Reducing the use of luxury furniture and rare woods can help protect the environment and conserve Cambodia’s forests, as it’s often said. But many people are not focused on using recycled furniture products, raw materials or artificial wood, possibly due to the lack of encouragement and awareness.
Along Sothearos Street in Phnom Penh, one will find shops selling a wide range of luxury and affordable furniture, home furnishings and accessories. A few other locations in the capital also engage in the business of selling and manufacturing home decoration and furniture.
Among them is Chhon Dara, 58, owner of a rattan furniture and home decor store, who has been in the business for about 10 years. Dara does not sell luxury wood or rare wood furniture as he wants to preserve the forest and environment.
He also wants to promote local handicrafts and provide job opportunities for communities who know how to make furniture.
Dara said the family business is not very lucrative, but because of their passion and drive to compel Cambodians to consider recycled furniture, they continue to sell both local and imported abroad.
“In short, we want to gain more support, but Cambodians don’t pay much attention to it as most want imported and modern products,” he said, adding that their furniture is made of ordinary wood. “This is wood that is thrown away but we recycle it. It is not connected to deforestation.”
As a small business owner, Dara wants people to support Cambodian products as it provides jobs to local people.
“Everyone depends on the environment to survive. So, when trees are cut [to build furniture] I don’t like it. That is why I sell furniture made from recycled wood. We should not be involved in the destruction [of natural resources].”
Another benefit of using recycled wood furniture is due to the challenges faced by communities, who collect non-timber forest products such as rattan. They are detained by the authorities and at times required to pay money to the forest guard.
As a result, some of them lose their jobs and have no income to support the family, and cannot produce things from natural materials.
“It’s strange in Cambodia, I don’t know what to say. Some cut rattan and are arrested [by the authorities] while illegal loggers aren’t. It’s only rattan, which helps ordinary people make tables, cabinets and baskets, but now they have to pay 100,000 to 200,000 riel for the transport of the wood,” said Dara.
Recycled, yet long-lasting
Another furniture seller, Ou Chan Serey, said she sold home furnishings made from recycled wood or other non-luxury wood because she wants to promote rattan and recycled wood furniture, which is affordable, beautiful and easy to find.
Customers buy furniture based on their preference; it can either be modern furniture or recycle wood furniture.
“Recycled furniture is cheaper compared to modern furniture. For me, I like [recycled furniture], that is why I sell it at a reasonable price, and it also helps to protect our environment,” said Serey.
Thorn Thun, an environmentalist, highlighted the direct and indirect impact of luxury wood furniture. Animal habitat destruction and exploitation of protected lands, which are vital resources for indigenous people, are direct effects. This exploitation can adversely affect their finances since they depend on natural resources to sustain their livelihood.
“People rely on trees which can support them for around 20 years. When they are cut down, it’s like destroying their lives.”
Indirect effects involved the chopping of luxury trees. “Cutting trees isn’t the main reason for climate change, but it’s one of the reasons. When we lose trees, we also lose oxygen, which impacts the ozone layer.”
Thorn said furniture made from recycled wood is just as durable as luxury wood furniture. “At my university, the chairs and tables for teachers have been used for around 10 years with no damage, just a little wear and tear.”
When cost and conservation of natural resources are compared, recycled wood furniture makes for a better choice than luxury furniture. Using luxury furniture requires a lot of money and leads to the depletion of natural resources.
Recycled wood furniture is easy to maintain, portable, affordable, and available in various designs.
“The media should spread more information about the disadvantages of luxury furniture. If not, the preference for luxury wood will continue,” he added.
Where there’s demand, there’s supply
Kong Sopheap, 47, said she likes modern furniture made from recycled wood because it was more affordable and trendy compared to luxury furniture.
She opined that recycled wood furniture was of good quality and lasts longer with proper care, making it comparable to luxury furniture.
“I like modern furniture because it protects the environment. By using recycled wood, we avoid cutting down large trees, thus preserving them. The trees play a crucial role in protecting us from natural disasters like floods, typhoons and heavy rain,” Sopheab added.
Sombath, 43, living in Phnom Penh shared that she preferred furniture made from luxury wood, a material which has been used for furniture since “ancient times”. However, recently she noticed a trend of people using sofas made from mattresses.
“Luxury furniture is durable, never goes out of style, and always looks elegant. It was of high quality, which enhances the appearance of a home,” she said.
While expressing her “desire” to buy luxury furniture, Sombath said, “I love it and want to purchase it. I didn’t know that the government had restrictions on using luxury woods.”
“As long as sellers keep selling and buyers continue to buy, the product will be loved and purchased.”
Asked if she would continue buying luxury wood furniture if it affected the environment, Sombath said she would change her behavior if that was the case.
“If using this furniture made from luxury wood affects society, I can stop buying and stop this desire,” she added.
Khvay Atiya, spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, told CamboJA News that they have launched the Environmental Chakra Strategy (2023-2028) to protect, preserve and conserve natural resources in protected areas.
Directions and priorities for ensuring environmental sustainability and environmental integrity in response to climate change and promoting a green economy were included in the Pentagonal Strategy, where Cambodia aimed to be a “carbon-neutral country with 60% forest cover by 2050”.
