many factors research report

CCCN | The Cambodia Climate Change Network House #06, Street 570, Sangkat Boengkak Khan Tuolkork, Phnom Penh 12251, Cambodia Tel: +855 23 88 20 35 Fax: +855 23 88 20 36 E-mail: [email protected]

© CCCN 2014 The opinion expressed in this report are those of relevant and engaged stakeholders and do not necessarily represent those of CCCN. Questions, comments and media inquiries are welcome and should be addressed to secretariat through [email protected]. CCCN grants permission to all not-for-profit organizations to use this report, in whole or in part, with proper citation and notification of CCCN.

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Preparation of this document This report was prepared in response to the needs of NGO’s members of the Network for their organizational strategic planning development for their future activities and also for their advocacy work. The selection of the topic was passed through several stages of consultation with members and Board of Directors of the Network. The report focuses on several aspects of community priorities in the context of climate change in Cambodia, climate risks and climate early warning information sharing in Cambodia. The research looks at the priorities of communities and the types of information required for particular areas. The research reveals and provides deep understanding on the priorities of communities’ needs and the types of information required for particular areas in order to well response to the impacts of climate change. It discusses about the changes in weather pattern, environmental factors, land and water management, socio-economic factors, government, civil society and community action, needs of information and early warning issues. This report also provides quotes messages of grassroots stating the fact of relevant issues in their particular areas or communities. Under the financial support from JCCI (Joint Climate Change Initiatives) and Southern Voices Programme on Climate Change through DanChurch Aid in Cambodia, the Network launched this research in October 2013 through a series of consecutive consultations with members, partners, key stakeholders and communities.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research study was commissioned by the Cambodian Climate Change Network, known as CCCN. The organization wishes to thank to Maffii Margherita and Thavory Huot for their contribution and efforts conducting the research and producing this report. We thank Mr. Boonny TEP, the Chairman of Board of Directors, and Board members, Ms. Angela LIM, Mr. Graeme J. Brown, Mr. Akhteruzzaman SANO, Mr. Nguon Teang PA, Mr. Sakhan SOK, Mr. Sygoun KHAM for their inputs and recommendations on the report. We thanks also to our members, particularly NAPA in Kampong Speu, Save Cambodia’s Wildlife in Kampot, WOMEN in Prey Veng, HelpAge International in Battambang and My Village International in Mondulkiri, for having eased the field work, by providing contacts, arranging meetings and facilitated our travels. Thanks also to the Local Authorities in all the research sites, for their inputs and the valuable information they have shared with us. But most of all, thanks to the communities who agreed to discuss and analyse their hardships, their actions and their hopes for a fair and sustainable development. This research has been possible because of their openness and contributions. We are particularly grateful to David Ford and GP Polloni for their valuable editing, suggestions, comments as well as their support throughout the process.

We thanks all our members, partners and donors for their inputs and supports technically and financially for this research work.

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ACRONYMS

ADB CBO CCC CCCN CCD DRR EWS FA GEF IFRC IPCC LA MAFF MoE MoWRAM NAPA NCCAP NCCC NCDR NCDM NGO NRM REDD RGC SNAP-DRR UNDP UNEP UNFCCC

Asian Development Bank Community Based Organisations Climate Change Committee Cambodia Climate Change Network Climate Change Department Disaster Risk Reduction Early Warning Systems Forest Administration Global Environmental Facility International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies International Panel on Climate Change Local Authorities Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Fisheries Ministry of Environment Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology National Adaptation Program of Action to Climate Change National Climate Change Action National Climate Change Committee National Committee for Disaster Risk National Committee for Disaster Management Non-Governmental Organization Natural Resource Management Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Royal Government of Cambodia Strategic National Action Plan – Disaster Risk Reduction United Nations Development Program United Nations Environment Program United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Preparation of this document ............................................................................................. i Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iii Acronyms ............................................................................................................................. v Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... ix Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Research Objectives and Questions ................................................................................. 2 Background ........................................................................................................................... 2 Research questions .............................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 6 Literature review .................................................................................................................. 6 Field research ....................................................................................................................... 6 Site selection ......................................................................................................................... 9 Data collection and analysis ............................................................................................. 10 Results validation ............................................................................................................... 10 Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 10 Climate change and early warning frameworks ............................................ 13 Cambodia and Climate Change ....................................................................................... 14 Coordination and Stakeholders ....................................................................................... 16 Coordination, technical and funding support ............................................................... 17 Assessment of vulnerability and adaptation capacity of Cambodia communities .. 20 Early warning systems ...................................................................................................... 25 Communities priorities and early warning system issues ............................. 33 Prey Veng ............................................................................................................................ 34 Characteristics of the target areas ................................................................................... 34 Changes in weather patterns ............................................................................................ 35 Environmental factors ...................................................................................................... 35 Land and water management ........................................................................................... 36 Socio-economic factors .................................................................................................... 37 Governance, civil society and community action ......................................................... 38 Early warning needs and information ............................................................................ 40 Battambang ......................................................................................................................... 43 Characteristics of the target areas ................................................................................... 43 Changes in weather patterns ............................................................................................ 43 Environmental factors ...................................................................................................... 44 Land and water management ........................................................................................... 45 Socio economic changes ................................................................................................... 46 Governance, civil society and community action ......................................................... 47 Early warning system and information .......................................................................... 49 Kompong Speu .................................................................................................................. 52 Characteristics of the target areas ................................................................................... 52 Changes in weather patterns ............................................................................................ 52

