Cambodia

The donor-driven policy narratives of ‘triple wins’ — synonymous with catchphrases like ‘climate compatible development’ and ‘low-carbon climate resilient development’ — that emphasise the possibilities of simultaneously producing adaptation, mitigation and development benefits have had a clear buy-in in Cambodia. But while international and national actors seem to agree that Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, the underlying causes…

The good news is that the dramatic increase in tourism has not destabilized the historic structures of Angkor Wat. The bad news is that seasonal variations in groundwater levels still pose a significant threat. These findings by Cambodian and Chinese scientists have been published in Science Advances. Built in the 12th century in the capital of the Khmer empire, the Angkor Wat temple complex in…

Cambodia asked for cooperation with IRRI on rice planting and new climate-resilient varieties that are suitable to withstand conditions in Cambodia, said Hean Vanhan, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry’s general directorate of agriculture. “We asked IRRI to conduct research on rice-seed varieties that suit climate patterns here in Cambodia and to meet current market demand,” Mr. Vanhan said. “We asked them for more assistance by…

For Cambodia, the El Niño that began in 2015 hit hard, causing a two-year drought that jeopardised the health, food security and finances of millions of people. According to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), some 2.5 million people across 18 provinces were severely impacted by May of last year, and the province among the hardest hit was Banteay Meanchey, in the northwest of…

Ringed by Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, Cambodia was once covered in lush rainforests. In them lived now-Endangered animals like Indochinese tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti), wild cattle called banteng (Bos javanicus), and two species of colorful monkeys called doucs, as well as many other kinds of plants and animals. However, forest conversion for agriculture and other purposes has reduced wildlife habitat significantly, and tigers are…

        On 03 November 2016, Mr. Bin Chhom, Vice Director of University of Battambang was invited to open a workshop on “Awareness Raising Workshop on Climate Change in Cambodia” under the presence of His Excellency Choup Paris, Deputy General Secretary of the National Council for Sustainable Development. The aim of this workshop was to share knowledge and raise awareness to students and…

The workshop was run by the United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR) and the training arm of the Ministry of Economy and Finance as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA). It aims to provide government officials with the tools to estimate and justify additional spending on potential investments that will work…

Looking at both moderate and extreme economic and climate change scenarios, they found that it is not a matter of whether rice prices will go up in coming years, but by how much. In the worst-case scenario, the authors predict that by 2030, rice prices will have increased by as much as 1.52 million riel ($370) per tonne – or 88 per cent above the…

In his welcoming address to the 61 members of the Council, H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment and NCSC Chair, noted that the institutional reform has led to the establishment of the NCSD in May 2015 as a policy making body, which is a significant step to promote sustainable development, ensuring economic, environmental, social and cultural balance of the nation. He further highlighted that immediate…

A joint working group between Cambodia and Russia held its first meeting in Phnom Penh to explore the possibilities of using “atomic energy for peaceful purposes,” said the statement, quoting Minister of Environment Say Samal. According to the statement, the Russian ambassador to Cambodia, Dmitry Tsvetkov, and representatives of the Russian corporation Rosatom were also present at the meeting. In June, memorandums of…

The Kingdom returned one of the lowest Environmental Performance Index (EPI) scores in the region, narrowly edging ahead of Myanmar and Laos. The 2016 EPI pointed to widespread logging as a key cause for Cambodia’s disappointing result, citing the government’s move to convert protected zones into economic land concessions for plantations and large-scale agriculture projects. “Cambodia has consistently witnessed some of the greatest annual…

The study, conducted by University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society, found that the top 20 emitters, including China, Australia and the US are “free riders” – enjoying polluting industries’ contribution to their GDPs, but suffering low climate impacts relative to the size of their economy. Meanwhile, countries that don’t produce much greenhouse gases are choking on the emissions. According to the study…

Rising temperatures lately and drought have shrunk the size of the lake, and the size of the catch. This means less fish to live on, or more danger in seeking out the fish that have fled deep inside the massive lake, which sit in the center of the country and is a major source of food for millions of people. Ker Chhorn, a 46-year-old…

In an email sent just before the treaty was adopted, government delegate Sum Thy wrote that “we can see that some key national positions Cambodia have proposed have been included”, naming the much sought-after loss and damage funds and $100 billion in annual climate financing by 2020 with preferential access for poorer countries. However, Thy also noted “there is no commitment in terms of…

The “Together for Climate” event held at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center was co-organized by the Cambodia Climate Change Network (CCCN), a coalition of conservation groups, and a few other organizations. “There is no doubt that Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries” to climate change, CCCN chairman Tep Boonny said in a speech at the event. “Climate disruption would have dreadful consequences for…

What’s more, the heat wave is expected to dramatically shorten the already-brief period of mercifully lower temperatures typically experienced in the coming months. A statement from the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology released yesterday said that Cambodia would experience a “dry and hot” climate from December 2015 to May 2016, particularly in April and May, when maximum temperatures will reach up to 41…

First, the nature of adaptation projects is to teach people to flexibly deal with the impact of climate change, a task that requires sustained effort over a long period of time. Second, adaptation projects, just like other climate-change projects, are mostly donor funded over a limited timeframe. What will happen after funding ends is, therefore, critical. In Cambodia, adaptation projects account for 70 percent…