Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Cambodia

Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climatic and non-climatic vagaries in the Southeast Asia. Annual river floods along the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers are more common during monsoon season and are the most important developmental concerns in the region. Cambodia has put in place the National Committee for Disaster Management that has mandate for a holistic disaster risk reduction in the country. To implement this agenda, Cambodia has established disaster management committees at the national, provincial, district, and commune levels. The biggest challenge for Cambodia for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is to establish an effective institutional framework to address the disaster risks and climate change impacts in a comprehensive manner through both structural and non-structural measures. Issues such as absence of partnership agreement and implementing guidelines for PCDM collaborative action prohibited the effectiveness of coordination and cooperation between PCDM, NGOs and international organizations. There is also a crucial need for policy makers to quickly increase their understanding of climate change as well as their capacity to identify eligible and appropriate programs.

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Contact Huy Nguyen [[email protected]] for additional information on this paper.