The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has agreed to help Cambodia plant new high-yielding rice varieties that are also able to survive extreme climatic events.

Read more: Researchers seek new rice varieties

Last year’s drought caused a nationwide crisis, with harvests ruined, forest fires raging and many rural families struggling to feed themselves. As experts take stock of the impact, news of another potential El Niño raises a question: Is Cambodia prepared for the next drought?

Read more: The new normal: facing climate change

• Cambodia lost around 1.59 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2014, and just 3 percent remains covered in primary forest.
• This deforestation has led to the decline of wildlife habitat and the disappearance of tigers from the country – as well as the release of millions of tons of CO2.
• The NASA imagery shows the rapid development of rubber plantations over the past decade.
• Research attributes the jump in Cambodian deforestation rates primarily to changes in the global rubber price and an increase in concession deals between the government and plantation and timber companies.

Read more: NASA releases images of dramatic deforestation in Cambodia