support.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 29 of 99 

3.4  Regional EU FLEGT developments 

The  EU  Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  (EU  FLEGT)  Action  Plan  was 
established in 2003 aiming to reduce illegal logging by strengthening sustainable legal forest 
management, improving governance and promoting trade in legally produced timber. In 
developing countries, this principally takes the form of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement 
(VPA) – a legally binding trade agreement – between the EU and timber-producing country 
outside  the  EU.  The  purpose  of  the  VPA  is  to  ensure  that  timber  and  timber  products 
exported  to  the  EU  come  from  legal  sources,  while  also  engendering  improvements  in 
regulation and forest governance within the timber-producing country.  

The central part of a VPA is the legality assurance system (LAS) which is designed to identify, 
monitor and license legally produced timber, to ensure that only legal timber is exported to 
the EU. A timber LAS usually includes five elements: 

  a definition of what constitutes legal timber; 

  a procedure for verifying control of the supply chain; 

 

 

tools for verification and the capacity to use them; 

licensing by a national authority; and 

  an independent audit. 

The negotiation of a VPA follows the process outlined in Figure 4 below.  

Phase 1: 
Information and 
consensus 
building

Phase 2: Formal 
negotiations

Timber-producing 
country signals 
interest in developing 
a VPA

Government assesses 
whether VPA process 
is appropriate

Timber-producing 
country and EU agree 
to launch ofrmal VPA 
negotiations

Timber-producing 
country conducts 
inclusive, 
multistakholder 
process to get in-
country consensus

EU and negotiating 
country discuss details 
of content of VPA to 
reach agreeemnt

EU and negotiating 
country initial VPA -
country becomes a 
'partner country'

Phase 3: 
Ratification and 
implementation

EU and partner 
country get VPA 
ratified by respective 
legislative arms

Partner country 
begins to develop 
and implement its 
LAS, builds capacity 
and/or develops new 
procedures

Partner country uses 
an independent 
auditor to ensure LAS 
is operating correctly

Phase 4: Licensing

Shipments to the EU 
are issued with FLEGT 
licenses

Figure 4. Summary of the EU FLEGT VPA process 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 30 of 99 

Of  the  five  RFO-SEA  target  countries,  Myanmar  and  Cambodia  still  fall  within  Phase  1. 
Myanmar entered the preparation stage for a VPA in 2015 and has been focusing its efforts 
on improving the design of its Myanmar Timber Legality Assurance System (MTLAS) through 
the commissioning of a gap analysis and initiating in-country dialogues on the VPA process 
with a broad set of national stakeholders. Formal negotiations have not yet begun with the 
EU, however. In Cambodia, engagement is at an even earlier stage with the current focus 
being on building internal capacity to engage with the VPA process. 

Laos, Thailand and Vietnam all fall within Phase 2, albeit at different stages within this phase. 
Laos initiated formal VPA negotiations in April 2017 and a has goal for negotiations to be 
complete by 2018. Thailand on the other hand started its negotiations in 2013 but due to 
political instability these were put on hold until recently; in June 2017 negotiations resumed. 
Vietnam is the most advanced of all RFO-SEA target countries with its VPA initialed in May 
2017 following over six years of negotiations. The next step will be for Vietnam and the EU to 
ratify the VPA.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4  NATIONAL STATUS: Cambodia 

Page 31 of 99 

4.1 

 Institutional context 

Previously,  forests  in  Cambodia  were  managed  by  the  Forest  Administration  (FA)  and 
Fisheries Administration (FiA), part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). 
However,  under  sub-decree  No.  69  on  the  Transfer  of  the  Protected  Forest,  Forest 
Conservation  and  Production  Forest  Areas,  and  Economic  Land  Concessions  between 
MAFF, and MoE (Ministry of Environment), dated 28 April 2016, the protected forests are now 
under the management of the MoE. 

The Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) is under the jurisdictional management of MAFF, including 
the  management  over  flooded  and  mangrove  forests,  while  the  MoE  is  responsible  for 
managing Protected Areas, including the core area of the Tonle Sap. 

The main relevant law governing the forestry sector is the 2002 Forestry Law. It provides for 
the management, use, harvesting, conservation and development of all forests (planted or 
natural) within the Kingdom of Cambodia. 

 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 32 of 99 

The policy objectives of the forestry sector under the PFE are synthesized into an overarching 
strategic framework set out in the National Forest Programme 2010-2029 published in 2010 
which acknowledge the objective to attain 60% of forest cover by 2015. 

Recent  ministerial  changes  in  2016  and  2017  have  transferred  all  protected  areas  plus 
additional areas designated as Biodiversity Conservation Corridors from MAFF to MoE, while 
Economic Land Concessions previously under MoE have been transferred to MAFF. More 
than  four  million  ha  have  been  transferred  between  the  two  ministries.  Registration  and 
demarcation in the field have yet to be done. 

4.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

4.2.1  REDD+ 

Cambodia  was  an  early  proponent  of  project-based  REDD+ approaches  with  two  REDD 
pilot  projects  officially approved  as  early as  2008  (Oddar  Meanchey  Community  Forests) 
and 2009 (Seima Protection Forest). At the national level, Cambodia developed a national 
road map for REDD+ Readiness in 2009 and 2010 as a basis to prepare its UN-REDD National 
Programme Document and R-PP for the FCPF. Cambodia was approved to become a UN-
REDD National Programme in March 2011 and the programme ran until June 2015 (including 
a 6-month extension). In parallel, Cambodia submitted its R-PP to the FCPF in 2011 which 
was approved for readiness funding subject to the submission of a revised R-PP which was 
submitted  in  March  2013.  Implementation  of  R-PP  activities  began  in  March  2014. 
Cambodia’s  mid-term  report  to  the  FCPF  in  2016  requested  an  additional  US$5  million  in 
Readiness funds to be used between 2017 and 2020. An additional US$5.2 million was made 
available from the FCPF in September 2017. To date, Cambodia has not submitted an ER-
PIN requesting participation under the FCPF’s Carbon Fund.  

Institutionally,  REDD+  is  governed  by  the  National  Council  on  Sustainable  Development 
(NCSD), which was established to address development issues at the highest policy levels 
and to mainstream sustainable development principles into the national policy framework 
that will have a positive impact on the governance and management of forest resources. 
The  NCSD  chairs  the  National  REDD+  Taskforce,  the  inter-ministerial  body  with  the 
responsibility  to  further  REDD+  Readiness  and  implementation  in  Cambodia.  To  provide 
technical  inputs  to  the  REDD+  process,  four  Technical  Working  Groups  have  been 
established  on  REDD+ demonstration,  safeguards,  benefit sharing and  MRV.  Additionally, 
Cambodia  has  a  REDD+  Consultation  Group  as  well  as  a  Gender  Group.  Day-to-day 
management of the REDD+ process for the majority of the REDD+ readiness phase fell to 
the REDD+ Taskforce Secretariat within the FA under MAFF. However, the recent ministerial 
reshuffling means the REDD+ Taskforce Secretariat will be transferred to the GDANCP under 
MoE. This is expected to happen shortly.   

Cambodia  finalized  its  National  REDD+  Strategy  (NRS)  in  2015  and  presented  this  to  the 
international community at the COP 21 in Paris in December 2015. Following this, the NRS 
began a process of validation with national stakeholders; the NRS has been endorsed by 
both  the  MoE  and  MAFF  and  currently  sits  with  the  National  Council  of  Ministers  for  final 
endorsement;  this  is  likely  to  happen  in  early  2018.  The  NRS  identifies  all  key  drivers  of 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 33 of 99 

deforestation and forest degradation, includes priority measures to address forest loss and 
outlines  the  institutional  arrangements  to  implement  these  measures.  This  is  now  being 
operationalized into a NRS Action Plan.  

While  potential  environmental  and  social  impacts  of  the  NRS  were  considered  in  the 
development of the NRS, at present, the Environment and Social Management Framework 
(ESMF) to address and monitor potential safeguard triggers has not yet been developed; 
this  will  happen  following  the  finalization  of  national  Environment  and  Natural  Resources 
Code  (ENRC).  A  policy  and  legal  review  has  been  completed  identifying  Cambodia’s 
existing  safeguard  mechanisms  in  the  context  of  developing  the  SIS  for  which  a  design 
approach exists, although the actual system has not yet been developed. 

The Cambodia Forest Reference Level (FRL) has been completed, endorsed by the Royal 
Government of Cambodia (RGC), and was submitted to the UNFCCC for technical review 
in December 2016. The initial technical assessment by UNFCCC was completed in March 
2017 and the FRL will be reviewed and updated based on the technical comments and 
feedback from UNFCCC. No performance against this FRL, however, has yet been assessed.  

An initial NFMS has been developed with the intent to improve this over time. Currently, the 
NFMS focuses primarily on data necessary for MRV. Land cover change assessments for 2016 
are currently being finalized as well as work to improve biomass models. Trainings to conduct 
a  national  forest  inventory  have  been  completed,  including  training  on  forest  inventory 
data management, and data processing and reporting for MRV Technical Team.  

Sub-national REDD+ demonstration activities primarily take the form of VCS REDD+ projects 
in Cambodia. In addition to the Oddar Meanchey and Seima projects, additional REDD+ 
demonstration  projects  include  the  Southern  Cardamom  REDD+  Project,  Kulen  Promtep 
Wildlife Sanctuary project, and a Joint Crediting Mechanism REDD+ Project in Prey Lang. 
The Oddar Meanchey project made some early stage sales to Microsoft in mid-2013, while 
the Seima Protection Forest project more recently secured a pre-sale of emission reductions 
to the Disney Corporation in 2016 generating US$2.6 million for the project.  

4.2.2  EU FLEGT 

Of the five RFO-SEA countries, Cambodia is the least advanced with regards to engaging 
with  the  EU  FLEGT  process  and  negotiating  a  VPA.  Initial  contact  between  the  EU  and 
Cambodia regarding the VPA process occurred in 2010 and was followed by an agreement 
to conduct a joint study on understanding the timber flows and control in Cambodia which 
was published in 2014. Since this time little progress has been made to enter into the formal 
VPA  process  with  only  limited  capacity  building  efforts  to  better  understand  the  process 
occurring to date. No known projects or programs to support Cambodia’s accession into 
the EU FLEGT are known.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 3. Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Cambodia 

Name 

Focus 

Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

Page 34 of 99 

for 

Project 
the 
Implementation  of  REDD+  Strategy 
and Policy (CAM-REDD) 

Facilitating 

Technical cooperation project for facilitating the 
implementation of REDD+ Strategy and Policy 

4.3 

 Forest management and conservation 

The Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) is under the jurisdiction of the Forest Administration (FA). 
The  Forest  Law  sets  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Forestry  and  Fisheries  with  the  tasks  of 
classifying, registering and setting boundaries for all forests in the Permanent Forest Estates. 
They are managed in accordance with the National Forest Management Plan. 

The  PFE  is  sub-divided  into  Permanent  Forest  Reserve  (PFR)  and  Private  Forest.  The  PFR  is 
composed of Production Forest, Protection Forest, and Conversion Forestland.  According 
to the Forest Law, Private Forests shall be maintained by their owners.  

Production Forests are managed to ensure sustainable production. This category contains 
Forest  Concessions  and  Community  Forests.  The  Protection  Forests  are  protected  for  the 
value  of  their  ecosystem  and  natural  resources.  Conversion  Forestland  is  forest yet  to  be 
allocated in one of the other categories. 

Two systems of concession exist in Cambodia involving forests. Economic land concessions 
(ELCs)  and  forest  concessions  are  long-term  leases  allowing  different  kinds  of  activities. 
Forest concessions are granted through public bidding and should not exceed 30 years. 

Community  forests  cannot  be  sold  or  granted  as  economic  land  concessions  (ELCs). 
However, several ELCs have been located within the boundaries of protected areas. 

In February 2016, the Prime Minister announced a jurisdictional reform for natural resources 
management, which focused on redefining the roles of MAFF and MoE with MoE having a 
primary mandate for protection and conservation of natural resources, and MAFF focusing 
on  the  developmental  aspects.  Accordingly,  the  issuance  of  sub-decree  No.  69  in  May 
2016, transferred all protected areas (13 areas of Protection and Conservation Forest) from 
MAFF to MoE, 5 areas of Production Forest from MAFF to MoE to be reallocated as Protected 
Forest, and all 73 Economic Land Concessions from MoE to MAFF. 

In January 2017, 1.4 million ha of land have been designated as Biodiversity Conservation 
Corridors and transferred from MAFF to MoE. This increases the land under the authority of 
MoE to around 7 million hectares. The sub-decree for how these new lands will be managed 
has yet to be developed.  

With  the  changes,  Cambodia  has  approximately  40%  of  the  national  territory  under 
protection. There are however, significant challenges in terms of management and many 
PAs are under heavy pressure. Already before the changes made in 2017 the status is that 

 
 
 
 
 
out of 51 protected areas, none of them have a management plan  and only one has been 
zoned according to the Law on Protected Areas 2008 (PA Law).  

Under  the  2006  Fisheries  Law,  inundated  forests  and  mangrove  areas  outside  of  PAs  are 
managed and regulated by the Fisheries Administration, set out in the Strategic Planning 
Framework for Fisheries 2010-2019. 

Page 35 of 99 

Figure 5. Protected areas in Cambodia. (Source: Open Development Cambodia3, 2017) 

4.4 

 Drivers of forest change 

Before  the  1970s,  Cambodia’s  forest  area  remained  relatively  constant.  Since  the  1970s, 
forest area began to decline due to the effects of the Vietnam War, as Cambodia suffered 
from an unstable political situation and logging.   

Starting  in  the  1990s,  as  a  result  of  rapid  economic  growth  and  weak  environmental 
regulations,  60%  of  the  country  was  leased  to  the  private  timber  industry,  which  led  to 
widespread deforestation and forest degradation. Land speculation driven by high prices 
also contributed to accelerated forest clearing in recent years. In particular, economic land 
concessions for the production of rubber, sugarcane, cassava and more recently biofuel 

3 https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/ 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Page 36 of 99 

crops  have  led  to  substantial  deforestation  and  displacement  of  forest-dependent 
populations.  

The 2001 Land Law formalized the legal framework for granting concessions for economic 
purposes.  An  economic  land  concession,  or  ELC,  is  a  long-term  lease  that  allows  the 
beneficiary to clear land in order to develop industrial agriculture. 

From 1996 to 2013 MAFF granted 121 ELCs (Economic Land Concession) covering 1,230,364 
hectares of forest in 17 provinces, in which 39 local companies covered 609,377 ha, and 82 
international  companies  covered  620,987  ha.  MAFF  reported  that  135,322  ha  of  these 
concessions  were  plantations  for  rubber,  palm  oil,  cashew  nut,  cassava  of  used  to  raise 
cattle. 

Forest  degradation  is  also  caused  by  unsustainable  fuel  wood  collection  and  charcoal 
production. The latter is more damaging as it requires green wood and, in some regions, is 
more profitable than agriculture. Due to a lack of alternative energy sources, wood is the 
primary energy source for most rural and some urban households. Uncontrolled logging has 
also resulted in forest degradation. 

Lack of  government  capacity  in  remote  areas  to  adequately  manage  forests  is  a  major 
underlying condition leading to deforestation and forest degradation.  

Figure 6. Drivers of forest change in Cambodia. (Source: adapted from Delux C. 2015) 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 37 of 99 

4.5 

 Forest status 

4.5.1  Forest types 

Historically, various forest maps produced in Cambodia have made use of different forest 
type descriptions. Implementation of the REDD+ program and the establishment of the FRL 
however  requires  a  consistent  classification  system.  The  one  adopted  for  this  purpose  is 
described in the FRL and is compatible with IPCC land-use classes (see Table 5).  

