Controversial carbon credit project in Cambodia resumes. September 14, 2024

Ana Cunha-Busch
Sep 13, 2024
2 min read

The Southern Cardamom project aims to protect more than 450,000 hectares of rainforest © TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP/File.

By AFP- Agence France Presse

Controversial carbon credit project in Cambodia resumes.

Phnom Penh (AFP) - A carbon credit scheme in Cambodia, suspended after allegations of rights abuses, has been reinstated after more than a year of review, a verification body said.

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ project was suspended after a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report alleged forced evictions and harassment of villagers living near the forest protected by the scheme.

The project of more than 450,000 hectares generated carbon credits - bought by companies to offset emissions - by protecting forests that, according to HRW, would otherwise have been cut down.

But HRW and residents said that forest rangers and employees of the Wildlife Alliance (WA) group, which oversees the project, destroyed plantations, dismantled houses, and set fire to rice.

Locals also complained that the protected area was poorly delineated and that they were not properly consulted about the project.

However, Verra, the world's leading certifier of carbon credits, said on Tuesday that WA had already taken “sufficient measures” to deal with the allegations.

This included an improved human rights policy and training, better consultation processes with locals, and a revised complaints mechanism.

The measures “address the harm alleged, mitigate the risk of future harm and continuously improve the Project,” Verra said, without addressing whether HRW's allegations had been substantiated.

In a statement, WA said the review found “no non-compliance” with Verra's standards and that the withholding has forced it to operate with “dwindling reserves”.

“The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project - and everything it has achieved - is under threat,” said the NGO.

But Luciana Tellez Chavez, lead author of HRW's original report on the project, said Verra's analysis was woefully inadequate.

“Verra did not interview a single victim of this project,” said Tellez Chavez, senior environment and human rights researcher at HRW.

“Their report has no independent conclusions: it simply reaffirms the Wildlife Alliance's claims that they don't think they did anything wrong,” she told AFP.

'Still a concern'

The project is located in the Cardamom Mountains region, a lush rainforest habitat that is home to dozens of endangered species.

It is also the planned site for the reintroduction of tigers, currently extinct in Cambodia.

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, and carbon credit projects have been presented as a way of compensating local communities for protecting tropical forests.

However, the sector has been rocked by repeated scandals, including exaggerated claims about avoided emissions.

The projects also often come into conflict with local communities, who find themselves deprived of land previously available for farming or religious rituals.

A community representative from Chhay Areng village in the South Cardamom region told AFP on Wednesday that “the carbon scheme remains a concern for us”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, he said villagers were still being detained for farming on local land, blaming the lack of clear boundaries.

“We are worried that our access to forests will be more restricted,” he said.