Cambodia Community Based Adaptation Programme

Purpose of Project

The purpose of the Cambodia Community Based Adaptation Programme (CCBAP) is to reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive capacity of the targeted communities to manage the additional risks of climate change. It aims to reduce the vulnerability of Cambodia’s agricultural sector to climate induced changes in water resources availability. It also aims to enhance the capacity of vulnerable communities in building resilience, mainstreaming climate change in commune development planning and documenting good practices of climate change adaptation.

Main Activities

The CCBAP has three main activities:

• Improve necessary capacity within non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and local communities to implement community adaptation measures;
• Mainstream adaptation to climate change at the commune level; and
• Document good practices and share lessons learned to influence changes of policy and programme development.

Key Results

• Climate change adaptation and resilience built in 150 vulnerable communities in flood/drought prone areas in the Tonle Sap region, and the southern and northeast regions of Cambodia;
• Sixty percent of the targeted communes are able to mainstream climatic information and Vulnerability Reduction Assessment (VRA) into the commune development plans; and
• Lessons learned with good practices well documented and shared to influence changes of policy and programme development.

Background

Having recognised the adverse impacts of climate change on socio-economic development, environment and livelihoods in Cambodia, the Royal Government adopted the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPA) to Climate Change in 2006. The ministry of environment developed the NAPA with support from the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change as Cambodia is known to be among the most vulnerable countries to climate change due to its low capacity to adapt. The NAPA identifies priority interventions designed to address the urgent needs for adaptation in key sectors; primarily agriculture, water resources, the coastal zone and human health.

The NAPA outlines 39 adaptation projects, of which 20 focus on issues of water resources and agriculture. The projects were identified on the basis of gap and policy analysis, a field survey, consultations, expert reviews and an inter-ministerial review. They are aligned with Cambodia’s development objectives, which are outlined in the Rectangular Strategy for growth, employment, equity and efficiency (2004) and the National Strategic Development Plan (2009-2013).

Cambodia’s economy is largely agrarian, with three quarters of the total population living in rural areas and most of them engaged in rain-fed and subsistence agriculture, being normally one crop of rice per year. The impacts of climate change on Cambodia, a least developed country, in particular on agriculture and rice cultivation, are predicted to adversely affect food production and food security in rural areas. reduced agricultural production could lead to hunger and malnutrition, negatively affect Cambodia’s overall economic performance, and hinder the achievement of the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals.

By using a Vulnerability Reduction Assessment, the CCBAP is formulated through the participatory process. The project is designed to address the gaps suggested in NAPA, which mainly focuses on improving community capacity and enhancing community-based initiatives to cope with climate hazards. It also supports communities in most vulnerable provinces to adapt to climate variability in wider geographical areas identified as vulnerable to climate hazards.

The project is implemented by using UNDP/Global Environment Facility-Small Grants Programme mechanism to manage grants to support community based climate change adaptation projects, supported by Small Grants Programme National Steering Committee, consisting of key government officials from Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Royal University of Agriculture and non-governmental organisations.