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We compared the wood density and water content of various tree species in lowland dipterocarp rainforest in Sarawak and dry dipterocarp forest in Cambodia. We collected wood core samples of 134 species from Lambir National Park, Sarawak and those of 44 species from Kratie Province, Cambodia. Sarawak (0.64 g cm-3) and Cambodia (0.64 g cm-3) did not differ in average wood density. In contrast, wood water content in Cambodia (0.42 g cm-3) showed significantly larger values than that in Sarawak (0.35 g cm-3). There was a negative correlation between wood density and water content in Cambodian trees, while the relation was not significant for Sarawak trees. The higher water content in Cambodian trees may indicate the greater importance of stem water storage under the drier environment in dry dipterocarp forest than in lowland dipterocarp rainforest.

Influential stakeholders have highlighted many constraints inherent in conventional scientific forest management plans for community forestry (CF) and presented simpler alternatives. Nevertheless, some developing countries continue to use rigid, complex and high-cost plans and regulations. This article considers two issues: (1) why heavily-regulated or rigid CF systems were originally introduced and why they continue to be used in developing countries despite critiques and counterproposals; and (2) under what circumstances will such CF systems face an impasse, and what can be done to resolve the situation. Using Cambodia as a case study, we examine the development of a rigid CF system, review negative factors influencing the upland forested area, clarify the unfavorable situations arising from these factors and discuss likely problems associated with the CF management system. International organizations played a key role in the introduction and maintenance of rigid, complex and high-cost CF systems in Cambodia. Conflicts and crises arise when the administration prosecutes local farmers for illegal cultivation or deprives communities of CF management rights because of the expansion of commercial crop cultivation and the lack of adequate community management in response to unprecedented changes. A likely practical solution to the probable impasse is the development and funding of a functional network of CF management committees, rather than the adoption of an entirely new, alternative system.