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Environmental factors ....................................................................................................... 53 Land and water management ........................................................................................... 54 Socio economic factors ..................................................................................................... 55 Governance, civil society and community action ......................................................... 57 Early warning system and information ........................................................................... 57 Kampot ................................................................................................................................ 59 Characteristics of the target areas .................................................................................... 59 Changes in weather patterns ............................................................................................. 59 Environmental factors ....................................................................................................... 61 Land and water management ........................................................................................... 62 Governance, civil society and community action ......................................................... 64 Early warning systems and information ......................................................................... 65 Mondulkiri ........................................................................................................................... 68 Characteristics of the target areas .................................................................................... 68 Change in weather patterns .............................................................................................. 69 Environmental factors ....................................................................................................... 70 Land and water management ........................................................................................... 71 Socio economic changes ................................................................................................... 72 Governance, civil society and community action ......................................................... 73 Early warning systems and information ......................................................................... 75 Conclusion and recommendations ............................................................... 77 References ..................................................................................................... 86 Glossary ......................................................................................................... 88

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Cambodia is considered highly vulnerable to climate change and shifts in weather patterns induced by global warming. The reasons for this are rooted in a number of geographical, ecological, economic and social factors that combine to increase risks and weaken communities’ adaptive capacities. The analysis of vulnerability to climate change has been mostly concentrated on geophysical and environmental factors, and their impact and interactions with human activities, in particular agriculture. Much less attention has been given to the interaction between ecological, economic and social factors, and how they contribute to make communities more vulnerable and reduce their adaptive strength. CCCN, a gathering of 32 local and international organizations, is taking an active role in bringing forward the interests of the poorest and most vulnerable people, so that their needs are taken into consideration when and where climate change policies are shaped. CCCN members believe that climate change and local environmental change are, like other issues, fundamentally socio-political issues with technical aspects. The societal factors that influence the impact that climate change might have on Cambodia necessitate a shift in the focus from a primarily technical approach, to a societal one. This change of paradigm is also methodological: vulnerability, and particularly its contextual and societal dimension, has to be evaluated by listening and collecting the voices and concerns of the most vulnerable, who are the people in the best position to have a holistic view of their hardships. This research represents an initial step towards understanding the major problems identified by communities as priorities to be addressed in order to become less vulnerable to climate related risks as well as other kinds of event. The research has two goals: to research and document the priorities expressed by the communities and identify better ways to support grassroots civil society building and networking. These aims have been developed into two different but related components: 1. A review of the critical issues faced by communities with regard to climate

change; how relevant is global climate change compared to local environmental, economic and social changes; how communities cope or adapt to changes and what kinds of information, support and input they receive in order to address their vulnerabilities.

2. Provide an insight into practices, needs and gaps between climate risk and early warning information sharing, with particular focus on community practices, hardships and opportunities, as well as the stakeholders involved

The research provides also an introductory review of climate change in Cambodia and a review of the vulnerability analyses that constitute the ground for adaptive policies. The review has particularly investigated the availability of data about

