Phnom Penh, Cambodia (26 January 2011)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (26 January 2011)
Cambodian Community Based Adaptation Program (CCBAP) was launched at a workshop on January 25, 2011, under the United Nations Development Programme UNDP’s Small Grants Program (SGP). The program has been funded for two years, from December 2010 to December 2012, and has a total budget of US$ 1.9 million. The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) provided US$1.6 million in funding to launch the program, and Aus-aid provided over US$ 260,000.
The workshop aimed to share information and best practice on community-based adaption approaches and to provide more information about the funding mechanism and process of the CCBA program, which will be open to all eligible and qualified local NGOs.
H.E Chheng Kimsun, Chief of Forestry Administration and Chairman of the Small Grant Program National Steering Committee, said that climate change significantly impacts Cambodia because 80 percent of people in Cambodia live in rural area. Most of those people depend on agriculture and natural resource to earn a living. Moreover, the country faces challenge in responding to climate change due to limited financial resource, and technology, capabilities, as well as a lack of skills and infrastructure.
Relevant institutions and the community need to participate in the response to climate change in order to mitigate its effects and to adapt to it, he emphasized.
Ms. Elena Tischenko, Country Director of United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), said that climate change is a priority that community can no longer ignore. According to the “Human Impact Report on Climate Change” produced in 2009, two million people around the world are already suffering because of climate change. More than one third of the world’s populations, representing 2.8 billion people, live in areas affected by more than one manifestation of climate change such as floods, storms, droughts or sea level rise.
It is predicted that by the year 2030, the live of 660 million people will be serious affected either by natural disasters caused by climate change or through gradual environmental degradation.
In Cambodia, droughts and floods that occurred in the past few decades have been identified as main contributors to poverty in the country, Ms. Tischenko noted. These climate events have caused an estimated 1,125 deaths and resulted in damages worth US$465 million. She added that climate change impact puts some of most vulnerable groups in Cambodia at serious risk. For example, the poor, women headed household, children, and indigenous people are especially vulnerable.
Ms. Tischenko concluded that there is a need to ensure that communities develop a greater capacity to adapt to climate change.
Ms. Eva Asplund, Country Director of Sida said that Sweden has been cooperating with the Royal Government of Cambodia to promote sustainable environment and natural resources management since 1980s.
She added that CCBA program is very much in line with the Swedish Government’s new policy on environmental and climate issue regarding to development cooperation. In particular, the program aligns with the country’s cooperation strategy with Cambodia. The new policy established environmental and climate change aspects as central for all development cooperation. Access to energy, food and water all identified as fundamental prerequisite of economic and social development. Priority areas of action included improving food security and sustainable use of ecosystem services, improving water resources management, and increasing access to sustainable energy sources.
Ms. Asplund also said that the lives of many Cambodian communities will be improved when their community’s adaptive capacity to climate change has been strengthened.
The CCBAP aims to help communities adapt more effectively to climate change by improving their ability to anticipate and mitigate climate events. In addition, the program seeks to introduce communities to climate resilient farming techniques. It is anticipated that at least 30 projects will receive funds from the program to implement activities in targeted areas around Cambodia that are most vulnerable to climate change.
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