“I would like to encourage Cambodians to reduce the use of furniture made from authentic forest wood to prevent forest crime, save the environment and live sustainably,” he said.
Atiya reiterated the call by Eang Sophalleth, Minister of Environment, to people to jointly protect and maintain biodiversity-protected areas better to ensure environmental quality and a safe ecosystem while living in harmony within the national and global framework.
‘Local law is clear’
Khim Finan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), told CamboJA News that everyone must work together to reduce the use of luxury wood furniture, which is endangered.
The protection and conservation of luxury wood contributed to the protection of declining genes in the natural forest.
“The ministry encourages consumers to use raw materials from local plantations, processed wood, legally-sourced wood and certified wood products that are environmentally friendly,” Finan said.
To reduce the use of luxury wood furniture, the MAFF has measured and implemented policies, such as exporting luxury wood with the declaration of tax and professional officers must check if it was non-timber forest products before export.
“The ministry encourages the use of alternative materials other than natural wood, such as wood chips, bamboo waste or other environmentally-friendly materials. It also raises awareness of the benefits [of these materials],” he added.
Chetra, a luxury wood furniture seller in Phnom Penh, told CamboJA News that he sells luxury wood furniture, such as Sorkrom, Thnong, beng, and Neang Nuon at his depot.
“The furniture is made of beng wood and Neang Noun wood, which are of good quality. We make tables, cabinets and beds. It lasts for a long time,” he said, adding that luxury wood furniture was made according to order, whether customers wanted thick or thin wood.
The luxury wood is from Preah Vihear province while Beng wood is imported, for example from Africa which comes via Vietnam to Cambodia.
Chetra said the sale of luxury wood furniture was “declining a lot”. There was not much market currently because people have turned to furniture made from processed wood which was affordable and “more fashionable”.
Customers use a lot of MFC (melamine-faced chipboard) or processed wood these days. “We don’t sell this type of wood furniture much as consumers say there are many new models, and processed wood is cheaper.”
Hoeun Sopheap, a member of the Prey Lang core group network in Kampong Thom province, said every tree is equally important and that the life of a tree, whether luxury or ordinary, is equally beneficial. The destruction of rosewood for furniture is an act of environmental degradation, and could particularly lead to the extinction of rosewood species.
“At this point, I understand that our local law is clear, and there is no distinction between individuals who use luxury wood or other wood, especially natural resources, without [following] the law. That is a no.”
Cutting trees to make handicrafts
In 2021, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Environment launched a joint campaign to change social attitudes on reducing demand for luxury wood furniture in domestic and international markets, leading to deforestation and loss of valuable tree species in Cambodia’s tropical forests.
During the implementation of the project, there were campaigns on social media produced by the ministry and partner organizations to raise awareness of the benefits of using luxury wood furniture. USAID Cambodia Green Future also conducted a public survey to reduce the demand for luxury wood furniture.
On July 5, 2024, the USAID celebrated the closing of the Cambodia Green Future Project, a five-year project under the auspices of the Youth to Promote Sustainable Operations in Cambodia. The aim was to reduce the demand for luxury wood furniture and wildlife meat, and stop the improper storage of garbage.
According to the guidelines for the establishment and registration of private forests in Cambodia, the government has set within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve 50% forest cover by 2030 to protect, restore and promote its use.
It also looks to establish sustainable forestry systems and management, combat degradation and erosion, raise soil quality, and conserve biodiversity resources, such as rare and commercially valuable timber.
At the same time, the National Forestry Program 2010-2029 has set priorities for multi-purpose tree planting to boost local supply, reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of rural people, especially to reduce the pressure on the use of timber.
More than 35,000 hectares of forest cover disappeared in 2022, albeit lower than in the past two years, with each exceeding 40,000 hectares.
The four worst affected areas were Botum Sakor National Park, the Central Cardamom Mountains National Park, Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary, Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary.
According to Global Forest Watch, in 2023, Cambodia lost 121,000 hectares of forest. The magnitude of the loss is equal to the area of Los Angeles in the United States.
Positive policies can encourage tree planting
Heng Kimhong, executive president of Cambodian Youth Network Association, said the chopping of luxury wood in protected forests and its trade in Cambodia is considered illegal owing to its scarcity. People should consider the importance of protection and conservation of environmental and resource management.
“I believe landowners should consider establishing luxury wood plantations to supply the market, rather than log in protected areas, which is illegal,” he said.
The government should effectively prevent the destruction of forests and check timber traders or exporters whether they process the wood or destroy the natural forest.
He said there should be more encouragement for the replanting of trees, especially those who have vacant land. They can start plantations to supply material for the making of recycled furniture.
“We should consider policies, tax breaks, marketing and incentives via funding in the first three to five years of operation, and other support for easy planting procedures,” he added.
In addition, establishing plantations help cultivate wood specifically for processing and use in daily life. It not only prevents the depletion of natural forests but also promotes the growth of forest cover and contributes to climate change mitigation. Plantation-grown wood is typically thin, easy to use, and recyclable, making it a sustainable resource.