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vulnerability not only through geographical, agro and environmental aspects, but in a more comphensive way. The review relies on the work of scholars and analysts who have researched models for climate change vulnerability assessments and have elaborated a “contextualised” vulnerability framework. Their approach sees climate change, not isolated, but intertwined with environmental, geographical, economic, social and political factors. The contextualised vulnerability approach shifts the focus from technical responses toward more comprehensive and societal, adaptive strategies, that communities and the most vulnerable must contribute to shape. The primary data of the study were collected through qualitative methods based on group discussions with communities in five Cambodian provinces: Prey Veng, Battambang, Kampong Speu, Kampot and Mondulkiri. The discussions were conducted in 13 villages located in 8 different communes in these provinces. The research sites were selected in order to provide diverse perspectives on sensitivity to climate related changes. The participants were women and men, mostly simple villagers, or members and representatives of community organisations such as forestry, fishery, water management, old people’s committees, savings groups or other community based structures. In addition, information was supplemented by conducting discussion meetings with local authorities in each of the visited communes. The discussions with the communities were conducted on a loose and non-binding guiding frame that started from weather changes and hardships related to it, letting participants free to express other priorities and concerns. The discussions with local authorities were more structured around issues related to climate change, specific vulnerabilities and adaptive responses. The results of the discussions were analyzed and key themes highlighted and reported. All participants were informed prior to engaging in the discussions about the purpose and methodology of the research in order to get their consent to report their contributions in this report. In all the communities villagers have observed important changes in climate and weather patterns. Increased frequency and severity of floods are perceived by communities located in Aek Phnom district in Battambang and in Ba Phnom and Peam Ro districts in Prey Veng. Water from rivers and lakes rise more quickly and last longer, there are increasing material losses and risks for people's safety. Droughts, whose intensity has increased according to the observers, follow floods and add hardship to hardship. In Kong Pisey district, Kampong Speu province, lack of rain is a recurrent problem and the district is experiencing very severe droughts. In Kampot the pace of monsoon winds and rains has changed, becoming more unpredictable; this influences seawater intrusion and makes fishing more dangerous. In Mondulkiri rains are more concentrated and intense, and are followed by longer droughts. In all provinces communities witnessed an increase in temperature. The communities associate these changes in climate and weather patterns with the significant changes in their ecosystems, which have occurred during recent years.

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Global factors are not ignored, but are considered only one side of problem faced by the communities; the other side is represented by local factors, due to human disruptive interventions on the ecosystems that have contributed to alter local climate, enhancing the local impact of global changes. Deforestation is considered by all communities to be the main culprit, having impacted heavily on all their ecosystems. The term forest in this context refers to different ecosystems: primary forests in Mondulkiri; mangroves and sea grass in Kampot; wetland vegetation around the Tonle Sap in Battambang. In Prey Veng and Kampong Speu it refers to the cutting of all kind of trees, including sugar palms and bamboo, and changes in land use to extended rice fields. The alteration of the ecosystems - biodiversity reduction, deforestation, erosion, over fishing, chemical agents, etc. –is not only a co-factor in climate change. It is threatening the livelihood of small-holder producers, the majority of Cambodian farmers, whose farming system relies on diversified, low input, integrated agricultural practices. Even in the less diversified areas, such as Prey Veng and Kampong Speu, where rice production is almost the only agricultural output, natural resources remain crucial to provide important food components, traditional medicines, materials for houses and household tools. Another resource, of which scarcity is impacting vulnerability severely, is land. In the plain provinces of Prey Veng, Battambang and Kampong Speu, agricultural land is becoming scarce. Rice producers cultivate very small plots of land, and lack of land does not allow them to reduce risks by traditional means i.e. by diversifying rice varieties. Land and land tenure security constitute important problems in Kampot and especially in Mondulkiri, where extensive forests are still available. The value of these resources is high and attracts businesses and companies, while local communities are particularly at risk of losing their rights to access and control these areas. The commercial value of these resources provokes a lack of transparency in their management; communities denounce corrupt practices and non-respect of the rule of law; very often they are left alone in their demand for better environment protection practices, and are not supported by local authorities. The management of water resources represents another problem for communities. In Kampong Speu, where water is scarce, only some of the communities have access to it; in Prey Veng, where high yield dry season rice production needs irrigation, this is not provided fairly. Design and management of irrigation infrastructure does not always reflect the interests of the entire community and is another cause of inequality and hardship for the ones excluded, usually the poorest, weakest and least powerful.

