Cambodia

Cambodia’s National Environment Strategy and Action Plan, 2016–2023 (NESAP) aims to ensure that environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management are pillars of the country’s socioeconomic development.

The 23rd Annual Meeting of the GMS Working Group on Environment reviewed Core Environment Program achievements and challenges during 2016 and discuss progress and priorities for CEP Phase III planning.

This workshop brought together environment and other GMS officials with international experts to explore green growth opportunities in the subregion.

Topics included:

• Green Growth Opportunities in the GMS: Setting the Context
• Environmental Technological Innovation
• Promoting a Transition Toward a Green Economy
• Financial Innovation

The ...

Land use is constantly changing in the Greater Mekong Subregion. At the same time, land use planning processes are often poorly informed, risking decisions that may lead to social and environmental costs that outweigh intended benefits.

Rural communities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In 2008, tropical cyclone Nargis killed 84,500 people and impacted the livelihoods of 2.4 million people. In 2011, large-scale floods in Thailand affected 14 million people and caused $45.7 billion in damages.

The third and final workshop in CEP’s training module on integrating climate change adaptation into local planning focused on identifying and implementing adaptation options.

Information on how future development may unfold is essential for land use change modeling.

Key stakeholders overseeing Cambodia’s National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) met to review the latest draft in preparation for its submittal to the government for approval.

Senior environment and forestry officials from Yunnan and Guangxi met with representatives from the other five GMS countries to exchange experiences and lessons from biodiversity conservation work in transboundary landscapes.

This training workshop was the second in a series of three that aim to build the capacity of government planners in the GMS to work with communities to integrate climate change adaptation into local level development planning.

Government officials from Cambodia and Thailand met to look at ways to increase biodiversity conservation cooperation in border areas of the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains landscape.

A draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was tabled for discussion, outlinin...

Government officials from Thailand and Cambodia visited the Eastern Forest Complex to exchange experience on biodiversity conservation and to identify opportunities for collaboration in the Cardamon and Elephant Mountains landscape that straddles both countries. 

Specific objectives of the field visit were to:

• Discuss the establishment of a multi-sector policy and technical working group to plan and manage the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains TBL and collaboration mechanisms between relevant provinces in the two countries.
• To assess and identify the potential of a TBL management strategy, establishing biodiversity corridors, and to source investment opportunit...

Following up on similar trainings delivered in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville in late 2015, this 3-day workshop trained 48 provincial authorities on how to commission, design, review, and report on EIA documents.

Truck drivers from over 100 freight companies in Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam have undergone eco-driving training as the Green Freight Initiative tests ways to lessen the environmental impacts of freight transport in the GMS.

The aim of this national workshop is to present and gather feedback on the first draft of Cambodia's National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP).

Government officials, international experts, and private representatives from Southeast Asian countries met in Bangkok for two days to develop a regional agenda to scale up ‘green freight’ in the region.

Since 2005, responsibility for dealing with the environmental review of projects less than $2million has been delegated to Cambodia’s Provincial offices.

Provincial authorities will have a key role in implementing policies and programs that stem from Cambodia's National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP). This 2nd consultation workshop bought together government officials from the country's n...

Although Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been a legal requirement in Cambodia since 1999, many poorly planned investment projects continue to have major environmental and social consequences.

Provincial authorities will have a key role in implementing policies and programs that stem from Cambodia's National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP).

At this meeting, the Inter-Ministerial Task Force will review and comment on key draft chapters of Cambodia's National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP).

The objective of the second meeting of the National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan Inter-ministerial Task Force  was to present, discuss and obtain comments on draft Chapter One of the NESAP (Brief Introduction) and Chapter Two (State of Environment).

This workshop brought together more than fifty international experts and government staff to review current PES initiatives in Cambodia and identify implementation lessons and experience as well as enabling policy conditions.

The aims of the National Environment Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) Inception Workshop are to inform, and generate collaboration, participation and consensus among stakeholders in the formulation process of the NESAP. 

In late 2017, with lead support from the GMS Core Environment Program, Cambodia launched its new roadmap for sustainable development, the National Environment Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP).

Increasing Investments in Natural Capital in the Greater Mekong Subregion

The Natural Capital Dialogue brought together senior GMS government officials, international experts and a wide range of stakeholders to discuss the significance of natural capital in the context of inclusive and sustainable development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Occurring ahead of the 4^th GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting (EMM4), the Natural Capital Dialogue presented an important opportunity to draw public and business sector attention to the need to increase investments in the Subregion’s natural capital.