Table 4. Forest definition in Cambodia. (Royal Government of Cambodia, 2016c) 

Forest Definition 

Forest is the unit of natural ecosystem or plantation in wetlands, low lands and dry lands 
which are covered by natural stands or plantation trees with a height of at least 5 
meters on an area of at least 0.5 ha and with a canopy of more than 10 % 

For REDD+, rubber, oil palm and perennial crops are excluded from this definition 

The main forest classes are distinguished with the support of leaf phenology which can be 
identified with remote sensing imagery. Thus, evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest and 
deciduous forest are identified with this ecological criteria. Flooded forest, mangrove and 
pine forest all have very different ecologies and species composition from the three former 
types and can be identified easily. 

Table 5. Forest types in Cambodia. (RGC, 2016c) 

IPCC Land Use 
Categories 

Land Use/Cover 
Categories 

Description/Comment 

Evergreen forest 

Semi-evergreen 
forest 

Deciduous forest 

Pine trees 

Forest with trees maintaining their leaves during 
the whole year 
Forest with variable percentages of evergreen 
and deciduous trees 
Dry mixed deciduous forest and dry 
Dipterocarp forests 
Forest dominated by coniferous trees 

This class includes the following type: teak, 
eucalyptus, acacia, jatropha and others 

Salt tolerant species but only infrequent floods 

Forest 

Pine plantation 

Tree plantation 

Mangrove forest 

Rear mangrove 

Flooded forest 

Bamboo 

Rubber plantation 

Crop land 

Oil palm 

Paddy field 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
IPCC Land Use 
Categories 

Land Use/Cover 
Categories 

Description/Comment 

Page 38 of 99 

Arable and tillage land, and agro-forestry 
systems where vegetation falls below the 
thresholds used for the forest land category 
Grasslands are characterized as lands 
dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs 
or trees. It is crucial that the rainfall is 
concentrated in six or eight months of the year, 
followed by a long period of drought when fires 
can occur. 
Areas dominated by evergreen and deciduous 
woodland with a height less than 5 meters 

Crop land 

Grassland 

Grassland 

Wood shrub 

Wetlands 

Water 

Settlements 

Other 

Built-up area 

Village 

Rock 

Sand 

Evergreen forest is mainly found in the  Cardamom mountains in the west of the country, 
while semi-evergreen forests are distributed in Ratanakiri province which borders Laos and 
Vietnam.  Deciduous  forests  are  found predominantly  in  Mondulkiri  province  in  the  south-
east. Flooded forests are located around the Tonle Sap. 

Figure 7. Land cover 2014 in Cambodia. (RGC, 2016c) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 39 of 99 

4.5.2  Current and historical forest cover 

The figures and map shown below in Table 6 and Figure 8 are sourced from a published 
booklet produced by the Forestry Administration in 2016 with the support of the UN-REDD 
program. 

Table 6. Forest status summary for Cambodia. (RGC, 2016c) 

Forest Area 

Total Forest Cover (2014) 8,518,173 ha 

Forest Cover Change Trend  

Forest covers 46.9 % of 
Cambodia 

DECREASE 

Forest area  
2010: 10,451,912 ha  

2010-2014: 
- 483,435 ha/year 

2010-2014: 
- 4.6 %/year 

While the current forest cover is still relatively high, Cambodia lost a considerable amount 
of forest over the last two decades, and the pace of land use and forest conversion has 
accelerated.  

Figure 8. Forest cover change in Cambodia from 2005 to 2014. (RGC, 2016c) 

During the period from 2005 to 2010, forest loss occurred mostly in the western part of the 
country in hilly zones and along the mountain ranges where evergreen and semi-evergreen 
forests are located. Changes to both evergreen and deciduous lowland forests have also 
been recorded in the flatlands. Furthermore, forest change hotspots are frequently located 
in areas bordering Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The last period from 2010 to 2014 saw an 
increase  in  forest  loss,  as  displayed  in  Figure  8;  forest cover  which  represented  57.55%  of 
Cambodia’s total area in 2010, was only 46.9% four years later. Forest loss as illustrated in 
Figure 9 occurred mainly in Oddar Meanchey, Kratie, Konpong Speu provinces and along 
the road that goes from Stung Treng to Ratanakiri provinces. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 40 of 99 

Figure 9. Forest cover change 2010-2014 in Cambodia. (RGC, 2016c) 

4.5.3  Carbon stocks  

Cambodia  has  never  conducted  a  National  Forest  Inventory  (NFI),  although  one  has 
recently been designed. When implemented, the NFI is expected to improve the national 
emission  factors  which  currently  are based  on  existing  references.  The  post-deforestation 
carbon stock per unit of area is currently assumed zero because there is no reliable data on 
the  land-use  and  regrowth  potential,  for  the  non-forest  land  cover  classes  which  are 
replacing forests.   

Cambodia  selected  carbon  stock  values  based  on  existing  references  for  the  above 
ground biomass (AGB) pool during the establishment of its FRL, as shown in Table 7 below. 

Table 7. Estimation of above ground biomass (tC/ha) by forest types in Cambodia. 
(Source: (RGC, 2016a) 

Forest Type 

Evergreen 

Semi-Evergreen 

Deciduous 

Forest regrowth 

Flooded forest 

Plantation 

AGB (tC/ha) 

76.6 

114.21 

39.95 

35.25 

32.9 

47.0 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forest Type 

Pine Plantation 

Mangrove 

Rear Mangrove  

4.5.4  FREL/FRL Summary 

Page 41 of 99 

AGB (tC/ha) 

47 

70.5 

77.55 

The scale of the FRL is nation-wide. The FRL considers only deforestation and afforestation 
and accounts only for CO2 emissions. The considered carbon pools are summarized in the 
table below. 

Table 8. Carbon pools considered to calculate Cambodia’s FRL. (RGC, 2016a) 

Carbon Pool 

AGB 

BGB 

Soil organic carbon 

Dead wood 

Litter 

Included 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

Cambodia  takes  an  approach  based  on  the  historical  average  of  net  emissions  from 
deforestation  and  afforestation  for  eight  years  from  2006  to  2014  to  construct  its  FRL. 
Average  annual  emissions  during  the  historical  reference  period  were  assessed  to  be 
79,245,643 tCO2/year; this is what is projected over the FRL period of 2014 – 2018.  

Table  9.  Total  Annual  CO2  Emissions  and  Removals  (t  CO2  /  year)  FRL  reference  period. 
(RGC, 2016a) 

Period 

2006-2010 

2010-2014 

Removals 
(tCO2/year) 

Emissions 
(tCO2/year) 

Net Emissions and 
Removals (tCO2/year) 

-6,626,046 

34,148,629 

-20,298,825 

151,267,528 

27,522,583 

130,968,703 

79,245,643 

Average 2006-2014 

-13,462,436 

92,708,079 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5  NATIONAL STATUS: Laos 

Page 42 of 99 

5.1 

Institutional context 

Forests  in  Laos  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Department  of  Forestry  (DoF)  under  the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). The 8th National Socio-Economic Development 
Plan (2016-2020), the National Forest Strategy to the Year 2020 and the (Intended) Nationally 
Determined Contributions (NDC) include the commitment to increase forest cover to 70% 
by 2020 through sustainable forest management as well as reforestation and afforestation 
measures.  The  main  law  related  to  forestry  in  Laos  is  the  2007  Forestry  Law.  It  defines  all 
natural forestland, including communal village forestland, as the ultimate property of the 
national community, which is being represented by the State. In 2012, the Prime Minister’s 
Order  13/PM  suspended  the  consideration  and  approval  for  new  investment  projects 
related  to  mining  prospecting  and  exploration,  rubber  and  eucalyptus  plantation 
concession, due to the expansion of concessions to the significant detriment of forests. In 
2016, the Prime Minister’s Order 15/PM, aimed to combat illegal logging by prohibiting the 
export  of  round  and  sawn  timber  as  well  as  semi-finished  products.  Only  finished  wood 
products can now be exported. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 43 of 99 

5.2 

 REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

5.2.1  REDD+ 

Laos became actively involved with REDD+ in 2008 with the submission of its R-PIN to the 
FCPF.  It’s  R-PP  was  approved  in  2010  and  a  US$  3.6  million  Readiness  Preparation  grant 
approved in 2014. The delay to move from approved R-PP to the approval of the grant was 
primarily  due  to  a  ministerial  reshuffling  that  resulted  in  a  lack  of  clarity  over  forest 
management responsibility, specifically with regards to REDD+. Laos contracted a Technical 
Assistance team in 2016 to support with the implementation of the Readiness Preparation 
grant.  In  its  mid-term  report  in  2016,  Laos  requested  the  FCPF  for  an  additional  US$4.575 
million in Readiness funds to be used between September 2017 and August 2020 which has 
been accepted although the grant agreement not yet been officially signed.  

Laos  is  also  engaging  with  the  FCPF  under  the  Carbon  Fund.  Its  ER-PIN  was  selected  for 
provisional inclusion into the pipelines of both Tranche A and Tranche B of the Carbon Fund 
at the thirteenth Carbon Fund meeting in October 2015. A revised ER-PIN was submitted in 
February 2016 and a Letter of Intent signed in July 2016. Laos anticipates submitting its ER-
PD in January 2018.  

In addition to its engagement with the FCPF, Laos is a recipient of $30 million from the Forest 
Investment Program to pilot REDD+ interventions. Laos has also benefited from the ongoing 
support  of  several  REDD+-specific  donor  programs,  including  the  Climate  Protection 
through  Avoided  Deforestation  (CliPAD)  program,  funded  by  KfW  and  GIZ,  and  the 
Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+ Program (F-REDD), funded by JICA. Targeted, 
in-kind support is also provided by FAO, primarily for the development of the country’s ER-
PD submission. 

Institutionally, REDD+ in Laos is overseen by the REDD+ Taskforce, an inter-ministerial body 
chaired  by  the  Vice  Minister  of  MAF  and  representing  8  different  ministries  as  well  as  the 
National  University  of  Laos.  Technical  inputs  and  guidance  to  the  REDD+  Taskforce  is 
provided  by  six  Technical  Working  Groups,  representing  the  following  key  topical  areas: 
legal framework, land tenure, MRV/REL, safeguards, benefit sharing, and law enforcement. 
While the REDD+ Taskforce meets irregularly, the TWGs, with coordinating support from the 
R-PP Technical Assistance team and other donor agencies, meet regularly to discuss and 
progress technical matters. Secretarial and day-to-day management of REDD+ in  Laos is 
delegated  to  the  REDD+  Division  under  the  Department  of  Forestry.  Additionally,  seven 
Provincial  REDD+  Taskforces  (PRTF)  and  Provincial  REDD+  Offices  (PRO)  have  been 
established.   

The development of the National REDD+ Strategy is currently underway. An assessment and 
analysis  of  land  use  changes  at  the  national  level  has  been  undertaken,  drivers  and 
strategic REDD+ interventions prioritized, and assessments conducted on the forest law and 
policy as well as natural resource rights and land tenure. This has led to the development of 
a draft strategy that is currently undergoing stakeholder consultations and verification. In 
tandem with the development of the National REDD+ Strategy, a Strategic Environmental 
and Social Assessment (SESA) report analysing the social and environmental impacts of the 
strategy has been drafted and the associated ESMF currently under development.   

 
 
 
 
Page 44 of 99 

At the subnational level, draft Provincial REDD+ Action Plans have been developed for the 
six provinces comprising the ER-Program and will form the basis for elaborating the ER-PD’s 
strategic interventions.  

With respect to developing the country’s FRL/FREL, several of the most important building 
blocks are in place. The Second National Forest Inventory was completed in 2017 which will 
inform  the  development  of  Tier  2  emission  factors.  Furthermore,  national,  wall-to-wall 
mapping for the years 2005, 2010 and 2015 has been completed, providing the necessary 
data inputs to generate activity data for the FRL/FREL. A preliminary FREL was developed 
for  the  ER-PIN  and  will  be  updated  with  the  newly  available  activity  data  and  emission 
factors in the ER-PD. Construction of the national FRL/FREL is completed and was submitted 
to UNFCCC in January 2018.  

Development of the NFMS has made limited progress to date. Design of the  MRV system 
has been completed and it currently houses historical data necessary to generate activity 
data. However, broader elements of the NFMS, including the SIS and links to local level forest 
monitoring are still in the design stage.  

To  date,  Laos  has  not  received  any  REDD+  results  based  payments  at  the  project,  sub-
national or national level. One VCS validated project exists in Laos, although this has not yet 
achieved any credit sales.  

5.2.2  EU-FLEGT 

The  Department  of  Forest  Inspection  under  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Forestry  is  the 
national focal point for developing the VPA, partnering closely with the Ministry of Industry 
and Commerce and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, as well as other 
government agencies, civil society organisations, academia, the timber processing industry, 
and other stakeholders. In February 2012, the Government of Laos announced its interest in 
negotiating  a  VP  and  in  October  2013  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Forestry  opened  a 
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Standing Office with support from 
Germany's Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). However, authorization for formal 
negotiations was not granted by the Prime Minister until June 2015 after which Laos quickly 
set up its negotiating structure – establishing a National Steering Committee and appointing 
a  Chief  Negotiator.  In  October  2015,  Laos  communicated  to  the  EU  its  readiness  to 
negotiate  and  the  first  negotiation  round  took  place  in  April  2017.  The  FLEGT  Technical 
Working Group, at its meeting on 15 December 2016, finalized key parts of the draft timber 
legality  definition,  and  the  National  Steering  Committee  has  approved  the  scope  of  the 
Voluntary  Partnership  Agreement  (VPA)  to  include  all  export  markets  and  the  domestic 
market, the main timber sources: 1) Production forest, 2) conversion forest, 3) plantation, 4) 
village use forest, and a wide product scope.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 10. Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Laos 

Name 

Focus 

Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

Page 45 of 99 

Climate  Protection  through  Avoided 
Deforestation (CliPAD) 

GIZ and KfW co-funded project to provide policy 
advice  and  capacity  development  supporting 
the establishment of the national and provincial 
REDD+ 
framework  and  REDD+  planning 
processes. At the local level, mitigation activities 
are  piloted  and  pro-poor  REDD+  mechanisms 
and 
financing  models  are 
developed.  

sustainable 

Sustainable Forest Management and 
REDD+ Program (F-REDD) 

ProFLEGT 

FAO-EU FLEGT Programme 

JICA 
funded  project  aiming  to  strengthen 
capacity for clarification of REDD+ strategy and 
improve  forest  resource  information  with  the 
purpose 
forest 
management (SFM) 

to  promote 

sustainable 

Joint  initiative  of  the  Lao  Government  and 
German  development  cooperation,  this  GIZ 
project  supports  the  VPA  negotiation  process 
between the EU and Laos. 

in  Laos 

their  verification. 

FAO-EU  FLEGT  Programme  supported  projects 
include practical activities which will inform the 
legality 
development  of  robust  yet  realistic 
Identified 
standards  and 
priorities  to  be  addressed 
include 
increasing  understanding  of  the  VPA  and  TLAS 
concepts and the opportunities the VPA process 
provides. It aims to support activities bridging the 
legal  and 
considerable  gap  between  the 
regulatory  framework  and  legal  compliance  or 
law enforcement practices on the ground, and 
document current informal practices, limitations 
of verification processes and the challenges and 
barriers  facing  smallholders,  communities  and 
SME in legality compliance.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 46 of 99 

5.3 

 Forest management and conservation 

Forest plays a crucial role in Laos. According to the Forestry Strategy to 2020 (published in 
2005), forests contributed 3.2 % of GDP in 2001. Around 80% of the population relies on the 
forest for timber, fuel, food, fibre, medicines and other products. In rural areas, NTFPs often 
provide more than half a family’s total income. 

The national Forestry Law identifies three categories of state forests based on their functions. 
About  14.5  million  ha  (more  than  50%  of  the  country’s  land  area)  is  delineated  as  state 
forest. All of these forest areas may include land cover that is not forest. 