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In the case of Kampot, seawaters are a matter of concern too. Overfishing has reduced fish catch in the area, and according to the communities, illegal fishing practices by big commercial boats are severely impacting the ecosystem. The shift toward commercial farming, requiring intensive inputs but more vulnerable to climate and market fluctuation, is very pronounced in rice producing areas and is not being accompanied by measures and policies aimed at supporting smallholders and favoring a fairer distribution of wealth. In particular the costs of fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, harvesting machines and labour, are not being compensated for by rice sale prices-in some of the villages 500 Riels per kg. According to farmers, the increasing cost of rice production and land scarcity, mean that they cannot even recover their costs. The economic sustainability of many smallholders’ farms is at risk and can only be assured through recurrent external financial inputs, which can be obtained by borrowing from banks or moneylenders and remittances from those who have migrated. It is common for farmers to be in debt with more than one lending institution, as they rely on borrowing to pay for agricultural inputs and open new credits to pay back the interest on the previous loan which leads to a cycle of indebtedness. Remittances are often utilized to pay back interest and support daily life expenditures. Only wealthy families can use the remittances for productive investments. These rich agricultural producers are also actively involved in machines, inputs and especially money lending, under very exploitative deals. Not surprisingly inequalities are increasing. Another alarming trend is the massive out migration of young women and men. Villages are quite empty, inhabited by old women and men and their grandchildren. This impact is very strongly on the life of women: many find themselves compelled to provide full time productive work and child care at an age where their life workload should not be so demanding. Community priorities are often not fully recognized by local decision makers. Local development plans tend to be based on top down decision-making processes. Communities are seldom involved in prioritizing interventions. In general, priority is given to infrastructure, such as irrigation projects or roads, but communities are rarely involved in their impact analysis or design. The decentralization process has not yet been translated into bottom up democratic practices that might ensure community participation in decision-making that holds decision makers accountable. This disconnect between community and local government priorities is particularly obvious in areas where important resources are at stake, such as land, forests and sea fisheries. In Kampot, community members and representatives were deliberately excluded from decisions and consultation. In Mondulkiri, decisions and administrative practices concerning land tenure and sales were not transparent.

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The role of NGOs appears to be in supporting community-based structures, although the adoption of training as a magic formula doesn’t seem to recognise the instinctive knowledge, capacity and initiative of the communities themselves. There is also a tendency, by NGOs, to focus on technical interventions only, even when the contextual analysis of vulnerability shows the relevance of socio economic and political factors. In some cases communities have tried their best, with or without support, to organise themselves and defend their rights to access, control and protect key resources. In others they appear disempowered, hopeless and fatalistic. These differences should be investigated more in order to understand what empowers communities and what, in contrast, prevents them from becoming actively involved in the assertion of their rights. The research findings concerning early warning and weather information have started theoretically, to situate these concepts on a more solid ground. It is now internationally recognised that the early warning needs to be conceptualised as a system. This term underlines the need to integrate weather monitoring, dissemination of information and warning messages, risk knowledge and response capacity, into an integrated process, which should be based on a vulnerability assessment. Communities are the starting point for the process and should be involved in the design of each of these components. In the research locations in this study such an early warning system is not operational. Many obstacles are still present: primarily the fact that there is a cascade of authorities having a mandate to launch and disseminate early warnings, and a disconnect with communities and their responses. Community vulnerability and risks are not sufficiently understood and constraints to their responses not targeted. Local authorities are not always able to deliver early warning information to the communities, as often they do not receive the right information in time; communities are not sufficiently involved in designing early warning based on their needs. As for other initiatives linked to climate change, there is a risk that narrow interpretations of early warnings, limit their scope to technical aspects, such as communication systems, without taking into consideration the receivers in the community. It also may create the risk of delivering early warning information not accompanied by response interventions, which may result in little impact on reducing people’s risks or increasing their adaptive capacity. It is important to highlight that gender represents an important factor in the making of vulnerability and in shaping communities ‘priorities. The environmental, economic and social changes that communities have to deal with have a gendered impact: in all the community meetings women were the majority of participants, and counted among the poorest farmers. Gender inequality add to other vulnerabilities, limiting their access to and control of tangible resources such as land, agricultural tools, machineries or transport, as well as non-tangible resources

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such networks and social linkages, education, or participation in decision making and political instances. This is further aggravated by the chronic lack of time due to women’s workload, which sums production work in agriculture and reproduction and care work within the household. All these factors render rural women particularly vulnerable and their livelihood as well as the one of their dependants at risks. Nevertheless, despite these disadvantages, the majority of the women participating in this research were extremely vocal and articulated in their analysis, very concerned by the environmental, economic and social changes impacting their communities, and many of them actively engaged in community initiatives and activities aimed at protecting communities’ rights to a sustainable and fair livelihood.