Theme: Investing in Natural Capital is Investing in Youth

Overview

As emphasized in the Future We Want outcome document from Rio+20, youth are “custodians of the future” and have an essential role in helping achieve sustainable development. If engaged and empowered, GMS youth have the potential to drive the changes needed to ensure a sustainable future for their own and future generations. 

Every three years, environment ministers from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries gather to take stock of environment challenges and opportunities, and set the direction for regional responses under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program.

Theme: Designing mechanisms and building partnerships for the strategic planning and management of transboundary and other biodiversity landscapes

Overview

Biodiversity landscapes constitute a large proportion of the natural capital remaining in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). They are a rich repository of globally important biodiversity, including many endemic and endangered species, and provide vital ecosystem services. This wealth of natural capital underpins the subregion’s security in terms of energy, food, and water. Seven of these landscapes cut across international borders. These transboundary biodiversity landscapes (TBLs), which are the focus of the GMS Core Environment Program, lie in juxtaposition to the GMS economic corridors, providing both challenges and opportunities for their effective management and conservation.

Theme: Investing in Natural Capital: Public Private Cooperation for Future Prosperity in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Overview

The Fourth GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting emphasized the need to strengthen collaboration between governments, development partners, business sector, and civil society in order to find ways to maintain and enhance the region’s natural capital stocks. A key step was the need to strengthen collaboration and coordination between businesses, government, and/or civil society in ways that are demonstrably good for business, local livelihoods and for the protection and enhancement of the subregion’s natural capital. In this context the Natural Capital Business Forum engaged the businesses in their capacity as a beneficiary of public sector investments as well as the investors in economic activities associated with natural capital.

In recent years, there has been increased global recognition about the important socioeconomic contribution of ecosystem services for rural livelihoods and broader society. This has helped drive countries to make greater efforts to more sustainably manage their natural capital – forest, land, and water resources and related ecosystem services. 

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is increasingly used by GMS countries to assess the environmental and social consequences of policies, plans and programs to achieve more sustainable development outcomes.

Transboundary biodiversity landscapes in the GMS are rich in natural capital, but are increasingly under threat from development and climate change pressures, leading to environmental degradation and more vulnerable local communities.

Growing demand for energy goes hand-in-hand with rapid economic development. Since 2005, GDP per capita in the GMS has increased 260% while electricity consumption has nearly doubled. As their economies continue to rapidly grow, all six countries need to utilize additional energy resources to meet increasing domestic demand.  In addition, Lao PDR and Myanmar view energy exports as a major economic opportunity. 

Development planning in the GMS is often fragmented, with ministries and sectors lacking the capacity, tools, or incentives to work together to meet sustainable development goals. When competing for the same natural resources, implementing one sector plan is often to the detriment of another. As a result, resource allocation can become inefficient, costly, and ultimately unsustainable.

The industrial sectors of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar are rapidly growing and are helping drive economic development. For example, in Lao PDR, industry has doubled its proportion of national Gross Domestic Product during the past decade (12% to 25%). While the expansion of pulp industries including paper mills, cement factories, food processing and garment manufacturing, are providing new jobs and economic benefits, there are increasing concerns over industrial pollution, particularly on water and land quality.

ADB’s Sanath Ranawana (and CEP project officer) was a panelist at the Forests Asia Summit on May 6 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the ‘Investing in Landscapes for Green Returns’ panel, he discussed the role of public financing to support environmentally friendly private sector investments in Asia’s landscapes (3:35–13:25).

This book is first in a series of a three-volume publication on the environments of the poor, and contains selected papers on Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific from a conference organized in 2...

This animation describes the work of CEP in securing natural capital in the GMS.

Overview

This training is a five-day intensive program designed to enhance understanding of energy and transport practitioners on issues and challenges which arise from climate change. It is a collaborative learning program in partnership with GMS Phnom Penh Plan (PPP) for Development Management.

This animation describes the work of CEP in securing natural capital in the GMS.

This is Cambodia’s second Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) Report, covering 2006–2010 and following the first EPA report which covered 2003–2006. This report presents an ove...

