Following the dynamics prevailing in other Asia-Pacific countries, Cambodia has experienced high rates of deforestation over the past decade at the hands of logging concessionaires. Despite international efforts to reform the concession system, the Kingdom’s forests have been severely degraded, and although there has been increasing interest in community forestry in recent years, the devolution of forest management to local communities is still in its early stages in Cambodia. This paper identifies significant obstacles to the successful development of community forestry. These include the absence of secured property rights for resources under common management and the depletion of social capital, the result of thirty years of violent conflicts. While there remain opportunities to grant local people control of forests, only degraded areas with little timber value have been allocated to community forestry. Community forestry in Cambodia requires more policy-making attention and more financial and technical resources if it is to make any significant contribution to biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation in Cambodia.