Cambodian forest appears to be at a cross-roads between accelerating and uncontrollable degradation and the initial ion of sustainable management. Logging, mostly illegal. continues at the rate of approximately 1.5 million m3/year: harvesting takes place without regard to environmental standards. The demands on the forest resource base that result in this accelerating drain are similar in many respects to other developing countries, but have some special aspects. As in many developing countries deforestation is the most notable land use change and is both rapid and accelerating: it is due in some part to agricultural expansion and shifting cultivation. Unlike many developing countries, however, the impact on forests of policies and government investments outside of the agriculture and forestry sectors, such as infrastructure and energy policies, is limited. A few major investment projects, such as dams and highways, have or appear likely to have significant impact on the resource base. Eearlier and proposed industrial harvesting, both legal and illegal, however, appears to be a much more important source of pressure on the forest than in most other countries. Consequently, the importance of Cambodian forestry sector policy is even more than in many other developing countries.