This three-day conference held in Chiang Rai was organized by the Asia-Pacific Adaptation Network to facilitate discussion and share lessons about climate change adaptation, resilience and urban biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

ADB  SPEECH- 4 December 2013

Welcome remarks by ADB President Takehiko Nakao at the Second Asian Judges Symposium on Environment:
Natural Capital and the Rule of Law held in Manila, Philippines on 2 December 2013

An Asian Judges Network on Environment was officially launched at the Second Asian Judges Symposium on Environment to be held in Manila, 2 to 5 December.

This animation produced by the James Hutton Institute explains why Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are attracting increasing interest as policy mechanisms to improve conservation and achieve sustainable development outcomes. PES initiatives aim to reach mutually beneficial agreements between providers and users of ecosystem services, entailing a reward mechanism for ecosystem managers for maintaining or improving the provision of the services valued by beneficiaries.

Chief justices from the region met last week to explore legal responses to pressing environment issues such as cross border threats from climate change, pollution, deforestation and the illegal trade in wildlife and timber.

This ADB book provides an energy outlook for the region up to the year 2035 to help identify policy, social, infrastructure, and technology issues that must be addressed to meet future energy needs of ...

The ADB annual Asian Development Outlook, generally launched in April, presents an analysis of developing Asia’s recent economic performance plus its prospects for the next 2 years. This Update s...

Rural households and communities in the GMS employ a wide range of strategies to minimize the impact of climatic shocks. These include crop and labor diversification, personal savings, investments in semi-liquid assets such as livestock, and informal risk pooling arrangements among peers.

The freight and logistics sector in the GMS plays a pivotal role in supporting the expansion of trade, and in turn, economic growth. A 2010 Core Environment Program study of the GMS East-West Economic Corridor – connecting Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam - found that promoting green freight through improved logistics management and fuel efficiency measures could reduce GHG emissions and lower freight company fuel costs.

This ADB report examines prospects for ADB to ramp up efforts in the region for greater utilization of demand-side energy efficiency, the most cost-effective source of energy supply. The report further...

This brochure overviews the Core Environment Program; covering the development context, history of the program, areas of work and some major program results. Please find the brochure in Burmese, Chines...

One of the major successes of CEP Phase I was the scaling up of its biodiversity conservation corridor pilot work.  In 2011, ADB approved grants and loans worth $69 million for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam under a new project to further engage local communities in the sustainable management of important biodiversity landscapes.  

Rural communities in the GMS are particularly vulnerable to climate change. While there is considerable indigenous knowledge within communities on managing climate-related risks, understanding how a community’s vulnerability profile will change from climate and non-climate risks is essential for empowering local people to develop strategies for a climate-resilient future.

From the mid-1990s to 2006, following years of conflict, tourist numbers in Cambodia grew at around 20% per year and in 2006, generated $1.5 billion in revenues.

This biodiversity conservation corridor pilot area connects four protected areas in Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Covering 50,000 hectares, the area is rich in forest resources, and is also home to many regionally threatened mammals and birds.

This biodiversity conservation corridor pilot site in the southwest of Cambodia covers 936,522 hectares in three provinces. The area is rich in forest resources, and is also home to many regionally threatened mammals and birds.

A report documenting the achievements of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) from 2006-2011. It includes impacts and lessons learned, coverage of the eight pilot sites in Cambodia,...

Representatives of Cambodia, PRC, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam met to discuss and decide on the continuing collaboration on the most important resource that countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) share -  the environment.

This publication illustrates how climate change activities are being integrated across CEP programs. A case study of Peam Krasaob Province, Cambodia, demonstrates how vulnerability and adaptation capac...

Produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from CEP, Cambodia's outlook paper outlines changes in administration of forests, government efforts to gain c...

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) that examines the status and trends in Cambodia’s tourism sector, including: key tourism policies; plans and programs; monitoring tools; stakeholder par...

The forest of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) nurture a remarkable biodiversity and provide resources vital to human welfare and the region's economic prosperity. But these same forests are fragmenting and disappearing under pressure from rapid economic development, land conversion, and overuse.

Conserving our Natural Heritage introduces the GMS Core Environment program, a joint action plan by Mekong countries to improve environmental management and promote sustainable development across the region.

A 2007 status report on six pilot sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) implemented by the Core Environment Program (CEP). The report covers background information on each o...

A report on the first environmental performance assessment (EPA) conducted in Cambodia.  The assessment covers six environmental concerns: forest resources, threats to biodiversity, management of ...