Recommendations 1. In many cases the impact of global climate change is often insignificant in

magnitude compared to the impact of other more-local factors, especially those related to the massive local land use changes currently occurring in Cambodia as well as other deeper socio-political issues. The response to climate change cannot be limited to technical aspects but should reflect community priorities.

2. Most of the priorities highlighted by this study necessitate socio economic and political measures; to correct inequalities, the deficit in participation and accountability, and rights and rule of law enforcement.

3. Communities must be involved in more discussions and analyses about their hardships, priorities and constraints, in order to develop agendas and proposals for changes and build their advocacy strategies to achieve these goals.

4. There is a lack of local and micro level data, concerning issues such as land tenure and concentration, landlessness and land rental; rice farmers’ production and costs/benefits analysis; financial services and indebtedness; out migration, amount and use of remittances and its impact on migrants as well as the receivers, both women and men; infrastructure development and usage patterns, etc. These data are needed to substantiate and support communities in their advocacy. Methods for quantitative research community led at the local level should be piloted and extended.

5. Communities are knowledgeable, have capacity and are experts about their own environment and problems; there is the need to acknowledge these capacities while structuring development interventions, in order to avoid disempowering approaches.

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6. Differences in community self-organisation and advocacy capacity should

be better understood, to avoid disempowering approaches and identify best practices.

7. The opportunities provided by decentralization should be utilised by communities to participate in and influence decisions, and hold decision makers accountable. Research and programmes should be tailored to provide the data and support that communities need in this process.

8. There should be a critical analysis of changes in agriculture and their impact on inequality. Especially, NGOs should engage in this process and review uncritical pro-market strategies that rely on poor, mainstream, oversimplified theoretical approaches.

9. NGOs must assume a proactive role in informing and orienting the Donor

community, in order to re-centre climate change intervention away from mere technical recipes that do not respond to the environmental, economic and social priorities of communities.

10. It is essential for communities to work with other groups or organisations at national and regional level to learn from their experience.

11. National policies, investments and the impacts of climate change interventions by donors, government or other entities, should all be monitored and reviewed, and the results made available to communities and networks.

Communities priorities and early warning in Cambodia

Climate change according to scientists and experts is happening; the temperature of our planet is increasing, and this is having an impact on weather patterns and events. The causes of global climate change are primarily changes in concentrations of “greenhouse gases” globally – many coming from the burning of fossil fuels. Different regions of the world do not have the same degree of sensitivity; some areas of the world are considered more vulnerable to changes attributable to global warming than others. Southeast Asia is one of the regions considered at high risk. Many scientists believe that of the factors most responsible for this higher sensitivity are related to geographical aspects (conformation of the coastline, monsoons, swamplands and plains, river deltas, etc.). Others account for this increased vulnerability as being due to the dramatic changes in land cover and ecology occurring in the region, that are creating local environmental changes with huge consequences for local people – perhaps more so than any initial impacts of global climate change. It is also recognized that local changes contribute to the global atmospheric change and that the global atmospheric change could be adding to the local environmental changes. These local changes are not “natural” events; while global changes are influencing weather, temperature and climate, local changes are mostly the result of economic social and political choices. Those determine; if and how resources such as land, water, forests, sea, rivers and streams are protected or instead depleted; who benefits from these resources, a large majority or some restricted social groups; whether development policies rely on a sustainable and inclusive vision of available resources and their use, or not. The Cambodian Climate Change Network, a collection of more than 33 local and international organizations, is taking an active role in bringing forward at national and international levels, the interests of the most vulnerable and poor people, so that their needs are taken into consideration when and where climate change policies are shaped. Cambodia is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change, for a number of geographical, ecological, economic and social reasons. Climate change is therefore a tangible reality. Nevertheless, if global climate change is and will continue to impact on people’s lives, it is important to locate it within the local context of other issues that are contributing to make Cambodians more vulnerable. The acknowledgement of the societal factors that strongly influence the impact that climate change would have on Cambodia obliges a shift in the focus from a primarily technical approach, to a societal one. CCCN members believe that


climate change and local environmental change are, like other issues, fundamentally socio-political issues with technical aspects. For this reason CCCN has initiated research aimed at providing better and more articulated insights into the priorities of marginalized Cambodians, in terms of ecological, economic and social factors in their communities that are threatening their livelihoods and making them vulnerable to global climate change. This is seen as a first step towards enhancing the awareness and understanding by communities and their representative entities (people’s groups, CBOs, NGOs,), of global climate change in relation to those broader issues. It is also a step toward the development of an articulate vision, by communities and their representative groups, of what represents climate change for Cambodians, and how it is possible to advocate for policies in this domain that could protect the rights and livelihoods of all Cambodians. This research represents an initial phase, far from being exhaustive, that should help in understanding major themes and problems highlighted by communities, with the hope that these results will inspire other researchers and contribute to making communities less vulnerable to climate change and other kinds of stress, and more capable of addressing and redressing them.