Table 11. Forest categories in Laos according to 2007 Forestry Law. (GoL, 2007) 

Category  Functions 

Conservation forests 
and national 
protected areas 
(NPAs) 

Conservation of nature; preservation of plant and animal species as well 
as  forest  ecosystems  and  other  sites  of  natural,  historical,  cultural, 
tourism, environmental, educational and scientific research importance. 
These  are  subdivided  into  total  protection  zones  (all  land  uses 
prohibited),  controlled  use  zones 
(permanent  agriculture,  non-
commercial logging and collection of forest products allowed), corridor 
zones  (collection  of  forest  products  allowed)  and  buffer  zones  (non-
commercial logging and collection of forest products allowed). 

Protection forests 

Protection  of  the  environment;  protection  from  natural  disasters; 
prevention  of  soil  erosion;  protection  of  water  resources,  riverbanks, 
roadsides and soil quality; the protection of strategic areas for national 
defence. These are subdivided into total protection zones (all land uses 
prohibited)  and  controlled  use  zones  (permanent  agriculture,  non-
commercial logging and collection of forest products allowed). 

Production forests 

Natural  and  planted  forests  that  serve  the  purpose  of  production  of 
timber  and  other  forest  products  to  satisfy  business  demands  and  the 
requirements  of  national  socioeconomic  development  and  people’s 
livelihoods.  These  are  subdivided  into  forest  management  areas 
(devoted  to  timber  extraction)  and  village-use  zones  (permanent 
agriculture, non-commercial logging and collection of forest products 
allowed). 

Village forests are poorly recognized and not included in the three forest types as described 
in the current version of Lao forest law. Village forests are considered as forest lands within 
Provinces  and  Districts,  and  are  not  classified  as  Production,  Protection  or  Conservation 
where timber can be harvested and sold. Village use forests are the forest areas located 
within  village  areas  and  allocated  for  village  management,  preservation  and  utilization 
according to the land and forest allocation plan. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 47 of 99 

Table  12.  Summary  of  forest category areas  managed  at  national level in  Laos.  (Source: 
FIPD 2016 and GoL 2010) 

Forest Category 

Number 

Area (ha) 

Estimated Forested 
Area (ha) 
(GoL 2010) 

Estimated 
Forested 
Area (%) 

Conservation Forest 

Protection Forest 

Production Forest 

Total 

24 

49 

51 

3,878,560 

7,482,109 

3,094,510 

14,455,179 

2,370,000 

2,570,000 

1,300,000 

6,240,000 

61 

34 

42 

43 

Figure 10. Map of forest categories in Laos. (FIPD, 2016) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.4 

 Drivers of forest change 

The R-PP to FCPF submitted in 2010 identifies nine drivers of forest cover change: 

Page 48 of 99 

Figure 11. Direct drivers of forest cover change in Laos. (GoL, 2010) 

A study conducted in 2011 in Northern Laos also identified indirect drivers of forest change:  

Figure 12. Indirect drivers of forest cover change in Laos. (Wildlife Conservation Society and 
GIZ, 2015) 

The  main drivers  of  deforestation  have been  identified as conversion  to  agricultural  land 
and plantation crops (including timber trees and rubber), by commercial companies and 
smallholders, and for mining and infrastructure development. There has also been and will 
continue to be expansion in hydro-power generating capacity. A recent study conducted 
in 2017 with the support of satellite imagery in the context of FCPF identified that main large 
scale  (for  change  >  20ha)  drivers  are  shifting  agriculture,  agriculture  expansion  and  tree 
plantations. Shifting agriculture was identified as the predominant driver in the northern part 
of the country while tree plantations are the main driver in the South. Agricultural expansion 
occurs throughout the country. 

Drivers of DEFORESTATION       Drivers of FOREST DEGRADATION   Unsustainable Wood Extraction Urban Expansion Shifting Cultivation Forest Fire Agricultural Expansion Mining Industrial Tree plantations Infrastructure Development Hydropower Development Indirect drivers of forest change   Poverty Population Growth International Demand for Commodities Village Relocation Border Crossings Limited Law Enforcement Effectiveness Deficient Land Use Planning Implementation Boundary Demarcation  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 49 of 99 

Smallholder  agricultural  expansion  is  similar  to  shifting  cultivation  in  terms  of  agents  of 
deforestation and the dynamics of forest loss, except that the crops planted are typically 
cash  crops  such  as  maize  and  cassava  or  perennial  crops  such  as  rubber.  These  are, 
generally planted on more accessible land which uses the land permanently so that it does 
not revert to forest, unlike with shifting cultivation where the abandonment of the land after 
rice cultivation allows some areas to regenerate to forest. 

The drivers of degradation are primarily illegal logging, unsustainable wood extraction and 
shifting cultivation.  The latter is considered as degradation so long as it is done on a rotation 
basis and there is a fallow period that allows secondary forest to regenerate. In this way, 
overall forest stock is reduced, but not the forest area. Illegal logging activities are driven by 
their high profitability and are facilitated by weak law enforcement and control. 

5.5 

 Forest status 

5.5.1  Forest types 

The Forest Inventory and Planning Division (FIPD) under DoF, produces the national Forest 
Type Map. 

Table 13. Forest definition in Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Forest Definition 

Forest Current Forest means the natural forest and forest plantation which having a tree 
cover with a crown density of at least 20 %, the area more than 0.5 ha, and DBH more 
than 10 cm. 

The land/forest classification system of the country applies two levels of classification. Level 
1 consists of seven classes including “Current Forest” and “Potential Forest” among others. 
Level 2 further classifies the Level 1 current forest class into six natural and plantation classes. 
The  relation  between  the  national  land/forest  classification  system  and  the  land-use 
category definition of the IPCC is illustrated in Table 14 below.  

Table 14. Land and forest classification system in Laos. (Gol, 2018) 

IPCC Land Use Categories 

Level 1 

Land Use/Cover Categories 

Forest 

Current Forest 

Level 2 
Evergreen Forest 

Mixed Deciduous Forest 

Dry Dipterocarp Forest 

Coniferous Forest 

Mixed Coniferous and Broadleaved 
Forest 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
IPCC Land Use Categories 

Level 1 

Page 50 of 99 

Land Use/Cover Categories 

Potential Forest 

Grassland 

Other Vegetated 
Areas 

Cropland 

Cropland 

Settlements 

Settlements 

Other 

Other Lands 

Wetland 

Above-ground 
Water source 

Level 2 
Forest Plantation 

Bamboo 

Regenerating Vegetation 
Savannah 

Scrub 

Grassland 

Upland Crop 

Rice Paddy 

Other Agriculture 

Agriculture Plantation 

Urban Areas 

Barren Land and Rock 

Other Land 

River 

Wetland 

Current  forest  refers  to  areas  that  meet  the  forest  definition  (Table  13.  Forest  definition  in 
Laos) while potential forest includes regenerating vegetation that does not yet match the 
definition of forest. 

Upland Crop and Regenerating Vegetation are predominately considered to be stages of 
the  shifting  cultivation  cycle,  and  these  lands  are  considered  to  re-grow  and  recover 
through natural vegetative succession as illustrated in Figure 13. Slash-and-burn cycle and 
land/forest classes For the purpose of REDD+, in line with the IPCC definition (2003) which 
describes that forest land can be “vegetation that currently fall below, but are expected 
to exceed, the threshold of forest land category.” Regenerating Vegetation is classified as 
“Forest Land”. Upland Crop is classified as “Cropland” as they are used, even temporarily, 
for cropping at the time of mapping. 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 51 of 99 

The total area of Upland Crops (UC), Regenerating Vegetation (RV) and Mixed Deciduous Forest  
(MDF) account  for nearly 70% of the land of Laos. Due to the prevalence of shifting cultivation in 
Laos and particularly in the northern region, large areas of land are shifting between these three 
different  land/forest  classes.  Accurate  interpretation  of  the  transition  events  from  UC  (i.e.  non-
forest  land)  to  RV  (i.e.  forest  land  temporarily  un-stocked  and  does  not  meet  the  definition  as 
forest)  and  then  to  MD,  through  satellite  imagery  presents  a  technical  challenge.  The 
classification of these land/forest classes can have significant impact on uncertainty.  

Among  the  stages  of  shifting  cultivation,  UC  is  the  stage  of  the  land  immediately  after  being 
slashed-and-burnt for cropping and is relatively easy to classify due to the lack of, or reduced, 
vegetation cover. RV and MD are continuous phases of regeneration in many cases, and old RV 
and young MD have very similar colour tone and texture on satellite imagery, thus, distinguishing 
the two in a single satellite image is technically challenging.  

Figure 13. Slash-and-burn cycle and land/forest classes. (GoL, 2018) 

The predominant forest type in Laos is mixed deciduous and can be found throughout the 
country. In this forest type, half of the species would be deciduous, with bamboo also being 
present.  

Evergreen forest is a richer and denser type of forest found in higher elevated areas such 
the  Annamite  mountains  along  the  Laos-Vietnam  border  or  in  the  north-west  in  Bokeo 
province. Various species of rosewood trees like Pterocarpus Pelatus are usually the target 
of illegal loggers.  

Dry Dipterocarp forest are commonly found in flat land with shallow soil and is composed 
of rather small trees that are fire resistant (Dipterocarpus Obtusifolius). This forest type is found 
in the south of the country in Savannakhet, Salavan, Champassak and Sekong provinces. 

Coniferous  forest  and  mixed  coniferous  and  broadleaved  forest  can  be  found  in  very 
specific  places  in  the  country  such  as  Xiengkhouang  plateau,  the  Nakai  plateau  and 
Sekong province near the Vietnamese border.  

Upland Crop(UC)Regenerating Vegetation (RV)Mixed Deciduous Forest (MD)DBH > 10cmCrown Cover > 20% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 52 of 99 

Figure 14. Forest and Land cover map 2015 – Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Regenerating vegetation is mainly found in the northern part of the country where shifting 
cultivation practices are dominant.  

Plantation  forests  which  have  considerably  expanded  during  the  last  decade,  only 
represent 1% of the current forest. Rubber plantations have been developed in the north 
(Luang  Namtha  and Oudomxay  provinces)  and  in  the  south  (Champassak and  Attopeu 
provinces)  respectively  by  Chinese  and  Vietnamese  investors.  Acacia  or  Eucalyptus 
plantations  were  developed  for  the  need  of  the  paper  industry  mainly  in  the  central 
provinces like Bolikhamxai and Khammouane provinces. 

5.5.2  Current and historical forest cover 

The Table 1. Forest area in 2005, 2010 and 2015. (FAO, 2015) that displays figures from the 
FAO Forest Resources Assessment could be misleading for Laos as first FAO uses its own forest 
definition (10% canopy cover) and secondly the figure for 2015 is an extrapolation of the 
trend observed between 2002 and 2010. In reality forests in Laos are decreasing in extent 
and  in  quality  mainly  because  of  the  expansion  of  agricultural  land  pushed  by  the 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
emergence  of  cash  crops,  such  as  maize,  and  the  development  of  infrastructure  and 
logging. 

Page 53 of 99 

Table 15. Forest status summary for Laos. (FIPD, 2016). 

Forest Area 

Forest land (Current forest and potential forest): 19,531,889 
ha 
Current Forest (2015) 13,369,408 ha 
Potential Forest (2015) 6,162,481 ha 

Forest land: 84.7 % 
Current forest: 58 %  
Potential Forest: 26.7 % 

Forest Cover Change Trend  

DECREASE 

Current Forest area  
2005: 13,875,422 ha 

2005-2015: 
- 50,601 ha/year 

2005-2015: 
- 0.4 %/year 

The  figures  displayed in  Table  15.  Forest status  summary  for  Laos  come  from  the  national 
forest type maps. A detailed look reveals that while areas considered as forest covers 84.7% 
of the country, current forest represents only 58%, with this class of forest seeing a regular 
decrease of its area of -0.4% per year. These deforestation figures do not illustrate the impact 
of logging on the degradation of forest resources which is known to be occurring at high 
rates in Laos. 

For the purpose of the REDD+ MRV, the national land and forest classification explained in 
Table 14. Land and forest classification system in Laos is condensed into five strata. Such 
simplified  stratification  will  help  reduce  uncertainty  of  emissions  and  removals  while 
balancing the accuracy of sampling and the cost/efforts required. The forest stratification 
used for the construction of the FREL/FRL includes the following five types of forest land and 
non-forest land and the historical figure is shown in Table 16. Historical area of stratified land 
cover in Laos: 

-  Evergreen  Forest  has  distinctly  high  carbon  stocks  (200.0tC)  and  is  separated  as  an 

independent stratum – Stratum 1.  

-  Mix Deciduous Forest, Conifer Forest and Mixed Coniferous and Broadleaved Forest will 
form one stratum on the basis of similarity in carbon stocks per hectare (87.7tC, 92.6tC, 
114.7tc). – Stratum 2. 

-  Dry Dipterocarp Forest will form one stratum due to the difference in carbon stock from 
other forest classes (43.2tC), and also due to the fact that they are mostly distributed in 
the low-lands and prone to conversion to other land use – Stratum 3.  

- 

Forest Plantation, Bamboo and Regenerating Vegetation will form one stratum on the 
basis of similarity in average carbon stock (37.2tC, 24.4tC, 17.4tC) – Stratum 4. 

- 

The remaining 12 non-forest classes form one stratum – Stratum 5. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 54 of 99 

Looking at historical figures, the strata 1, 2 and 3 which are current and natural forest types 
as opposed to plantation, are decreasing significantly, with strata 2 losing more than 50,000 
ha every year.  

Table 16. Historical area of stratified land cover in Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

IPCC Land 
Use Class 

Strata 

2005 

2010 

2015 

Area (ha) 

% 

Area (ha) 

% 

Area (ha) 

% 

Strata 1 

2,618,169  11.40% 

2,613,226  11.30% 

2,605,557  11.30% 

Strata 2 

9,961,368  43.20% 

9,721,635  42.20% 

9,437,688  40.90% 

Strata 3 

1,272,006 

5.50% 

1,215,712 

5.30% 

1,188,198 

5.20% 

Strata 4 

6,183,370  26.80% 

6,042,075  26.20% 

6,300,445  27.30% 

Forest 
Land 

Sub-total 

20,034,913  86.90%  19,592,648  85.00%  19,531,888  84.70% 

Other 

Strata 5 

3,019,344  13.10% 

3,461,610  15.00% 

3,522,370  15.30% 

Total 

23,054,258 

100%  23,054,258 

100%  23,054,258 

100% 

As described in Table 18. Description of Activity Data for Laos and shown in the Figure 15. 
Map  of  Activity  Data  (Deforestation,  Forest  Degradation,  Reforestation  and  Forest 
Regeneration) in Laos for the period 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 below in yellow, deforestation 
is the conversion of any forest land strata into non-forest strata, stratum 5.  During the first 
period 2005-2010, deforestation occurred with the expansion of corn especially in the north-
east  (Xamneua  province)  and  the  west  (Vientiane  and  Sayabouly  province)  which 
converted large areas of regeneration vegetation to cropland. The development of large 
infrastructure  like  the  Nam  Theun  II  hydropower  dam  in  Khammouane  province  flooded 
forested areas. Rubber plantation were developed on degraded forest land in the south of 
the country. During the period 2010-2015, the expansion of cash crop reached a plateau 
that  resulted  in  less  regenerating  areas  converted  into  cropland.  However,  the  pace  of 
deforestation of current forest types remained constant. 

Table 17. Activity data per period in Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Activity 

Deforestation 

Reforestation 

Forest Degradation 

Forest restoration 

Area (ha) 

2005-2010 

2010-2015 

719,348 

277,082 

242,890 

85,896 

320,381 

259,621 

297,004 

107,381 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 55 of 99 

Figure 15. Map of Activity Data (Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Reforestation and Forest 
Regeneration) in Laos for the period 2005-2010 and 2010-2015. (GoL, 2018) 

5.5.3  FREL/REL Summary 

The reference period of the FREL/FRL is 10 years, from 2005 to 2015. The scale of the FREL/FRL 
is  national  wide  and  only  CO2  is  considered.  The  tables  below  summarize  the  activities 
considered as well as the carbon pools included. 

