Opportunities for Biomass Production in Cambodia

Donal Yeang

Faculty of Forest Science

University of Joensuu, Finland

Located in Southeast Asia, Cambodia covers an area of 181 035 square kilometers, with a

population of over 14 million (July 2008) of which about 85-90 percent lives in the rural

areas (Ministry of Rural Development 2006, Central Intelligence Agency 2008). More than

80 % of energy derives from biomass (De Lopez, 2003). Fuel wood is the major source of

energy for rural population and tile brick industries. According to De lopez, natural forests

are the main source of fuel wood in Cambodia that lead to severely degradation of forest for the

past twenty years. Currently, woody biomass also can be obtained from old rubber plantation

by harvesting the old rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) (Abe, 2007). In addition, the biomass

is not only the produce from woody plants but also the residues from agricultural crops such

as rice, sugar cane and maize (ReCambodia, n.d.).

Tree plantations would be highly suitable for supplying biomass fuel for rural mini-grid

electrification especially fast growing legumes such as Leucaena spp. and Gliricidia spp.,

farmers are able to harvest stems and branches one year after planting. There is about

111.3km2 of tree plantations of Acacia spp. and Eucalyptus spp but the purpose of these

plantations is generally production of wood chip materials for export (Abe, 2007).

Furthermore, there is currently about 2500km2 of grassland with scattered trees area in

Cambodia, a substantial proportion of which is abandoned lands and previously cleared

forest. Tree plantations for biomass production therefore have the great potential for

expansion, not only for rural electrification but also for main grid electricity supply (Abe,

2007). Recently, the government has introduced the Economic Land Concession scheme

which allows both domestic and foreign investors to gain access of state land especially

wasteland areas for forestry and agro-industrial plantation. As a result, several large scale

plantation of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) are being established for bioenergy production and

because Jatropha is a non food and non animal feeding crop, it has the advantage not to

compete with food production within the country.

In conclusion, Economic Land Concession scheme will provide the opportunities for both oil

seed plants and woody tree plantation for biomass production to be established under this

scheme. However, the low level of awareness in biomass production from tree plantation is

still limited for the policy maker, private sectors and society compare to oil seed plant from

Jatropha. The lack of bioenergy technology is also a major obstacle for the development of

biomass production in Cambodia.

References

1. Abe, H., Katayama, A., P.Sah, B., Toriu, T., Samy, S., Pheach, P., and et al. (2007) Potential for rural electrification based on biomass gasification in Cambodia. Journal of Biomass and Bioenergy 31: 656–664

2. Cambodia Energy Sector Strategy (Draft)

http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/cambodia/energy.pdf

3. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2008 .The World Factbook: Cambodia. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html

4. De Lopez, T. (2003) Assessing Cambodia ‘s potential for bioenery. Available at: http://www.camdev.org/Publications/Bioenergy%20-%20CRCD%20-%20TDL%20-%20December%202003.pdf

5. FAO (2007) Feasibility Study on Bio-Fuels for Food Security through Income Generation of Rural Poor in Cambodia Available at: http://www.foodsecurity.gov.kh/News_Events_Ann.aspx?IdNews=457&chk=News

6. Ministry of Rural Development. Information: Population of Cambodia. Available at: http://www.mrd.gov.kh/information/land_res.htm

7. ReCambodia (Cambodia Renewable Energy and Electrification) (n.d), ‘National Databases: Biomass’. Available online at http://www.recambodia.org/biomass.htm