To produce charcoal in 2004 a total of 434,386 tons of wood, mainly hardwoods will be consumed. This is equivalent to 724,000 stere (cubic metres)
According to the report on "Woodfuel Flow Study of Phnom Penh, Cambodia" (FAO-RWEDP, 1998) the average yield of traditional charcoal kiln is around 15% or 150 kg of charcoal is obtained from 1 ton of wood.
Based on the information gathered from a number of charcoal producers, a charcoal kiln can produce 1 ton of charcoal over a 20 day production cycle. In one year, a charcoal kiln can produce 18 tons. So to fulfil the demand for 50,370 ton of charcoal, there are an estimated 2,798 traditional charcoal kilns in operation.
Almost all the wood for charcoal production is cut from hardwood forests with no strategy for replanting. For Cambodian forests to be preserved a pragmatic alternative to current illegal practices must be found.

Community Forestry (CF) is a strategy for sustainable forest management through the participation of rural people, in which the objectives and benefits to rural people central.
Throughout Cambodia several organisations have established community forests covering 55,000 hectares of forest.
In order to maximize the output of useful timber from the community forests, they require regular pruning, thinning and singling. Based on an experience obtained from a community forest in Tram Kak, one hectare of Acacia forest, yields 15 stere (cbm) of wood from first pruning, thinning and singling. This wood cannot be used for construction as it is too small in diameter. The only use it has is as fuelwood or for charcoal production.
If all 55,000 hectares of the community forest can contribute wood from pruning, thinning and singling, there will be around 825,000 stere of wood every five-years. With a proper management and rotation system the forests can yield 165,000 stere each year, or 13,750 stere each month for charcoal production.