Table 18. Description of Activity Data for Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Activities 

Description 

Emissions from 
deforestation 

Emissions from forest 
degradation 

A deforestation event is a change of a forest land stratum to a 
non-forest land stratum.  
The 
for 
approximately 34% of all forest-related emissions in the reference 
period (2005-2015). 

from  deforestation  account 

total  emissions 

A degradation event is a change within forest land strata from a 
higher  biomass  stratum  to  lower  biomass  stratum,  and  also 
through  measurement  of  tree  stumps  as  a  proxy  indicator  of 
logging activities  
The  total  emissions  from  forest  degradation  account  for 
approximately 66% of all forest-related emissions in the reference 
period  (2005-2015).  Estimated  emissions  from  selective  logging 
represent 41% of total emissions from forest degradation. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 56 of 99 

Activities 

Description 

Removals from forest 
enhancement 
(Restoration) 

A restoration event is a change within forest land stratum from a 
lower  biomass  stratum  to  a  higher  biomass  stratum  (in  IPCC 
terms, “forest land remaining forest land”). 
This  is  often  a  result  of  regrowth  of  the  RV  (Stratum  4)  to  other 
natural forest classes. 

Removals from forest 
enhancement 
(Reforestation) 

A reforestation event is a change of non-forest stratum (Stratum 
5) to forest land strata (Strata 1-4). 
This  is  often  a  result  of  a  non-forest  land  (Stratum  5)  being 
converted into the Plantation class, or regenerating into the RV 
(both Stratum 4). 

Table 19. Carbon pools considered in calculation of FREL/FRL in Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Carbon Pool 

AGB 

BGB 

Soil organic carbon 

Dead wood 

Liter 

Included 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

The Table 20 below displays the average annual historical emissions and removal for the 
reference period, 2005-2015. The average historical emissions aggregates the emissions from 
deforestation,  forest  degradation  and  also  an  estimation  of  emissions  from  selective 
logging. Net average annual historical emissions which are projected forward for the FREL 
are 26,575,895 tCO2e.  

Table 20. Proposed FREL/FRL for Laos. (GoL, 2018) 

Emissions/Removals 

tCO2e/year 

Average historical emissions 

Average historical removals 

Net Average historical emissions 

+ 34,106,431 

- 7,530,536 

+ 26,575,895 

5.5.4  Carbon stocks  

The Lao National Forest Inventory and Planning Division conducted its second ever National 
Forest  Inventory  during  the  dry  seasons  of  2016  and  2017  with  the  purpose  of  updating 
biomass  and  carbon  stock  values  for  five  forest  classes:  evergreen  forest  (EF),  mixed 
deciduous forest (MDF), mixed coniferous broadleaf (MCB), coniferous forest (CF) and dry 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
dipterocarp forest (DD). FIPD teams surveyed a total of 642 plots of which 420 forest plots 
were utilized in the carbon stock calculation. 

A specific survey was conducted to estimate the carbon stack of this class. For bamboo 
and plantations, carbon stocks were respectively taken from the Northern Central Coast 
region of Vietnam and from the IPCC database. 

Page 57 of 99 

Table 21. Carbon stocks per strata. (GoL, 2018) 

Strata 

Strata 1 (EG) 

Strata 2 (MD/CF/MCB) 

Strata 3 (DD) 

Strata 4 (P/B/RV) 

Strata 5 (NF) 

tC/ha 

200.0 

88.1 

43.2 

17.9 

4.9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6  NATIONAL STATUS: Myanmar 

Page 58 of 99 

6.1 

Institutional context 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) is responsible 
for managing all forestlands in the country including the Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) and 
Public Forests. MONREC develops the forest policy and legal frameworks and coordinates 
Climate Change related policy analysis and development. 

Myanmar has two key forestry laws and policies in place: the 1992 Forest Law, and the 1995 
Forest  Policy.  The  1992  Forest  Law  supports  conservation  initiatives,  sustainable  forestry 
practices,  socio-economic  benefits,  and  encourages  private  sector  and  community 
participation in forest management. The Forest Policy focuses on sustainable production, 
satisfying  basic  needs,  institutional  strengthening,  improvements  in  efficiency,  forest  and 
biodiversity protection, and participatory forestry. 

6.2 

 REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

6.2.1  REDD+ 

Between  July  2012  –  August  2013  Myanmar  undertook  a  process  to  develop  a  REDD+ 
Readiness Roadmap in partnership with the Regional Community Forestry Training Centre 
(RECOFTC)  and  with  the  support  of  the  Government  of  Norway  and  UN-REDD  targeted 
funds. This roadmap became the basis to guide early stage REDD+ Readiness and formed 
the  basis  of  an  application  to  become  a  full  UN-REDD  National  Programme.  Additional 
targeted support of US$1,115,000 from UN-REDD was used between 2014 – 2015 to support 
implementation of the Readiness Roadmap. Myanmar prepared its Expression of Interest to 
become a UN-REDD National Programme in 2015; this was approved at the 15th meeting of 
the  UN-REDD  Policy  Board  in  November  2015.  The  UN-REDD  National  Programme  was 
launched in early 2017 and will run until 2020.  

Institutionally,  under  the  overall  guidance  of  the  Ministry  of  Natural  Resources  and 
Environmental  Conservation  (MONREC),  the  Myanmar  REDD+  Taskforce  manages  and 
coordinates  the  readiness  process.  The  REDD+  Taskforce  is  composed  of  members  from 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 59 of 99 

MONREC, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI), Ministry of Home Affairs 
(MoHA) and the Myanmar Environment Rehabilitation-conservation Network  (MERN). The 
REDD+ Taskforce is supported operationally by a REDD+ Taskforce Office within the Forest 
Department.  The  REDD+  Taskforce  draws  on  the  technical  inputs  from  three  Technical 
Working Groups (TWGs) that together form the REDD+ Stakeholder Network. The three TWGs 
are on: drivers and strategies; stakeholder engagement and safeguards; and national forest 
monitoring systems and forest reference emission levels/forest reference levels. 

Through support from the UN-REDD program, Myanmar has made reasonable progress on 
the  development  of  its  REDD+  National  Strategy.  A  draft  strategy  has  been  elaborated 
outlining  key  interventions  to  address  the  various  drivers  of  deforestation  and  forest 
degradation. The strategy is now undergoing stakeholder consultations and is likely to be 
available for wider public viewing by late 2018.  

The assessment of safeguard impacts of the REDD+ National Strategy is expected to occur 
once this is finalized and the elements of the strategy identified. This will also lead to the 
identification of the key safeguard components to be integrated into the SIS. 

Myanmar  expects  to  develop  its  preliminary  FREL  for  submission  to  the  UNFCCC  by  early 
2018.  Due  to  the  lack  of  national  wall-to-wall  forest  and  land  cover  maps,  this  will  be 
elaborated  based  on  a  sampling  approach  that  integrates  both  global  forest  cover 
datasets with available national datasets and extrapolating trends. In the absence of a NFI, 
Myanmar  will  make  use  of  conservative  assumptions  for  emission  factors.  An  NFI  will  be 
conducted over the next several years.  

Limited progress has been made in Myanmar to date on the development of the NFMS. 
While national institutions and historical data is available on which to build the NFMS, a lack 
of financial resources and limited technical skills has impeded progress. Development of the 
NFMS is a priority of the UN-REDD programme. 

6.2.2  EU FLEGT 

Myanmar  entered  the  preparation  phase  for  a  VPA  with  the  EU  in  2015.  This  has  been 
undertaken  under  the  guidance  of  a  FLEGT-VPA  Interim  Task  Force  (ITF)  representing 
relevant  government,  civil  society  and  private  sector  stakeholders.  In  early  2016,  the 
Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC), supported by the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), commissioned a multi-stakeholder, participatory 
gap  analysis  of  the  current  Myanmar  Timber  Legality  Assurance  System  (MTLAS)  to 
document the existing MTLAS and describe some of the gaps observed between the MTLAS 
and  existing  international  frameworks  and  best  practice  for  standards  and  assurance 
systems.  This  report  was  published  in  2017.  An  executive  committee  is  expected  to  be 
established in early 2018 to engage in formal VPA negotiations.  

Table 22. Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Myanmar 

Name 

Focus 

UN-REDD  

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 60 of 99 

6.3  Forest management and conservation 

Administratively, Myanmar defines its PFE to be comprised of three components: 

-  Reserved Forests. These are forests gazetted for timber production by the state; 

-  Protected Public Forests. These are forests that are gazette for production of timber and 

other products for use locally; and 

-  Protected Areas (PA). 

The PFE accounted for 28.9% of  the total area of the country in 2015.   Most of the forest 
outside the PFE, lies on land designated as “Vacant, Fallow and Virgin” (VFV).  Only 60.4% 
of the PFE has forest cover. The Forest Policy states that Myanmar’s protected area must 
cover at least 10% of the total land area of the country. Data reported to the FAO in 2015 
indicates that 4.46 million ha of forest (~6.8% of its land area) are located within protected 
areas. 

Table 23. Forest categories area in Myanmar. (GoM, 2018b) 

Category 

Cover type 

Area (hectares) 

% of country area 

Inside PFE 

Forest 

Other land use 

Water bodies 

Total Area 

11,799,238 

7,526,245 

209,364 

19,534,847 

17.4 

11.1 

0.3 

28.9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 61 of 99 

Figure 16. Map of forest category in Myanmar (GoM, 2018b) 

Although  tenure  over  forested  land  generally  lies  with  the  government,  other  tenure 
arrangements also exist, as outlined below: 

-  Community forests (CF). The most recent version of the Community Forestry Instructions 
(2016) specify that CF can be established in Reserved Forest, Protected Public Forest, 
Buffer  Zones  of  Protected  areas  and  Land  under  the  management  of  government 
agencies, or owned by private individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  
The Forest Department may issue a permit for Community Forest Enterprise with the aims 
of  adding  value  to  the  current  land  and  freely  trade  forest  products  through 
commercialization. The Forestry Master Plan (2001) set a target of 920,000 ha under CF’s 
by 2030.  Currently there are 116,700 ha. To meet the target will require nearly 67,000 
ha/year to be established from now until 2030, compared to a current average of 2,810 
ha/year.  

-  Village-owned fuelwood plantations. The Forest Department has established 183,000 ha 
of such plantations in the period 1981-2016 on Permanent Forest Estate land. These are 
also known as “Village supply plantations”. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
-  Privately-owned plantations.  The National Reforestation and Rehabilitation Programme 
has set a target of expansion of privately-owned forest plantations by 8,100 ha, annually.  
Up to March 2017, private plantations amounted to 56,100 ha of teak and 35,700 ha of 
non-teak species. 

Page 62 of 99 

6.4  Drivers of forest change 

Presented  below  are  the  main  direct  and  underlying  drivers  of  deforestation  impacting 
Myanmar’s forests, as identified in Myanmar’s 2013 REDD+ Readiness Roadmap. 

Drivers of DEFORESTATION 

Agricultural 
Expansion 

Forest and 
Agriculture 
Concessions 

Drivers of FOREST DEGRADATION 

Unsustainable 
Logging 

Fuel Wood 
Collection 

Underlying cause of forest change 

Increasing 
Demand for Food 
and Wood 
Products 

Population 
Growth 

Mining 

Infrastructure 
Development 

Aquaculture 
Industry 

Pioneering 
Shifting 
Cultivation 

Livelihood 
Based on 
Forest 

Poor Forest 
Governance 

Inconsistencies 
with Policies 

Figure 17. Drivers of forest change in Myanmar. (GoM, 2013) 

A  growing  population  and  the  increasing  demand  for  food,  wood  products  and  other 
commodities  from  domestic  and  international  markets  put  pressure  on  remaining  forest 
resources  and  are  driving  rapid  land-use  change  in  favour  of  agriculture  and  extractive 
industries. 

Remaining  intact  forests  are  being  exploited  for  maximum  short-term  gain  at  the  cost  of 
long-term sustainability. For example, large portions of mangrove forest were converted by 
aquaculture industries between 1990 and 2010. Additionally, farmers seem to be adapting 
to political and economic reforms by shifting from agriculture to commercially more viable 
and beneficial cash crops like rubber. 

Most large-scale plantations in Myanmar grow rubber, sugar cane or palm oil. While total 
plantation area is still relatively limited, expansion is concentrated in a few states/regions 
with high local impacts on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. A good example are oil palm 
plantations in southern Tanintharyi. This region is the only part of the country that has the 
climate  and  conditions  for  their  large-scale  development  and  management;  their 
establishment has impacted around 400,000 ha of pristine forest. Bokpyin and Tanintharyi 
townships jointly lost more than 75,000 ha of intact forest to oil palm plantation establishment 
between 2002 and 2014. By 2017, rubber plantations expansion reached around 650,000 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 63 of 99 

ha. It followed investments from Thailand and Malaysia especially in the states bordering 
Thailand (Mon, Kayin and Tanintharyi) and in the north-east in Kachin and Shan states.   

The increasing production of corn which follows the growth of the livestock sector is a cause 
of deforestation like in Shan State. Shifting cultivation while decreasing since 2000 may still 
occur in uplands and impact forested areas. 

Mining activity, while being a driver of forest cover change since 2000, in Kachin, Sagaing 
and  Mandalay  states,  is  not  expected  to  expand  and  cause  further  deforestation  in  the 
coming  years.  However,  infrastructures  development,  particularly  the  hydropower  sector 
will have an increasing impact on forested areas. 

Illegal logging is taking place in many states and/or regions, although the hotspot appears 
to be Kachin state, as timber (and charcoal) are being exported to China illegally. 

6.5 

 Forest status 

6.5.1  Forest types 

Table 24. Forest definition in Myanmar. (GoM, 2018a) 

Forest Definition 

Myanmar uses an adaptation of the FAO definition of forests: “Land spanning more 
than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 
percent or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ”.  Mangroves are included, but 
perennial agricultural plantations such as oil palm and rubber are not. 

The forests are distributed over three climatically distinct regions  (i.e. tropical, subtropical 
and  temperate)  with  eight  major  forest  types  and  several  subtypes  defined  by  the 
occurrence of certain dominant species or species groups (e.g. dipterocarps) or specific 
edaphic conditions:  

Tropical types: 

-  Evergreen Hardwood Forests (including mangroves) 

-  Mixed Evergreen and Deciduous Hardwood Forests  

-  Dry Deciduous Hardwood Forests 

Subtropical types: 

-  Hardwood Rainforests 

-  Mountain Forests (including Pine Forests) 

Temperate types: 

-  High Mountain Hardwood Forests 

-  High Mountain Conifer Forests 

-  High Mountain Subalpine Scrub Forests 

 
 
 
 
Page 64 of 99 

The most abundant forest type in Myanmar is the tropical Mixed Evergreen and Deciduous 
Hardwood  Forest  which,  in  both  its  upland  and  lowland  subtypes,  is  known  for  the 
occurrence of teak and other valuable timber species such as ironwood.  Other common 
forest types are the Subtropical and Temperate Mountain forest formations and Tropical Dry 
Deciduous forest.  However, no recent study provides a contemporary assessment of the 
distribution of the different forest types. 

The  Mixed  Evergreen  and  Deciduous  Hardwood  Forests  have  been  the  main  target  of 
commercial timber logging in Myanmar, while Subtropical forests, often scattered on slopes 
and tops of mountains (e.g. in Chin and Shan states) have been traditionally affected by 
shifting cultivation carried out by local communities. In recent years, commercial logging 
has expanded to Evergreen Hardwood Forests in lowlands, for example in Tanintharyi.  The 
Tropical Dry Deciduous Hardwood Forest, concentrated in the Central Dry Zone, are also 
under human influence, including conversion to agriculture, and firewood harvesting. 

Myanmar also describes its forests in terms of their canopy coverage.  Forests with more than 
40% canopy cover are defined as “closed forests”, while those with between 10% and 40% 
canopy cover are defined as “open forest”. 

