Consultant Announcement: Industry strategic analysis – Plantation Forestry and Wood Processing towards climate adaptation and biodiversity

SNV is a global development partner rooted in the African and Asian countries where we operate. With 60 years of experience and a team of approximately 1,600 people, it is our mission to strengthen capacities and catalyse partnerships that transform the agri-food, energy, and water systems to enable sustainable and more equitable lives for all.

Background and objectives of assignment

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) supports private sector investment in climate adaptation and mitigation, with a focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Through its Origination Facility (OF), SNV identifies and supports high-impact businesses with technical assistance and catalytic grants. In Cambodia, DFCD’s priority themes include Agriculture, Forestry, Environmental Protection, and Water and Sanitation.

Within this framework, DFCD has already identified promising opportunities in soil health, agroforestry practices, solar irrigation, and regenerative agriculture. Building on lessons from neighboring countries such as Vietnam, where forestry value chains have evolved from fast growing timber plantations to processing and export of finished products, SNV is keen to explore how Cambodia can harness similar opportunities to replace dependence on illegal logging and natural forests for its timber supplies.

Cambodia is endowed with diverse forest ecosystems—evergreen, deciduous, mixed, coniferous, flooded, and mangrove forests—which are vital for biodiversity conservation, water regulation, and rural livelihoods. Approximately 40 percent of the country’s land area is designated as protected, underscoring the government’s recognition of forests as a strategic natural asset. The forestry subsector has previously contributed notably to the national economy, accounting for about 5.7 percent of GDP in 2012 and 5.5 percent in 2013. However, its share has since declined due to deforestation, land-use changes, often caused by an expanding agricultural and industrial base. More recently, forestry dynamics have shifted toward private plantations, community forestry initiatives, and wood processing for domestic consumption and export markets, making the sector both a potential driver of rural development and incomes, and a key arena for Cambodia’s climate and biodiversity commitments. Plantation forestry with fast growing species can provide the source of raw materials to a forest industry. It can also provide economic value to deforested and degraded lands and act as a buffer to protect natural forests. In Vietnam about 80% of fast-growing timber plantations are smallholder owned and provide an interesting income to these families. Additionally, these forests are less prone to climate impacts such as droughts which can affect yearly or perennial fruit/nut crops and hence are increasing rural household resilience to climate change.

Within the forestry and climate finance context, Cambodia’s NDC 3.0 targets up to 55% GHG reduction by 2035, with Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) as a priority sector. The government aims to halve deforestation by 2030 through REDD+ and sustainable land use, expand forest cover, and scale up agroforestry. By 2035, goals include 80% sustainable wood sourcing, 600,000 ha of plantations, 220,000 ha restoration, and 2 million ha under Community Forestry management. The forestry sector generated USD 12 million in carbon credits (2016–2020) and remains a key channel for climate finance. A national nested REDD+ framework with a robust carbon registry is critical to ensure integrity and avoid double counting.

Against this backdrop, SNV seeks to commission a strategic industry analysis of Cambodia’s plantation forestry sector. The purpose of this assignment is to generate a clear, evidence-based understanding of strategic opportunities for private investment in forestry plantations and wood processing including potential of smallholder plantations. This will inform DFCD’s support to private sector engagement and shape catalytic investment opportunities going forward.

Expected activities

The strategic review is expected to be completed within four (4) months of contract signing.

The consultant will begin with an inception phase, preparing a detailed work plan that specifies methodology, milestones, and deliverables. Progress updates will be shared regularly with the SNV DFCD team to ensure alignment and provide space for strategic steering.

• Desk review of trade, industry and market data to produce overview of regional tropical plantation forestry and processing industry and national overview on Cambodia’s plantation forestry sector.
• Stakeholder interviews or consultations with actors in the forestry sector such as government agencies, private companies, financial institutions, impact investors, and civil society actors to identify learning points and value chain linkages and investor support (these stakeholders may be in Cambodia or regional countries such as Vietnam and Singapore).
• Technical, financial and economic assessment of existing and potential forestry plantation business models in Cambodia.
•  Analysis of opportunities to replicate successful business models from neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, competitiveness analysis, investment analysis –for forest plantations, primary processing plants and potential carbon credit generation; the opportunity analysis includes potential pipelines to suggest for DFCD origination support.
• Market assessment to quantify domestic and export opportunities, benchmark against regional peers, and identify high-potential product/value chains.
• Synthesis of findings into actionable proposal recommendations for SNV DFCD future phase, highlighting pathways to de-risk investment and mobilize private capital in the forestry sector, and for a potential SNV forestry project proposal(s).

• Education and areas of expertise of the proposed team covers critical skills, including Business Analysis, Forestry, Policy.
• Proven experience of Forestry Industry analysis. Knowledge of the Vietnamese forestry sector and the potential of carbon credits in forestry business models is essential.
• Proven experience in integrating climate change and economic analysis. Ability to formulate clear actionable recommendations to the financial sector and public institutions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, Vietnamese and Khmer. (final output to e delivered in English).
• A combination of a Cambodian and International Expert is preferred.

Interested consultant firm or consultant team (International and national) must submit a technical and financial proposal by 02 November 2025 to SNV via SNV SmartRecruiters.

The financial proposal must include DSA, Travel, materials in the package. The proposed table of content is in Annex 1.

Terms of Reference (ToR) could be found through Bongthom Job ID: 37007

For further information, please reach out to Ms. Sola Heng at hengsola@snv.org.