Local action key to building people’s resilience to climate change

Friday, 02 September 2011

A Cambodia boy holds a carp fish as he stands near the bank of the Mekong River in Stung Treng province in northeastern Cambodia (UNDP/Arantxa Cedillo)

Nouv Nuan lost her crops in Kompong Thom province, in central Cambodia, after Typhoon Ketsana swept through in 2009. She remembers the storm that wiped out her family’s livelihood.

“Our wet season farming got flooded. It was as if we were drowning in a deep well, and we couldn’t swim or climb up,” she recalled.

With both droughts and severe flooding expected to be made worse in coming years as a result of climate change, Cambodia’s famers will increasingly be faced with situations like this. Relying heavily on natural rainfall and predictable growing seasons, the impacts of climate change have the potential to have devastating effects on the poorest Cambodians.

Proper management of water resources, agriculture, forestry and fisheries is key to building the ability of the rural communities in Cambodia to deal with the effects of climate change, according to the Cambodia Human Development Report 2011.

Planning and action at the local level of government will also be important to help the poor, in particular, to become resilient not only in responding to the impacts of climate change, but also in recovering from any natural disaster or economic crisis in the future, said the report entitled Building Resilience: The Future of Rural Livelihoods in the Face of Climate Change.

UNDP Cambodia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment, launched the report on August 30. The first comprehensive study of its kind in Cambodia, the report found that the country’s rural populations face high risks due to climate change as they strive to improve their livelihoods.

A participant took her note while listening to the presentation
(UNDP/Eng Sok)

Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, also Minister of Economy and Finance, in his remarks at the launch, said climate change is already a priority in the government’s development agenda but must now be deepened in policies and action plans in all sectors and levels of government.

“The priority should be on developing human resources and institutions, research, application of appropriate technology, and financial resources aimed at strengthening the capacity to effectively respond to climate change. This needs to be done particularly in the sectors that are the backbone of the national economy such as agriculture, water resources, fisheries, forestry, energy and physical infrastructure,” he said.

Shorter and more intense rainy seasons combined with longer and drier dry seasons are expected to significantly alter the country’s agricultural landscape. Predicted rises in temperature could have devastating effects on the rice crops on which many rural livelihoods rely, according to the report.

Its recommendations emphasise the need to address the structural dimensions of poverty and vulnerability rather than solely focusing on climate change adaptation. The report also argues for greater focus on four key areas:

Water resources: Management of water resources is essential to building resilient rural livelihoods. Water resources need to be managed through an integrated approach to balance water availability and water demand, so that access to water resources among different uses and users can be equitable and fair and economically efficient, but also to ensure that water use is sustainable, taking into consideration ecosystem requirements.
Agriculture: Climate change predictions suggest that temperatures will increase and seasons will shift, likely leading to crop losses and shifting planting schedules. Farmers will need to adapt to both these sets of vulnerability factors to create more resilient rural livelihoods.
Forest: Protecting forests – and thereby watersheds and land – can contribute to ecological protection, water resource management, sustainable land use and agriculture, and human health. REDD+ clearly has enormous potential for Cambodia. But for Cambodia to benefit from REDD+, it must put in place a system of monitoring, reporting and verification for both the international community and national stakeholders.
Fisheries: Dealing with climate change impacts on fisheries will require consideration of efforts at different scales. Most management effort is currently directed at community and commercial fishing lots. However, given the nature of the drivers of productivity and the dimensions of climate change, there will be a need to refocus fisheries management on management of broader landscapes and waterscapes.

“While climate change responses need to be well informed and based on the best available science, it is not possible or desirable to simply ‘predict and act’,” UNDP Cambodia Resident Representative Douglas Broderick said at the launch.

“Despite the significant degree of risk and uncertainty that climate change brings, there are measures that can be adopted that are ‘no regrets’. Such measures would provide benefits by addressing current development priorities, thus strengthening resilience, which will also respond to climate change impacts,” he added.

It is imperative that climate change efforts focus on the needs of the poor and the importance of actions at the local level to address those needs, said the report, noting that the current sub-national democratic development reform provides an opportunity for pulling together local planning and action to build people’s resilience.

Also speaking at the launch, H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Senior Minister and Minister of Environment, said participation by all actors – Government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, with the support of development partners – “can ensure the success of climate change response in Cambodia.”