Figure 18. Myanmar historical forest cover maps. (GoM, 2018a)  

0     80    160           320           480           640      

km  

6.5.2  Current and historical forest cover 

New and rapid political and economic changes in Myanmar are increasing the pressures 
on the country’s forests.  

The best recent forest cover map available has been produced by ECODEV-ALARM which 
results  are  outlined  below.  With  a  forest  cover  of  42,365,729  ha  or  63%  of  the  country, 
Myanmar  still  maintains  substantial  forest  cover  compared  to  other  Southeast  Asian 

 
 
 
 
 
 
countries, However, only 38% of these forests can be considered intact (meaning forest that 
has a canopy cover greater than 80%) 

Page 65 of 99 

Figure 19. Map of forest cover change in Myanmar between 2002 and 2014. (ALARM, 
2016) 

Between 2002 and 2014, intact forests declined at a rate of 0.94% annually, totalling more 
than 2 million ha of forest loss. Losses can be extremely high locally, such as townships that 
are hotspots for intact forest loss in Shan, Sagaing, Kachin, and Tanintharyi. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 66 of 99 

Table 25. Forest cover summary for Myanmar. (ALARM, 2016) 

Forest Area 

Total Forest Cover (2014) 42,365,729 ha 
Source: ECODEV-ALARM, 2016 

Forest Cover Change Trend  

63 % 

DECREASE 

Forest area  
2002: 43,962,183 ha  

2002-2014: 
- 133,038 ha/year 

2002-2014: 
- 0.3 %/year 

6.5.3  FREL/REL Summary 

The scope of Myanmar’s FREL is national level. Initially, Myanmar prioritized two of the five 
REDD+  activities  as  the  focus  of  the  country’s  first FREL/FRL  submission;  deforestation  and 
enhancement  of  forest  carbon  stock  through  afforestation/reforestation.  However,  the 
current FREL/FRL considers only deforestation. 

Three  carbon  pools  of  Above  Ground  Biomass  (AGB),  Below  Ground  Biomass  (BGB)  and 
Litter  are  included  in  this  FREL,  using  allometric  equations  derived  from  district  forest 
management. One National Emission Factor was used as an uncertainty test is needed for 
forest type stratification and national data sources are currently insufficient for this purpose. 

Table  26.  Carbon  pools  considered  in  Myanmar  for  the  calculation  of  FREL/FRL.  (GoM, 
2018a) 

Carbon Pool 

AGB 

BGB 

Soil organic carbon 

Dead wood 

Litter 

Included 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

YES 

The current FREL/FRL considers only CO2. The reference period is 2005 to 2015. 

The amount of deforestation (forest loss) during the reference period has been estimated 
using a sample-based approach. This approach was preferred to the use of the wall-to-wall 
maps shown in Figure 18. Myanmar historical forest cover maps. The basis for the sample-
based approach were the tree cover 2000 and tree cover loss 2000-2015 maps developed 
by  the  University  of  Maryland.4  A  stratified  random  sampling  generated  1,884  locations 

4 http://earthenginepartners.appspot.com/science-2013-global-forest 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Page 67 of 99 

where  the  forest  change  was  surveyed  by  visual  interpretation  with  the  software  Collect 
Earth5 that leverages Google Earth, Landsat and Bing imagery. The results of this survey were 
area estimates for forest and non-forest cover for each year and thus area estimates for 
deforestation. The final bias-corrected estimated forest loss is 387,527 ha per year over the 
period 2005-2015. 

It should be noted that the accuracy of the estimated loss is rather low with producer’s and 
user’s  accuracy  being  respectively  0.44  and  0.21.  The  estimated  forest  loss  differs 
significantly from the figures shown by the FAO-FRA (see Table 1. Forest area in 2005, 2010 
and  2015.  (FAO,  2015)  or  the  ECODEV-ALARM  map  (Table  25.  Forest  cover  summary  for 
Myanmar.) which are respectively 428,000 ha/year and 133,038 ha/year. Still, the sample-
based area estimates for forest loss was assessed as the most reliable figure. 

In conclusion, Myanmar proposes an initial FREL by using the historical average of emissions 
during the reference period from 2005 to 2015 which was obtained by multiplying the bias-
corrected  area  of  annual  deforestation  with  the  national  Emission  Factor  (EF)  of 
125.43tCO2e per ha. which is based on inventory results in 40 districts. 

Annual  CO2  emission from  deforestation  during  the  historical  reference  period  2005-2015 
have been estimated as 48,607,511 tCO2 per year. 

5 http://www.openforis.org/tools/collect-earth.html 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
7  NATIONAL STATUS: Thailand 

Page 68 of 99 

7.1 

Institutional context 

The  Royal  Forest  Department  (RFD)  of  Thailand  was  founded  in  1896  to  consolidate  the 
exploitation of forests. As a result, all forests were taken into public ownership from the feudal 
chiefs  to  be  managed  by  the  Government.    With  the  creation  of  the  Ministry  of  Natural 
Resources and Environment in 2002, the RFD was divided into three Departments:  

- 

- 

- 

The RFD responsible for forests outside Protected Areas,  

The Department of Natural Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) responsible for 
the Protected Areas, 

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) which manages coastal flora 
and fauna, including mangrove forests outside Protected Areas through conservation 
and rehabilitation. 

All  the  departments  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  Ministry  of  Natural  Resources  and 
Environment (MONRE).  

Thailand  has  promulgated  many  forest  laws  which  have  been  effective  to  control  and 
define the processes for forest protection and forest resource management with the aim of 
sustainable  utilization  of  forest  resources.  At  present,  there  are  six  forest  laws  being 
employed to regulate the forestry activities as follows: 

- 

Forest Act B.E. 2484 (1941) and subsequent amendment B.E. 2532 (1989), 

-  National Park Act B.E. 2504 (1961), 

-  National  Reserved  Forest Act B.E.  2507  (1964)  and  subsequent  amendments  B.E.  2522 

(1979) and B.E. 2528 (1985), 

-  Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act B.E. 2535 (1992), 

- 

Forest Plantation Act B.E. 2535 (1992),   

-  Chainsaw Act B.E. 2545 (2002). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 69 of 99 

The 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP 2017-2021) set a target 
for the forest cover to 40% of the country area. 

7.2  REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

7.2.1  REDD+ 

Thailand was selected as a FCPF REDD Country Participant in 2009 following the submission 
of its R-PIN in early 2008. A delay of five years ensued before Thailand submitted its R-PP in 
March 2013 which was accepted provisionally subject to revisions which were received in 
November 2013. The Readiness Preparation Grant was signed in June 2016, unlocking $3.6 
million to support the development of REDD Readiness in Thailand. 

At  the  institutional  level,  REDD+  is  overseen  in  Thailand  by  the  inter-ministerial  REDD+ 
Taskforce established in 2010 and headed by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and 
Plant  Conservation  (DNP).  In  addition  to  serving  as  the  REDD+  policy  making  agency  to 
develop  national  REDD+  strategy  options  for  REDD+  readiness  in  Thailand,  the  REDD+ 
Taskforce  is  tasked  with  establishing  a  number  of  Technical  Working  Groups  (TWGs)  and 
overseeing  the  REDD+  Office  and  REDD+  Information  Center.  The  REDD+  Office  is  the 
implementing  agency  charged  with  facilitating,  implementing  and  promoting  all  REDD+ 
activities. The DNP’s Director of the Forest and Plant Conservation Research Office will lead 
the  REDD+  Office  and  draw  the  membership  from  DNP,  Royal  Forest  Department  (RFD), 
Department of Marine Coastal Resources (DMCR) and Forestry Industry Organization (FIO). 
The REDD+ Information Center, on the other hand, is a multi-ministerial center charged with 
heading  all  REDD+  carbon  registry  activities  in  Thailand.  Despite  the  existence  of  these 
REDD+ institutions, these are only active on a limited basis. 

Due to the fact that approval of the FCPF readiness grant only occurred recently, Thailand 
has  made  only  limited  progress  on  achieving  REDD+  readiness.  It  is  expected  that  the 
development of the national REDD+ strategy will commence in early 2018 once R-PP funds 
begin to be spent, after which the assessment of potential safeguards the strategy triggers 
can be assessed and key indicators to be monitored and reported in the SIS identified.  

Whilst Thailand does not yet have a FRL/FREL or a NFMS, the expectation is that these should 
not be  too difficult  to establish due  to  the  high  technical  capacities  and extensive  data 
already available in Thailand, including an advanced forest monitoring system and existing 
national  forest  inventory  data.  The  main  challenges  to  pull  the  NFMS  together  will  be  to 
establish consistent definitions and parameters for forest types for both the activity data and 
emission factors, as well as coordinating the different agencies currently involved with forest 
monitoring.  

7.2.2  EU FLEGT 

Thailand officially entered into the VPA process in September 2013. Also, in 2013, Thailand 
established a multi-stakeholder as-hoc working group (AHWG) to develop the VPA legality 
definition and is now also tasked with developing all VPA annexes. The same year also saw 
Thailand  found  its  Thai-EU  FLEGT  Secretariat  Office  (TEFSO)  within  the  Royal  Forestry 
Department. The military coup in 2014 put the prospect of negotiations on hold until 2015 
when the European Commission and Thai government agreed that technical negotiations 
could resume. 2016 saw TEFSO and the AHWG continue to develop the VPA annexes and 

 
 
 
 
in December of the same year the Thai Cabinet approved moving towards full negotiations. 
In mid-2017 the first face-to-face negotiations between Thailand and the EU took place.  

Table 27. Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Thailand 

Name 

Focus 

Page 70 of 99 

FCPF  

FAO EU FLEGT 

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

FAO-EU FLEGT Programme’s support to Thailand 
has largely focused on strengthening TEFSO and 
Civil  Society  Organisations  (CSOs)  to  facilitate, 
and  substantively  engage  in,  the  VPA  process. 
FAO FLEGT’s support also covers technical inputs 
for the development of Thailand’s TLAS and other 
technical VPA annexes.  

7.3 

 Forest management and conservation 

In 2013, there were 1,221 National Forest Reserves that cover 23 million ha. The RFD manages 
11.8 million ha of forest lands, which consist of National Forest Reserves (10.12 million ha) and 
Permanent Forest Estates outside NFRs (1.68 million ha). The DNP manages national parks, 
wildlife  sanctuaries,  watersheds,  and  other  protected  areas,  some  of  which  overlap  the 
boundaries of National Forest Reserves. The table below outlines the forest lands managed 
by the DNP and the RFD. 

Table 28. Forest areas under jurisdiction of DNP, RFD and MoA. (NEPCON, 2017) 

Conservation 
Type 
Degraded land 
within National 
Forest Reserve 
National Forest 
Reserve 
National Forest 
Reserve  
(Area that overlaps 
with National parks 
and Wildlife 
Sanctuary) 
National Forest 
Reserve 
Permanent 
Forest Estate 

National Park 

Wildlife 
Sanctuary 

No Hunting Area 

Jurisdiction 

Number 

Area (ha) 

% of the 
country 

Ministry of 
Agriculture 

RFD 

DNP 

RFD 

DNP 

DNP 

DNP 

5,220,000 

10.18 

10,120,000 

19.74 

7,690,000 

15.00 

1.221 

23,000,000 

127 

58 

60 

1,680,000 

6,220,000 

3,660,000 

523,304 

44.85 

3.28 

12.13 

7.13 

1.02 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Conservation 
Type 

Forest Park 

Botanical 
Garden 

Arboretum 

Jurisdiction 

Number 

Area (ha) 

DNP 

DNP 

DNP 

113 

16 

55 

123,671 

4,137 

4,265 

Page 71 of 99 

% of the 
country 

0.24 

0.01 

0.01 

NFR are divided into 3 zones: 

-  Conservation Forest Zone (Zone C): covers existing protected forest areas declared in 
the  royal  decrees  and  cabinet  resolutions  (wildlife  sanctuaries,  national  parks, 
watershed  classification  1,  mangrove  conservation  areas).  Some  of  this  area  remains 
occupied  by  permanent  agriculture,  shifting  cultivation,  and  associated  human 
settlements. 

-  Economic  Forest  Zone  (Zone  E):  was  set  aside  for  buffer  zones,  commercial  tree 
plantations, mining, and other economic development activities. Some of these lands 
are in degraded forest areas. 

-  Agricultural Zone (Zone A): is a portion of the national forest reserve deemed suitable for 
agriculture. These areas are being allocated to farmers by the Agricultural Land Reform 
Office (ALRO). 

Although  there  are  communities  residing  in  Protected  Areas  (national  parks  and  wildlife 
sanctuaries) and national Reserved Forests, community forestry can be legally conducted 
in Reserved Forests only by virtue of Section 19 of National Reserved Forest Act 1964 and it 
must  be  jointly  done  by  communities  and  forestry  officers.  For  the  Protected  Areas,  the 
intention  of  the  law  is  to  protect  river  sources  and  manage  national  forest  and  natural 
resources  and  biodiversity.  Therefore,  community  forestry  is  not  allowed  in  the  Protected 
Areas. 

In  the  1970s,  looking  for  ways  to  address  the  country's  rampant  deforestation,  the  Thai 
government  officially  recognized  community  forestry  as  a  tool  for  sustainable  forest 
management.  By  1989,  an  estimated  8,000  sites  existed,  and  today  there  are  more  than 
10,000.  The  Ministry's  Royal  Forest  Department,  responsible  for  all  forests  not  in  protected 
areas,  has  long  supported  community  forestry  and  has  a  sub-department  that  supports 
communities  in  legalizing  sites.  In  contrast,  the  Ministry's  National  Park,  Wildlife,  and  Plant 
Conservation  Department,  responsible  for  protected-area  forests,  has  largely  worked  to 
prevent community forestry in protected areas, operating under the exclusionary National 
Park law. As of 2010, the Royal Forest Department had formally recognized and registered 
around 7,000 community forests, all outside of protected areas, and it is actively seeking to 
register more. 

7.4 

 Drivers of forest change 

The revised R-PP submission to the FCPF in 2013 identifies the following drivers of forest cover 
change: 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 72 of 99 

Figure 20. Drivers of forest change in Thailand. (RTG, 2013) 

Policies adopted since the first NESDP to the sixth (from 1961 to 1991) promoted in priority 
the economic development of the country. Therefore allocation of forest concessions, or 
concessions for mining sector and infrastructure development impacted forest resources. In 
addition,  the  promotion  of  intensive  commercial  monoculture  crops  resulted  in  the 
expansion of agricultural land. 

Forest  degradation  has  mainly  been  caused  by  illegal  logging,  harvesting  of  non-timber 
forest products for commercial purposes and uncontrolled forest fires. Figures from the RFD 
in 2012 showed that fires resulted in 5,475 ha of forest loss mainly in the north and north-east 
parts of the country.  

Illegal logging and the timber trade are extremely profitable due to strong timber demand 
in  East and  Southeast  Asia,  high  prices  and  the  existence  of  high  value  species,  such  as 
Dalbergia cochinchinensis (price about US$ 5,000 per m3). The Department of National Parks 
reported an increase in the value of confiscated D. cochinchinensis between 2009 -2012, 
from US$ 1 million in 2009 to more than US$ 4 million in 2012. 

7.5 

 Forest status 

7.5.1  Forest types 

Table 29. Forest definition used in Thailand. (NEPCON,  2017 and FAO 2010 Forest Resources 
Assessment Thailand) 

Forest Definition 

Land  spanning  more  than  0.5  hectares  with  trees  higher  than  5  meters  and  a  canopy 
cover  of  more  than  10  percent,  or  trees  able  to  reach  these  thresholds  in  situ.  The 
definition excludes eucalyptus plantations, or trees planted primarily for non-timber use 
such as agroforestry systems, fruit orchards, rubber and palm plantations. 

