In line with the city’s vision and master plan to become Cambodia’s model ‘high-end’ leisure destination for eco-tourism, Kep City is committed to balancing its environmental protection activities with socio-economic development.
In recent years, major investments have been directed towards the expansion of critical transport infrastructure with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This includes new roads around the Kep National Park as well as the Angkol Beach, a new tourist destination located at Angkol Village, Angkol Commune, Damnak Chang’aeur District.
Requiring no entrance fees, the Kep National Park is one of the city’s top tourist destinations. With its strategic location next to the city’s expanding urban centre and after the completed construction of a new ring road, its extreme ease of access has led to steadily rising visitor numbers in recent years. Kep Province recognises the importance of improved facilities and more sophisticated approaches to value and conserve the park’s and city’s assets in terms of its greenery and biodiversity.
Towards this, the ASEAN SDGs Frontrunner Cities Phase 2 has supported Kep City to kickstart the city’s early efforts in tree conservation. From 2023 onwards, Kep City has identified and recorded the locations of sensitive and important tree species and affixed name labels to over 300 trees around the Kep National Park trail. The labels not only raise awareness among visitors and prevent tree destruction, but also provide the starting point for the City’s longer-term intention to implement a more comprehensive and long-term conservation strategy. It is hoped that Kep City will advance its efforts towards conducting a biodiversity survey and developing a tree inventory in the future.
In addition, the ASEAN SDGs Frontrunner Cities Phase 2 has also supported Kep City with matching grants to establish the city’s first tree nursery. The initiative is in line with the Ministry of Environment’s ‘Green Sprouts' nationwide campaign, which has the goal of planting at least 1 million trees per year. Since December 2023, the tree nursery has produced over 20,000 seedlings of three categories of trees (strategic, fruit and ornamental). The tree nursery is now a key driver of Kep’s greening activities by producing and distributing seedlings to Kep locals (pagodas, schools, villages and businesses). Kep City has also produced seedlings for distribution at the national Green Sprouts Fair organised in Phnom Penh by the Ministry of the Environment in July 2024.
On its waste management improvement activities, Kep City has focused on Angkol Beach. Previously, direct road access to Angkol Beach was not possible and it was considered a ‘secret beach’ only visited by locals. After a new road connecting Angkol Beach with Koh Tonsay Tourism Port was completed in 2024, the total number of beach users – comprising residents, tourists and vendors – has increased significantly. Unfortunately, this has been accompanied by a rise in waste volumes, which adds to the waste problem caused by marine debris being washed ashore by seasonal tide patterns.
With the support of ASEAN SDGs Frontrunner Cities Phase 2, Kep City has begun its long-term effort to raise awareness on public cleanliness and 3R’s among stakeholders. An inaugural ‘Public Cleaning and Plastic Reduction Campaign’ was organised by Ms. Tit Sokha, Deputy Governor of Kep Province, at the beach in July 2024, involving over 460 participants representing key stakeholders such as community leaders, civil servants, the Department of Environment, Damnak Chang'aeur District Administration, police forces, students, and youth, as well as vendors along Angkol Beach. At the campaign, participants learnt about the importance of public participation and establishing a more effective waste management system at the beach. Educational posters, leaflets as well as tools such as waste baskets were distributed.
Overall, Kep City plans to sustain these initiatives with the development of social capital, by organising regular volunteer activities, especially involving youths and villagers. The city has developed agreements with the Don Bosco Vocational High School (a Model Eco-School supported under ASEAN SDGs Frontrunner Cities Phase 1) to integrate tree nursery production/maintenance and beach clean-up activities as part of students’ extra-curricular programme. Every week, the school will dispatch about 40 students to support city staff and other volunteers at the tree nursery and in beach cleaning activities at Kep’s various beaches. In the process, students gain environmental management knowledge and skills, as well as form positive relationships with other stakeholders. In the long term, such regular activities will lead to a formation of both formal and informal networks of environmental champions within the city, which in turn spearhead future innovative activities towards ‘Clean, Green and Sustainable Kep’.
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Kep Province, Cambodia
