Economic Valuation of Forest Carbon Storage and REDD+ Readiness: Insights from Virachey National Park, Cambodia

Forest conservation has emerged as a key strategy to achieve global climate goals, yet many forest-rich countries remain underfunded. Cambodia, despite its extensive forest cover and high deforestation rates, accesses only a small portion of climate finance to support national mitigation efforts. Developing countries such as Cambodia access only a small share of the substantial annual for national climate actions. The United Nations program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is a suitable mechanism for forested nations like Cambodia, providing carbon credits for reducing the net greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation. This study identifies potential carbon storage forest hotspots within Virachey National Park, a significant protected area in Cambodia, and assesses their economic value. Using the SERVIR Mekong Regional Land Cover data set from 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, the study investigated land cover changes and estimated carbon storage across two carbon pools (above-ground biomass and below-ground biomass) based on default data from Cambodia's forest reference level that Cambodia submitted to the UNFCCC. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-Offs model (v.3.11.0) was used to quantify and map the carbon storage. The study also conducted a stakeholder analysis to identify the current stakeholders who engaged in forest and biodiversity management, monitoring and tracking systems, and social development. The study found that Virachey National Park holds a high potential carbon storage, estimated at approximately 28,426,221 tons of carbon (tC) from forest cover. Focusing on the most significant carbon storage hotspots, the net present value ranges from US$ 36 million, at a carbon price of US$ 6.5 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to US$ 368 million (with a carbon price of US$ 61.30 per tCO2e from the European Union carbon market) over a 20-year period, indicating that REDD+ project development is a viable investment opportunity. A stakeholder analysis also revealed a strong willingness among local communities to participate in a REDD+ project if carbon financing is secured. These findings highlight the park's critical role in climate change mitigation and the urgent need for innovative carbon finance interventions to protect its forests and biodiversity.