Drivers of DEFORESTATION     Drivers of FOREST DEGRADATION    Underlying cause of forest change    Agricultural Expansion Unclear Land Allocation Population Growth Livelihood based on Forest Mining and Hydropower Forest Concession Infrastructure Development Commercial Harvesting of NTFP Illegal Logging Forest Fire  
 
 
 
 
 
Page 73 of 99 

Forests in Thailand are rich in biodiversity; they possess approximately 7% of the world flora 
and fauna. There are more than 2,000 species of flora and fauna that are endemic only to 
Thailand. 

There are two main types of forests in Thailand:  evergreen forest and deciduous forest.  

The evergreen forest is subdivided into tropical evergreen forest, pine forest, and mangrove 
and beach forest:  

- 

Tropical evergreen forest is found all over the moist part of the country. This type of forest 
is  also  subdivided  into  the  tropical  rain  forest,  the  semi-evergreen  forest  and  the  hill 
evergreen forest: 

o  Tropical  rain  forest  is  characterized  by  a  very  rich  flora  and  very  dense 
undergrowth. This type of forest is commonly found in the Southern and the 
Eastern  regions  where  rainfall  is  above  2,000  millimetres.  The  predominant 
species (the top store species) are, for example, Dipterocarpus spp, Hopea 
spp, Lagerstroemia spp, and Shorea spp,  

o  Semi-evergreen  forest  is  scattered  all  over  the  country  where  the  rainfall  is 
between 1,000-2,000 millimetres. The predominant species are Dipterocarpus 
spp, Hopea spp, Diospyros spp, Afzelia spp, Terminalia spp, and  Artocarpus 
spp.  

o  Hill evergreen forest is found on the highlands (above 1,000 meters elevation). 
The presence of mosses and lichens on trees and rocks is the indicator of this 
forest type. The predominant species are oaks (Quercus spp) and chestnuts 
(Castanopsis spp and Lithocarpus spp).   

-  Pine forest has two species of tropical pines, Pinus merkusii found in the northern and the 
western part of the Central region, where the soil is poor, and P. kesiya found only the 
highlands of the Northern and Northeastern regions. 

-  Mangrove forests occur along the coastal areas of the Eastern, Central and Southern 
regions. The predominant species are Rhizophora spp, Xylocarpus spp, Avecennia spp, 
Bruguiera spp, and Nypa spp.  

-  Beach forests occur along the sandy coastal plains especially in the eastern coast of the 
Southern region. The main species in this type of forest are Diospyros spp, Croton spp, 
Lagerstroemia spp and Casuarina spp.  

Deciduous  forest  is  characterized  by  the  presence  of  deciduous  tree  species  and  is 
commonly found throughout the country. It is subdivided into the mixed deciduous forest 
and the dry dipterocarp forest.  

-  Mixed deciduous forest is commercially among the most valuable forest of Thailand with 
Tectona  grandis,  Xylia  kerrii,  Pterocarpus  marcrocarpus,  Afzelia  xylocarpus  and 
Dalbergia spp (rose wood) as the dominant species. 

 
 
 
 
Page 74 of 99 

-  Dry dipterocarp forest is commonly found in the dry area (rainfall below 1,000 millimetres) 
with  sandy  soils.  The  predominant  species  are  mainly  Dipterocarpaceae  such  as 
Diptercarpus tuberculatus and D. obtusifolius. 

DNP  reported  in  2007  that  the  most  common  forest types  were  tropical  evergreen  forest 
(66%, including hill evergreen forest and dry evergreen forest), mixed deciduous forest (8%), 
dry dipterocarp forest (7%) and pine forest (6%). 

In addition to the evergreen and mixed deciduous forest types, in 2007, the country had 
about 2.5 million hectares of plantations (about half of which are rubber plantations, which 
are considered to be agricultural crops). Rubber planting has been actively promoted by 
the Government since the 1960s and the total area reached 1,906 million ha in 2005 and 
2.377  million  ha  in  2007,  of  which  75% is  found  in  the  Southern  region,  10%  in  the  Eastern 
region and 14% in the Northeast region. 

7.5.2  Current and historical forest cover 

The  forest  cover  reported  by  the  DNP  in  2013  was  16,339,126  ha.  This  figure  with  those 
displayed in the table below confirm that forest cover is increasing in Thailand. However, 
the Figure 2. Deforestation and reforestation 2000-2015 from CCI Land cover maps, which 
illustrates  the  regional deforestation  from  global historical land  cover  maps,  showed  that 
deforestation in Thailand occurred essentially between 1995 and 2005 near the border with 
Myanmar  and principally  in  two  locations,  the  south  of  Mae Hong  Song  province  and in 
Kanchaburi province.  

Forest  increase  comes  from  government  policies  that  support  reforestation  of  degraded 
forest areas through tree planting campaigns. The first NESDP in 1965 initiated this effort and 
by 2012, 650,000 ha were planted (LEAF, 2015). Also, recent efforts to enact the legislation 
enabled the RFD to retrieve forest land from illegal encroachment. Between 2010 and 2012, 
17,530 ha were retrieved principally from the northern regions (7,188 ha).  

Table 30. Forest cover summary for Thailand.  

Forest Area 

Total Forest Cover (2015): 16,347,969 ha 

Source: Department of Natural Parks, Wildlife and Plant 
Conservation-2016 

31.6 % 

Forest Cover Change Trend 

INCREASE 

Forest area 
2005: 16,100,000 ha 
2015: 16,399,000 ha 

Source: FRA - FAO, 2015. 

2005-2015: 
+ 29,900 ha/year 

2005-2015: 
+ 0.19 %/year 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 75 of 99 

Figure 21. Forest cover map of Thailand in 2015-2016. (Source: DNP, 2016) 

7.5.3  FREL/REL Summary 

As outlined in Chapter 7.2.1, Thailand has not yet developed its FREL/FRL. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8  NATIONAL STATUS: Vietnam 

Page 76 of 99 

8.1 

Institutional context 

The forest in Vietnam (SRV, Socialist Republic of Vietnam) is managed by the Vietnamese 
Forestry  Administration  (VNFOREST),  which  is  under  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Development (MARD). Management is governed by the 1992 Law on Forest Protection and 
Development, last amended in 2004. 

Between 1998 and 2010, in order to halt deforestation and increase forest cover to 43% by 
2010, the government implemented publicly funded forestry projects under the Five Million 
Hectares  Reforestation  Program  (Program  661).  The  results  from  the  program  have  been 
mixed6. Although it has gone a long way in meeting its targets for protection forest, it has 
fallen  below  its  expectations  for  regeneration,  particularly  for  plantations.  Consequently, 

6 Vietnam R-PP Readiness Preparation Proposal, 2011 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Page 77 of 99 

Program 147 “support for development of forest plantations” (2007-2015) which focuses on 
production forests was introduced. 

The  Land  Law  (2003)  clarifies  the  framework  for  forestry  land  tenure  and  enables  the 
allocation  of  forest  land  to  communities  as  well  as  to  individual  households.  In  2005,  the 
Forest Protection and Development Law recognizes distinct categories of forest ownership, 
with varying responsibilities and rights for forest management. 

8.2 

 REDD+ and EU FLEGT National status 

8.2.1  REDD+ 

Vietnam  was  the  earliest  REDD+  mover  in  the  region,  submitting  an  ER-PIN  to  the  FCPF 
already in March of 2008, only a few months after the FCPF formally launched at the 2007 
Bali COP. A Readiness grant was approved for Vietnam by the FCPF in March 2011 subject 
to the submission of a revised R-PP. Vietnam resubmitted its revised R-PP in November 2011 
and the Readiness Grant Agreement was signed in 2012. Vietnam’s 2015 mid-term progress 
report requested an additional US$5 million of Readiness funds from the FCPF which were 
granted in October 2016.  

During  this  time,  Vietnam  also  became  a  UN-REDD  National  Programme.  The  UN-REDD’s 
Policy  Board  approved  Vietnam  in  March  2009  and  the  programme  ran  until  June  2012. 
Phase II of UN-REDD programme began in July 2013 and is expected to run until the end of 
2018.  

In order to receive results-based payments for performance, Vietnam submitted an ER-PIN 
to the FCPF Carbon Fund in May 2014. This was selected for inclusion into both Tranche A 
and B of the Carbon Fund in June 2016 and a Letter of Intent (LOI) signed in January 2015. 
Vietnam’s first ER-PD was submitted in November 2016 and a revised version resubmitted in 
November 2017. The ER Programme focuses on six provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, 
Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue. 

In addition to multi-lateral support, Vietnam has benefited from a number of REDD+ specific 
initiatives, that have helped Vietnam become one of the most advanced REDD+ countries 
globally. These include: 

  Sustainable Natural Resource Management Project (SNRM Project), funded by JICA 
  Provincial Government Support for the Preparation and Implementation of REDD+ Pilot 

Activities in Quang Binh, funded by GIZ 

  Delivering Environmental and Social Benefits from REDD+ in South East Asia (MB-REDD) 

funded by SNV 

  REDD+ Planning Implementation in Dien Bien (SUSFORM-NOW), funded by JICA 
  REDD+ Pilot Implementation in Dien Bien (SUSFORM-NOW), funded by JICA 
  Vietnam Forests and Deltas Programme, funded by USAID 
  Forest  Management  Information  Systems  Project  (FORMIS),  funded  by  the  Ministry  of 

Foreign Affairs of Finland 

Until  November  2017,  the  National  REDD+  Steering  Committee  (NRSC)  was  the  ultimate 
body  with  responsibility  for  managing  the  REDD+  readiness  process  and  overall 
implementation. This responsibility has now been passed to National Target Programme for 

 
 
 
 
Page 78 of 99 

Sustainable Forest Management headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and deputized to 
the  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  (MARD).  As  with  the  National  REDD+ 
Steering Committee, this is a multi-sectoral body. Day-to-day management for the REDD+ 
process  is  delegated  to  the  Vietnam  REDD+  Office  (VRO)  which  sits  within  VNFOREST  in 
MARD.  Six  Technical  Working  Groups  (TWGs)  have  also  been  established  on:  i)  REDD+ 
governance; ii) MRV; iii) REDD+ financing and benefit distribution; iv) local implementation; 
v) private sector engagement; and vi) safeguards.  

Vietnam began development of the first National REDD+ Action Programme (NRAP) as early 
as 2011, with official endorsement of this NRAP coming from the Prime Minister in 2012. This 
NRAP was to govern the period between 2011 – 2020 and be implemented in two phases: 
1) 2011 - 2015 with a focus on awareness raising, capacity building and pilot activities in at 
least 8 provinces; and 2) 2016 - 2020, where Vietnam will extend its capacity building efforts, 
implementing  REDD+  and 
institutional  requirements  for 
accomplish  technical  and 
implement demonstration activities at the national scale. A review of progress in the NRAP 
implementation was carried out at the end of the first phase of the NRAP (2011 – 2015) and 
determined  that  a  revision  of  the  NRAP  was  necessary  to  better  guide  REDD+ 
implementation,  particularly  with  regards  to  developing  mitigation  strategies  that  went 
beyond the forest sector and engaged additional sectors. Revision of the NRAP occurred 
in 2016 and the revised NRAP was given Prime Minister approval in April 2017. Following this, 
Vietnam is now in the process of developing a National REDD+ Investment Plan (NRIP) for 
the period 2017-2020. 

With  the  support  of  the  UN-REDD  Phase II program,  as  well  as  the FPCF  and  other  donor 
REDD+ projects, Provincial REDD+ Action Plans (PRAPs) have also been developed in the six 
provinces forming the ER Program. Whilst developed primarily to support the development 
of  the  ER-PD  and  came  before  the  revision  of  the  NRAP,  these  PRAPs  now  need  to  be 
updated to better align with the revised NRAP.  

To  date,  work  on  safeguards  in  Vietnam  has  included  the  conduct  of  a  legal  study  on 
Vietnam’s existing safeguards-relevant policies, laws and regulations (PLRs) and the extent 
to  which  they  are  consistent  with  the  scope  and  content  of  the Cancun  safeguards.  An 
assessment  of  the  extent  to  which  these  PLRs  are  being  implemented  in  practice  was 
conducted in 2016. In addition, a considerable amount of work was carried out to provide 
a national “clarification” or “interpretation” of the Cancun safeguards in accordance with 
Vietnam’s  national  context  including  through  extensive  consultations  with  the  STWG-SG. 
Finally, a framework design document was produced for Vietnam’s Safeguard Information 
System (SIS) in late 2016. Development of the SIS currently remains in its early stages.  

It  should  be  noted  that  under  the  auspices  of  the  first  FCPF  grant  assessments  of  the 
environmental and social impacts of the ER Programme were conducted, resulting in a SESA 
(Strategic  Environmental  and  Social  Assessment)  and  ESMF  (Environment  and  Social 
Management  Framework).  Under  the  additional  FCPF  readiness  funding,  a  SESA  of  the 
revised NRAP is now also being conducted.  

Vietnam  was  one  of  the  first  countries  globally  to  submit  a  FREL/FRL  to  the  UNFCCC  for 
technical assessment in January 2016. Based on feedback from the technical assessment 
the FREL/FRL was revised throughout 2016 and final, revised version submitted in December 
2016. In addition to the national FREL/FRL, a reference emission level (REL) and reference 

 
 
 
 
Page 79 of 99 

level (RL) for the ER Programme area was also developed and incorporated into the ER-PD 
submission. For both of these submissions, the methodological approach is outlined and the 
historical  data  is  made  available  and  adjustments  for  national  circumstances  explained 
transparently, consistent with UNFCCC guidance. Vietnam is currently attempting to assess 
performance against its FREL up to the year 2016.  

With  respect to  the  development  of  its  NFMS,  Vietnam  is  able  to  make  use  of  its  existing 
Forest Resources Monitoring System, which has undergone a digitization process under the 
Forest  Management  Information  Systems  Project  (FORMIS),  as  the  basis  for  its  activity 
reporting.  For  the  MRV  component  of  the  NFMS,  Vietnam  has  a  number  of  existing 
government programs and initiatives that can contribute to the generation of the necessary 
activity data and emission factors, including the National Forest Inventory Monitoring and 
Assessment  Program  (NFIMAP),  National  Forest  Inventory  and  Statistics  (NFIS)  or  Annual 
Forest and Forestland Monitoring Report Program (AFLMRP). Seeking clarification on which 
system to use for MRV purposes and establishing the institutional linkages to aggregate the 
relevant information are currently under development.  

To  date,  Vietnam has  not benefited  from  any  form  of  results-based  payments  for  REDD+ 
performance.  

8.2.2  EU FLEGT 

Vietnam began negotiating its VPA with the EU in November 2010. For Vietnam, negotiations 
were  led  by  the  Vietnam  Administration  of  Forestry  (VNFOREST)  under  the  Ministry  of 
Agriculture  and  Rural  Development.  Following  this,  in  2001,  Vietnam established  an  inter-
ministerial FLEGT-VPA Steering Committee to support these negotiations.  

Additionally,  also  in  2011,  Vietnam  established  two  Working  Groups:  one  to  prepare  the 
timber  legality  definition  and  another  to  prepare  the  legality  assurance  system.  These 
Working Groups included representatives from government, industry association and one 
international  NGO. Vietnamese  civil  society  was  not,  however,  party  to  the  negotiations 
and was only able to provide inputs through public consultations. In response, local NGOs 
established a VNGO FLEGT Network in 2012 to promote and coordinate civil society inputs 
in the process. 

In November 2016, six years after beginning negotiations, Vietnam and the EU agreed, in 
principle, on the content of the VPA before initialling the VPA in May 2017. Both Vietnam 
and the EU will now have to complete the procedure for signing and ratifying the VPA in 
line with their internal procedures.  

1. Legal framework. The programme provides advisory support for the drafting of legal
documents, including for conservation-oriented financing mechanisms (payment for
environmental services, PFES), protected area management, and sustainable forest
management.  It  also  contributes  the  lessons  learned  from  the  projects  in  the
provinces (incl. Phong Nha-Khe Bang project in Quang Binh Province) to the REDD+
process at the national level.

2. Development of institutional capacity. The programme assists the partner ministry in
implementing  the  National  Capacity  Development  Plan  for  Protected  Area
Management.  The  Department  of  Nature  Conservation  is  supported  to  introduce

Page 80 of 99 

information  management  systems  to  improve  forest  ranger  patrolling  strategies  in 
protected  areas  (“SMART”  Tool).  Experiences  drawn  from  the  certification  of  two 
forestry  companies  are  being  used  to  contribute  to  the  development  and 
implementation  of  a  national  sustainable  forest  management  plan,  and  to 
strengthen  the  capacities  of  service  providers  to  enable  them  to  assist  additional 
forestry companies with certification. 

3.  Timber legality (VPA FLEGT and TLAS). The programme is advising the partner within 
the context of FLEGT negotiations, including the design of timber legality assurance 
systems.  The  project  will  also  provide  support  to  strengthen  the  capacities  of  the 
verification authorities. 

Table 31. Key Active Multi/Bilateral REDD+ & FLEGT initiatives: Vietnam 

Name 

Focus 

FCPF  

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

UN-REDD Phase II 

Supporting national level REDD+ Readiness 

Natural 

Sustainable 
Resource 
Management Project (SNRM Project), 
funded by JICA 

  Supporting  policies  for  storing  biodiversity 
information in NBDS which is indispensable for 
implementation  of  biodiversity  conservation 
policy 

  Aiming  for  Forest  Monitoring  System  using 
tablet-PC developed by JICA to be adapted 
as  officialized 
the  country 
cooperating  with  provinces  and  other 
Development Partners. 

system 

in 

  Building 

that 

capacity 

full 
implementation  of  REDD+  activities  at  the 
national level as well as the provincial level in 
the northwest. 

enables 

  Supporting 

the 

implementation 

of 
Collaborative  Management  in  Lam  Dong 
province, 
in  a  manner  consistent  with 
UNESCOʼs MAB Programme. 

Conservation  and  sustainable  use  of 
forest  biodiversity  and  ecosystem 
services, GIZ 

support 

framework. Advisory 

for 
including 

the 
Legal 
drafting  of 
for 
legal  documents, 
conservation-oriented  financing  mechanisms, 
protected  area  management,  and  sustainable 
forest management. Contributes lessons learned 
from projects in provinces (incl. Phong Nha-Khe 
Bang  project  in  Quang  Binh  Province)  to  the 
REDD+ process at the national level. 

 
 
 
 
Name 

Focus 

Page 81 of 99 

is 

supported 

Development  of 
institutional  capacity. Assists 
partner  ministry  in  implementing  the  National 
Capacity Development Plan for Protected Area 
Management.  The  Department  of  Nature 
Conservation 
introduce 
information  management  systems  to  improve 
forest  ranger  patrolling  strategies  in  protected 
areas.  Contributes  to  the  development  and 
implementation  of  a  national  sustainable  forest 
management  plan,  and  to  strengthen  the 
capacities of service providers to enable them to 
assist forestry companies with certification. 

to 

FAO EU FLEGT 

Timber  legality  (VPA  FLEGT  and  TLAS). Advising 
partner within the context of FLEGT negotiations, 
including the design of timber legality assurance 
systems.  Provides  support  to  strengthen  the 
capacities of the verification authorities. 

FAO-EU  FLEGT  Programme  has  coordinated 
closely  with  GIZ  and  other  stakeholders  to 
support  key  interventions  necessary  to  develop 
the  systems,  laws  and  regulations  needed  for 
successful  VPA  implementation.  FAO  FLEGT  is 
in 
also  collaborating  closely  with  UN-REDD 
to 
support 
Vietnam,  which  has  provided 
developing  central  elements  of  Vietnam’s 
Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS). 

8.3 

 Forest management and conservation 

The overall objective of forest management in Viet Nam, as defined in the Viet Nam Forestry 
Development strategy 2006-2020, is to sustainably manage 16.24 million ha zoned for forest 
land and increase forest cover to 47% by 2020.  

As of 2016, Viet Nam had 14.4 million ha of forested land, covering 41% of the total country, 
including 10.2 million ha of natural forests and 4.2 million ha of plantation forests.  

Forest types in Vietnam are classified into three categories: Special-use Forest, Protection 
Forest and Production Forest. 

-  Protection forests are used to: protect water resources, catchments and land; prevent 
erosion and desertification; mitigate natural disasters; and regulate climate. Protection 
forests  include:  watershed;  wind-,  sand-  and  wave-break;  sea  encroachment  and 
environmental protection forest subcategories.  

 
 
 
 
 
Page 82 of 99 

- 

Special-use forests (SUFs) are used mainly to preserve nature (as a national park, nature 
reserve or a species habitat conservation area), representative ecosystems, plant and 
animal  gene  pools;  for  research  purposes;  to  protect  historical,  cultural  relics  and 
landscapes;  and  to  provide  resort  and  tourism  services.  They  also  often  have  a  dual 
purpose of acting as a watershed protection forest.   

-  Production forests are used mainly for production of timber and NTFPs.  Production forests 

include natural, plantation and seed forests.   

Table 32. Breakdown of forest categories by forest type. (SRV, 2017) 

Forest Management 
Areas (ha) 

Forest Category 

Type of forest/Forest 
Category 

Special - 
use 

Forest 
protection 

Forest 
production 

Outside 
Forest 
Categories 

Total Area 
Forest 
Type (ha) 

Natural forest 

2,055,270 

3,871,422 

3,915,643 

399,806  10,242,141 

Plantation forest 

82,062 

666,430 

2,756,413 

630,636 

4,135,541 

Total Area Forest 
Category (ha) 

2,137,332 

4,537,852 

6,672,056 

1,030,442  14,377,682 

Figure 22. Map of forest category in Vietnam. (VNFOREST 2017) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 83 of 99 

In  Vietnam,  all  forest  lands  are  officially  claimed  as  state  property.  The  government 
allocates land use rights to different economic entities, such as: 

-  State-owned  forest  management  board  (FMB)  authorized  to  manage  special-use 

forests and protection forests,  

-  State-owned  forestry  enterprises  (SFE)  mandated  to  manage  protection  and 

production forests, 

- 

Individual households, 

-  Communities, 

-  Commune People’s Committee (CPC) 

-  Army units, 

-  Other economic entities that are authorized to manage protection and production 

forests. 

In 2014, SFEs manage 1.9 million ha of forests (accounting for 14% of total forests), of which 
75% is natural forests and the remainder are plantations. 

FMBs control nearly 4.2 million ha of forests (34% of total forests), primarily special-use forests 
and protection forests for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection purposes. 
The proportion of natural forest under FMB management is 85%. 

Around  3.4  million  ha  of  forests  (approximately  24%)  have  been  allocated  to  individual 
households, of which 55% are natural forests. 

CPCs currently manage around 2.3 million ha (16% of the total forests), of which 1.9 million 
ha  are  natural  forests.  The  government  gives  CPCs  rights  to  temporarily  manage  some 
forestlands, which they have not yet allocated to other entities. 

Registered communities and other group of local communities manage around 1.13 million 
ha (8% of forests). 

Table 33. Breakdown of forest management entities (MARD 2014). 

Management Entity 

Forest Management Board 

State-owned Forestry Enterprise 

Individual Household 

Communities 

Commune People’s Committee 

Army  

Other Economic Entity 

Other 

% of forest land 

34 

14 

24 

4 

16 

2 

2 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
8.4 

 Drivers of forest change 

Currently, the main direct drivers of deforestation and degradation are generally agreed to 
be: (i) conversion to agriculture (particularly to industrial perennial crops); (ii) unsustainable 
logging (notably illegal logging); (iii) infrastructure development; and (iv) forest fires. 

Page 84 of 99 

Figure 23. Drivers of forest change in Vietnam. (SRV, 2011a) 

Agricultural expansion is predominantly for cassava and perennial cash crops. Most of the 
recent  expansion  in  the  perennial  industrial  crops  such  as  coffee  or  cashew  has 
concentrated particularly in two places, the Central Highlands and the Southeast regions. 
In the Central Highlands, between 1990 and 2000, the area for coffee plantations increased 
from 50,000 to 500,000 hectares. 

In 2009, Vietnam started to promote the development of rubber on poor and degraded 
areas. However, in the Central Highlands, the conversion of forest land to rubber plantations 
led to large scale deforestation as the criteria defining poor forest were poorly followed by 
provincial administration authorities. The country has already surpassed its national target 
on rubber production and its policy is now the stabilization of the area under production, as 
well as to stop conversion of natural forests 

Tree plantations which often occurred on degraded natural forest areas, have played a 
crucial role in Vietnam’s forest transition. Nationally, there are over 1.1 million ha of acacia 
plantations for wood production, managed on 5 to 10 years rotation cycles. In Thanh Hoa 
province,  the  area  of  tree  plantations  increased  from  87,100  ha  in  2001  to  180,300  ha  in 
2014.  

To support the country’s development, transport infrastructure and hydropower dams were 
built. The building of roads in remote rural areas has often, inadvertently created the means 
by  which  otherwise  inaccessible  timber  has  become  transportable  and  marketable.  The 

Drivers of DEFORESTATION     Drivers of FOREST DEGRADATION    Underlying cause of forest change  Conversion to Agricultural Land National Economic Growth Weak Forest Governance and Land Management  Increased Demand for Forest and Agriculture Product Infrastructure Development Unsustainable Logging Forest Fire   
 
 
 
 
 
Page 85 of 99 

road network in Vietnam have more than doubled in length between 1990 and 2010. Dams 
impacted forested area; On the Dong Nai river, several dams destroyed more than 15,000 
ha of forest. 

The  underlying  drivers  of  deforestation  are  the  overall  country’s  demographic  and 
economic  growth  which  led  to  an  increased  demand  for  products  from  forest  and 
agriculture. 

Unsustainable exploitation and encroachment has been identified as the main drivers of 
forest degradation. Timber harvesting (legal and illegal) occurred in both plantations and 
natural  forests  and  has  led  to  a  reduction  of  biodiversity  values  and  forest  stocks. 
Encroachment can be caused by shifting cultivation practices which are still implemented 
by farmers in Central Highlands but also in the provinces bordering Laos in the North-West 
and North Central Coast. 

More than 6 million hectares of forests in Vietnam are associated with having a high fire risk. 
According to VNFOREST, from 2002 to 2010, there were 704 forest fires leading to 5,081.9 ha 
of forest cover lost. 

The underlying causes of forest degradation and especially illegal logging are multiple. First 
illegal logging is driven by the increased demand for timber and its high profitability. Then it 
is facilitated by the lack of forest monitoring and enforcement at local level as well as issues 
in forest delineation and allocation of adequate use-rights to local communities.  

8.5 

 Forest status 

8.5.1  Forest types 

The Table 34 below shows the forest definition provided by the Circular 34 (2004) and used 
in Vietnam for the calculation of the FREL/FRL.  

Table 34. Forest definition in Vietnam. (SRV, 2016) 

Forest Definition 

A forest is an area of at least 0.5 ha,  
with a canopy cover of 10% and with trees that reach more than 5 meters height 

New forest plantations of timber trees and newly regenerated forests of forest 
plantations are identified as forests if they reach the average height of over 1.5 meters 
for slow-growing species, and over 3.0 meters for fast-growing species and a density of 
at least 1,000 trees per hectare. 

The classification system identifies seventeen land cover classes of which twelve are forest 
types. The distinction between rich, medium and poor forest is based on average timber 
stock, respectively more than 200 m3/ha, between 100 and 200 m3/ha, and less than 100 
m3/ha. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 86 of 99 

Table 35. Forest types in Vietnam. (SRV, 2016) 

Forest type and other land cover 

Evergreen broadleaf forest - rich 

Evergreen broadleaf forest - medium 

Evergreen broadleaf forest - poor 

Evergreen broadleaf regrowth forest 

Deciduous forest 

Bamboo forest 

Mixed wood and bamboo forest 

Coniferous forest 

Mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest 

Mangrove forest 

Forest on rocky mountain 

Plantation forest 

Rocky mountain without forest 

Barren land planned for forestry 

Water 

Residential area 

Other land 

The evergreen broadleaf forest is the dominant forest type in Vietnam. According to Table 
37  and  the  NFIS  (National  Forest  Inventory  and  Statistics)  figures,  when  considering  all 
evergreen  broadleaf  forest  sub-types  (rich,  medium,  poor  and  regrowth),  it  represents 
nearly  50%  of  all  forest  cover.  This  type  has  a  diverse  ecology  with  a  multi-storey  forest 
structure dominated by Dipterocarpacea species. It is mainly located along the border with 
Laos in the Annamite range, and in the northern provinces. 

Deciduous forest representing 4% of the forest cover is mainly located in the south of the 
country in Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces. 

Bamboo forest and mixed woody and bamboo are found in areas where shifting cultivation 
is  practiced  in  the  North-west  of  the  country  like  Nghe  An  province.  It  represents 
respectively, 2.5% and 0.5% of the forest cover. 

Forest  on  rocky  mountain  which  represents  6%  of  the  forest  cover  is  principally  forest  on 
limestone which can be found in the north and north central regions like in Phong Nha-Ke 
Bang special-use forest.  

Coniferous  forest can be  found in  the  south like  in Lam  Dong  province  with  main specie 
being Pinus merkusii and in the north, close to Chinese border with Fokienia hodginsii as main 
specie. Coniferous forest represents only 1% of forest cover. 

Plantation forest represents 27% of total forest cover with rubber, acacia and pine as main 
species. 

 
 
 
 
Page 87 of 99 

8.5.2  Current and historical forest cover 

To monitor forest cover change, the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) produced 
the NFI maps (National Forest Inventory) for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010. To support 
the  REDD+  national  strategy  and  the  development  of  the  FREL  these  maps  have  been 
revised by JICA and UN-REDD. 

For  the  period  going  from  2010  to  2016,  the  most  recent  dataset  regarding  forest  is  the 
National Forest Inventory and Statistics (NFIS), which is a national survey monitored by MARD 
and implemented by the following institutions: FIPI, VAFS Vietnamese Academy of Forestry 
Science  (VAFS)  and  the  Vietnamese  National  Forestry  University  (VNFU).  NFIS  has  a  very 
different  approach  than  the  NFI  which  is  fed  by  maps  produced  with  remote  sensing 
techniques. NFIS is implemented at the provincial level and collates information from forest 
rangers  for  each  forest  units  in  regards  with  forest  status,  function,  cover,  ownership, 
management  etc.  This  data  is  then  aggregated  at  the  provincial  and  national  level  to 
provide overall statistics on forest status in the country. 

Table  36  below  displays  official  figures  published  by  VNFOREST  in  2017,  taken  from  NFIS 
statistics, on the forest cover  as of end of 2016. Natural forest covers 10,242,141 ha while 
plantation forest covers 4,135,541 ha which includes 745,749 ha of young plantations that 
do not reach the minimum canopy cover of the forest definition. Therefore, the total forest 
cover is 13,631,934 ha which represents 41.19% of the country. Another official document 
from  VNFOREST  states  that  national  forest  cover  as  of  end  of  2010  was  13,030,939  ha,  or 
39.5%  of  the  country.  According  to  these  two  reports,  the  forest  cover  increase  rate  is 
0.8%/year over the 2010-2016 period. For the previous period 2000-2010, according to NFI 
figures, the forest cover increase reached 1.44%/year. 

Table 36. Forest cover summary for Vietnam. (SRV 2016 and SRV 2017) 

Forest Area 

Total Forest Cover (2016): 13,631,934 ha 

Total Forest: 
14,377,682 ha 
Source: NFIS 2016 

Natural Forest  
10,242,141 ha 

Forest Cover Change Trend  

41.19% 

Plantation Forest (include young plantations 
that do not reach forest cover definition) 
4,135,541 ha  

INCREASE 

2010: 13,030,939 ha 
2016: 13,631,934 ha 
Source: NFIS 

Forest area  
2000: 11,939,000 ha 
2010: 13,661,000 ha 
Source: NFI  

2010-2016 
+ 100,166 ha/year 

2010-2016: 
+ 0.8/year 

2000-2010: 
+ 172,200 ha/year 

2000-2010: 
+ 1.44%/year 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 88 of 99 

Figure 24. Map of forest status in Vietnam in 2016. (Souce: Computed from VNFOREST, 
2017) 

Table  37  below  displays  the  figures  from  the  NFI  maps  that  were  used  for  the  FREL/FLR 
calculation. The NFIS figure comes from a geographical layer provided by VNFOREST in 2017 
and were reclassified into the NFI classes by the RFO-SEA.  

The  overall  national  forest  cover  increases  are  due  mostly  to  the  development  of 
commercial  plantations  (Acacia,  Eucalyptus,  Pine,  Rubber).  Nevertheless,  dense  natural 
forests are shrinking and suffer from degradation. For instance, deforestation occurred at 
high rate in Central Highland and South Central Coast regions. For instance, according to 
NFI figures provide in Table 37 below, in 1995 Rich Evergreen Broadleaved Forest was 856,000 
ha and decreased to 681,000 ha in 2010.  In the meantime, forest plantation increased from 
994,000 ha to 3,122,000 ha.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 37. Historical forest cover area in Vietnam. (SRV, 2016 and SRV, 2017) 

National Forest Inventory (NFI) - Four Cycle Maps 

National Forest 
Inventory and 
Statistics (NFIS) 

Page 89 of 99 

1995 

2000 

2005 

2010 

2016 

Forest and Other Land Cover 
Area (1,000 ha) 

Evergreen Broadleaved Rich 
forest 
Evergreen Broadleaved 
medium forest 
Evergreen Broadleaved poor 
forest 
Evergreen broadleaf regrowth 
forest 

Deciduous forest 

Bamboo forest 

Mixed woody and bamboo 
forest 

Coniferous forest 

Mixed woody and coniferous 
forest 

Mangrove forest 

Rocky mountain forest 

Woody plantation 

Non-forest rock 

856 

804 

693 

681 

2004 

1889 

1783 

1674 

1918 

1785 

1621 

1581 

2399 

2699 

3283 

3654 

751 

526 

734 

172 

64 

199 

740 

994 

232 

722 

547 

751 

177 

56 

178 

749 

665 

490 

751 

164 

54 

134 

759 

646 

441 

748 

162 

53 

142 

757 

1582 

2343 

3122 

224 

207 

205 

Bushes and grass land 

7748 

7039 

6042 

4688 

Water body 

Residential area 

824 

846 

851 

870 

1498 

1569 

1669 

1798 

Agriculture land, other land 

11356 

11399 

11507 

11796 

Total 

Forest 

Natural Forest 

Forest Plantations 

Bare Land 

33015 

33016 

33016 

33018 

Summary 

Summary 

11357 

11939 

12740  13661 

10363 

10357 

10397  10539 

994 

1582 

2343 

3122 

7980 

7263 

6249 

4893 

Agriculture and other land 

13678 

13814 

14027  14464 

Total 

33015 

33016 

33016  33018 

Comparing  NFI  and  NFIS  which  are  produced  with  two  different  approaches,  should  be 
taken  with  caution.  However,  it  can  still  illustrate  the  overall  trend.  According  to  NFIS, 

703 

1831 

1510 

3119 

576 

363 

1165 

123 

65 

61 

903 

3939 

75 

2318 

66 

16200 

33018 

14359 

10420 

3939 

2392 

16266 

33018 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 90 of 99 

between  2010  and  2016,  the  sum  of  natural  forest  decreased  from  10,539,000  ha  to 
10,420,000 ha while forest plantations increased from 3,122,000 ha to 3,939,000 ha. 

8.5.3  FREL/REL Summary 

The scale of Vietnam’s FREL/FRL is national. It considers CO2 and the following activities: 

-  Deforestation: Activity of conversion of forests to non-forest land. 

-  Degradation:  Activity  resulting  in  a  downward  shift in  terms  of  carbon  stock between 
forest  types,  including  Evergreen  broadleaf  forest  volume-based  sub-types  of  “rich, 
medium, and poor” (based on the average standing volume per ha) and other forest 
types (deciduous, bamboos etc.)  

-  Reforestation: Activity of land use change from non-forest land to forest land.  

-  Restoration:  Activity  resulting  in  upward  shift  of  carbon  stock  between  forest  types, 
including  Evergreen  broadleaf  forest  volume-based  sub-types  of  “rich,  medium,  and 
poor”  (based  on  the  average  standing  volume  per  ha)  and  other  forest  types 
(deciduous, bamboos etc.) 

Table 38. Carbon pools considered in Vietnam for FREL/FRL. (SRV, 2016) 

Carbon Pool 

AGB 

BGB 

Soil organic carbon 

Dead wood 

Liter 

Included 

YES 

YES 

NO 

NO 

NO 

The  historical  emissions/removals  for  the  three  periods,  1995-2000,  2000-2005,  2005-2010 
shows  that  there  is  no  clear  trend  on  the  historical  emissions/removals.  Therefore,  the 
average  of  historical  emissions/removals  during  the  reference  period  will  be  used  as  for 
Vietnam’s FREL/FRL.   

The  proposed  FREL  for  Viet  Nam  (Average  of  gross  emissions)  is 59.96  million tCO2e/year 
and the proposed FRL (Average of removals) is -39.6 million tCO2e/year. 

8.5.4  Carbon stocks  

Activities  were  implemented  as  a  series  of  work  undertaken  through  the  UN-REDD 
Programme for Vietnam with technical assistance from FAO, towards the improvement of 
country-specific emission factors for Viet Nam. 

These activities were conducted by five national institutes and organization, namely, Forest 
Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), North-west Sub-FIPI, Center for Forest Inventory and 
Consultancy (CFIC), Viet Nam Forestry University (VFU), Tay Nguyen University (TNU), and the 
Research Center for Forest Ecology and Environment (RCFEE, under VAFS) as coordinator. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 91 of 99 

The Table 39 below presents the national average carbon stocks for  each forest type for 
the period 2005-2010. For the calculation of the FREL/FRL, the emission factors were derived 
from carbon stocks specific to the agro-ecological region and the NFI cycle. 

Table 39. Carbon stock per forest type in Vietnam. (SRV, 2016) 

National average carbon stocks AGB + BGB (tC/ha) per forest type - Cycle IV 2005-2010 

Code 

Forest Type 

Carbon Stock (tC/ha) 

Uncertainty (at CI 
95%) 

1 

8 

2 

Evergreen broadleaf rich 

Coniferous 

Evergreen broadleaf medium 

9  Mixed broadleaf-coniferous 

10  Mangrove 

7  Mixed wood and bamboo 

3 

5 

4 

11 

12 

Evergreen broadleaf poor 

Deciduous Forest 

Evergreen broadleaf regrowth 

Limestone forest 

Plantation 

6 

Bamboo 

140 

95 

75 

67 

58 

42 

32 

31 

26 

19 

16  

15 

3 

11 

1 

45 

- 

7 

3 

8 

6 

83 

13 

11 

 
 
 
 
Information Repository 

Page 92 of 99 

8.6 

Interface and use 

RFO-SEA 
information 
SEA.org/geonetwork/  

repository  user-interface 

is  available  at:  http://www.RFO-

The information repository user-interface is built using GeoNetwork which is straightforward 
and  easy  to  use  for  end  users.  Users  can  upload  new  data  to  the  information  repository 
database  through  the  user  interface  without  any  complex  database  scripts.  The  user 
interface also has a powerful search tool embedded which allows users to easily find the 
data that they are looking for in the database.  

The main functionalities of the information repository user-interface are: 

-  Powerful search tools with indexing 

-  Filtering by geographical location, document type, document date, etc. 

-  Catalogue services with CSW (Catalog Service for the Web) available. Allows 

integration and linking to other geoportals, websites and information repositories 

-  Metadata editor for creating standard metadata for the datasets in the RFO-SEA 

system 

-  Metadata viewer for accessing the metadata records 

- 

Integration to the website and the geoportal 

-  Administrative tools for configuring and modifying the information repository 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 93 of 99 

8.7  Content by country and type 

Table 40. Main document of the information repository. 

Cambodia 

Laos 

Myanmar 

Thailand 

Vietnam 

Regional 

REDD+ 
UNFCCC 

FRL submission 
2016 

FREL/FRL 
submission 2018 

FREL/FRL 
submission 
2018 

FREL/FRL 
submission 
2016 

REDD+ FCPF 

R-PP 2013 

R-Package 2018 

R-PP 2013 

ER-PD 2018 

REDD+ 

REDD+ Projects 

Presentation 
SEIMA project – 
WCS 2017 

National 
REDD+ 
Strategy 

Draft of National 
REDD+ Strategy 
2016 

Draft 2018 

Forest Status 

Drivers of forest 
change 

Drivers of Forest 
change in 
Cambodia – LEAF 
2015 

REDD+ Context – 
Cifor 2013 

Forest 
Inventory 
2006 

National Forest 
Inventory 

CliPAD mapping 
priority jurisdiction 
- 2013 

Tree 
Allometric 
equation 

Methodo-
logy 

Forest 
mapping 

Land cover and 
classification 
system – Brun 
2013 

Myanmar 
Forest cover 
change 2002-
2014 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cambodia 

Laos 

Myanmar 

Thailand 

Vietnam 

Regional 

Page 94 of 99 

Technical 
Guidance 

Academic 
papers 

Institutional 
text 

REDD+ and forest 
restoration – 
Erasmus University 
2016 

Forest law 

Forest Law 2002 

Forest Law 2007 

Forest Law 
2003 

Forest Act 
1941 

ESA CCI Product 
User Guide 
Delta rNBR 
Background 
IMPACT new 
features 
Sentinel-2 
download 
guidance 

PFES in 
Lamdong 
2017 

Law on 
forest 
protection 
and 
developm
ent 2004 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9  Conclusion 

Forests play a crucial social, environmental and economic role in South East Asia, including 
the five target countries of the RFO-SEA. They harbour one of the richest pools of biodiversity 
in the world, including a number of endemic and critically endangered species, while also 
being  an  important  driver  of  economic  activity.  For  the  more  rural  communities  in  the 
region, forests are an integral part of their livelihoods through the provision of food, fibre and 
fuel.  

Forests in the five target countries of the RFO-SEA, however, are under high pressure, largely 
due  to  rapid  economic  development,  population  growth  and  limited  capacities  to  fully 
manage  the  large  forest  estates  in  each  country.  Across  the  region,  the  expansion  of 
agricultural lands, establishment of commercial plantations such as rubber and acacia, the 
proliferation of infrastructure projects such as road networks, mines and hydropower dams, 
all  occur  at  the  expense  of  forests.  Unsustainable  logging,  both  legal  and  illegal  further 
damages forest ecosystems. 

Overall, the region is seeing a decrease in forest cover and quality. While in countries like 
Vietnam and Thailand forest cover is stable or increasing, this is due, largely, to monoculture 
plantations, while natural forest continues to be degraded. Laos has seen a stabilization of 
its  forest  cover  but  degradation  caused  by  illegal  logging  continues  to  be  an  issue. 
Deforestation occurs in Myanmar at a stable rate while Cambodia’s rate of deforestation is 
accelerating.  

All five countries are engaging with the REDD+ process albeit each is at a slightly different 
stage of REDD+ Readiness. Vietnam and Cambodia are the most advanced in the region 
with  respect  to  REDD+  implementation.  Both  countries  have  developed  national  REDD+ 
strategies,  identified  implementation  arrangements  for  REDD+,  and  developed  and 
officially submitted their country’s FREL to the UNFCCC. Lao PDR and Myanmar are slightly 
further  behind  Vietnam  and  Cambodia  when  it  comes  to  REDD+  readiness.  While  the 
institutional arrangements for REDD+ are in place in both countries, they are still undertaking 
the analytical steps to develop their national REDD+ strategies, develop their FREL, finalize 
their safeguard assessments, as well as develop their NFMS. Lao PDR is further ahead in the 
development of its national REDD+ strategy with a draft available for public viewing likely 
to emerge in early 2018, while this will likely emerge in late 2018 for Myanmar. Both will submit 
FRELs to the UNFCCC for technical assessment in early 2018, while the development of their 
NFMSs will continue throughout 2018. Thailand on the other hand is at a much earlier stage 
and is only expected to begin its REDD+ Readiness process in earnest in 2018.  

As for EU FLEGT, progress towards establishing VPAs with the EU are similarly at various 
stages of development. Vietnam leads the way here again and is the furthest ahead with 
VPA negotiations complete and currently moving towards ratification and 
implementation. Laos and Thailand have only just begun the VPA negotiating process, 
while in Myanmar and Cambodia this is yet to begin. Myanmar is actively seeking to put in 
place the relevant institutions and is engaging in a stakeholder consultation process to 
prepare discussions in anticipation of the FLEGT process. Cambodia, however, is in its 
infancy with regards to engaging with the FLEGT process. 

 
 
 
 
10 References 

ESA European Space Agency. 2016. Climate Change Initiative Land Cover project (CCI-
LC). https://www.esa-landcover-cci.org/ 

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Langner A, Miettinen J, Kukkonen M, Vancutsem C, Simonetti D, Vieilledent G, 
Verhegghen A, Gallego J, Stibig H-J. 2018. Towards Operational Monitoring of Forest 
Canopy Disturbance in Evergreen Rain Forests: A Test Case in Continental Southeast Asia. 
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Stibig, H.-J., Achard, F., Carboni, S., Raši, R., & Miettinen, J. 2014. Change in tropical forest 
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CAMBODIA 

RGC Royal Government of Cambodia. 2017. Forest Investment Program. Forest 
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RGC Royal Government of Cambodia. 2016a. Initial Forest Reference Level for Cambodia 
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RGC Royal Government of Cambodia. 2016b. National REDD+ Strategy. 

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RGC Royal Government of Cambodia. 2011. Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) 
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RGC Royal Government of Cambodia. 2010. National Forest Programme 2010-2030. 

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GoL Government of Laos. 2018. Lao PDR’s Forest Reference Emission Level and Forest 
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Koch S. 2017. The struggle over Lao PDR’s forests: New opportunities for improved forest 
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Lestrelin G, Trockenbrodt M, Phanvilay K, Thongmanivong S, Vongvisouk T, Pham TT and 
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GoM Government of Myanmar. 2018a. Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) of 
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GoM Government of Myanmar. 2015. Forest (Emissions) Reference Level action plan for 
Myanmar. United Nations REDD Programme (UN-REDD) in Myanmar. 

GoM Government of Myanmar. 2013. Myanmar REDD+ Readiness Roadmap. United 
Nations REDD Programme (UN-REDD) in Myanmar. 

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THAILAND 

RTG Royal Thai Government. 2013. Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Readiness 
Preparation Proposal (R-PP) Thailand. 

Emmanoch W. 2015. USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) Drivers of 
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NEPCON. 2017. Timber Legality Risk Assessment – Thailand. 

RTG Royal Thai Government. 2010. Forest Management in Thailand. Royal Forest 
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RTG Royal Thai Government. 2009. Forestry in Thailand. Royal Forest Department. 

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SRV Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 2017. Implementation of National Forest Inventory and 
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SRV Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 2016. Vietnam’s Modified Submission on Reference Levels 
for  REDD+  Results  Based  Payments  under  UNFCCC.  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Rural 
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Tuan D A. 2015. USAID Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (USAID LEAF) Drivers of 
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Funded by the European Union 

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents 
are the sole responsibility of the consortium consisting of FCG International (Lead Partner) 
and Forest Carbon and kartECO (Partners) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 
European Union. 

doi:10.2760/58969 

ISBN: 978-92-79-79976-1