Background Cambodian Climate Change Network sees “global climate change” as a global priority - but one sometimes imposed without full consideration of other local priorities and issues. Climate change is often interpreted also as a primarily technical issue whereas CCCN members believe that climate change and local environmental change are, like other issues, a fundamentally socio-political issue with technical aspects.

Hardship and disasters coming from local environmental change (land use change, water use change, etc)

Hardship and disasters coming from political/

power factors or changes

Hardship and disasters coming from economic system changes

(economic development)

Hardship and disasters coming from global climate change (increased greenhouse gases)

Cambodian power and

political situation

Local community

Figure 1 CCCN conceptual frame for integrated

community vulnerability scheme


Communities, networks of communities, peoples groups and NGOs (particularly those in rural areas or of marginalized groups) will have developed and articulated opinions with regard to climate change in Cambodia. These groups will have used their combined voice to influence Cambodian policies and those of donors such that livelihoods and rights are better protected. CCCN Strategic Plan 2013-2017

So, whilst global climate change is and will continue impacting on people’s lives, it is important to embed it within the context of other issues affecting them. For this reason, it is essential to understand the local situation, and listen to the priorities expressed by local communities and their networks. CCCN is concerned that the imposition of outside priorities may inhibit genuine and effective grassroots civil society development. The CCCN 2013-2017 strategic plan places emphasis on grassroots civil society and network building. As civil society develops, a greater policy-influencing role will be developed, wherein “civil society” means a focus on people’s groups and community networks, essential for the effectiveness and sustainability of climate change and other actions.

Research questions CCCN has launched this research to attempt to reveal the local situation of rural communities and their priorities, in relationship to climate change, identified as one of the factors affecting communities in rural areas. There are also other factors that may have impacted people’s agricultural production and livelihood and can act independently or in addition to direct climate change factors. This will differentiate climate change from a strictly technical perspective “to embed it within the context of other issues affecting people’s lives.” The two initial goals of the research are: Research and document the priorities of Cambodian communities.

This is in order to put global climate change in context with the general situation faced by communities.

Do research in a way that supports grassroots civil society building and local NGO networking.

The research consists of two separate sections, which it is hoped will provide answers to the following questions:


Table 1 Research questions.

Section 1 What are the critical issues that communities face with regard to climate change? How much of a priority is given to global climate change?

How relevant is global climate change compared to local environmental change?

What natural disasters have occurred in the past and how have people coped with them?

What are the roots causes of natural disasters that communities are experiencing?

What information is required and needed by the community in order to help people to adapt and to mitigate risks of climate change and other similar changes?

Section 2

What are the gaps in current practices between climate risks and

climate early warning information sharing in Cambodia? What are the existing findings or current status of climate risks

and early warning information sharing in Cambodia or in the region? Examples or lessons learnt of cases in other countries in Asia shall have to be provided

What mechanisms are workable at local and community level in terms of climate change information, weather forecast and early warning?

What functional strategies were receivable and understandable by local and community people that shared information

What are the roles of each stakeholder in the process of climate change and early warning information sharing and communication?


METHODOLOGY

The central research aim is to provide insight into community priorities related to climate change, and relativise climate change concerns in relation toother hardships faced by villagers and farmers, as well as to understand community needs in terms of early warning. These responses are to be framed within the existing data concerning Cambodia's vulnerability to climate change, adaptation capacity, and early warning and weather related information. Thus, there is a need to gather both primary and secondary data. The research has been divided into two parts: a literature review and primary data collection.

Literature review The literature review was based on published studies, reports and articles, available from the web, and constitutessection one of the report.This preliminary phase of the research helped toestablish a comprehensive perspective on climate change in Cambodia, and to clarify the theoretical ground on which the entire study rests. In particular the analysis focussed on vulnerability to environmental, socio-economic, political issues that contribute to increasing sensitivity to climate related events. The review has also included an analysis of documents and studies related to early warning concepts and practices. A major focus, in line with the research's overall objectives, has been given to studies and theoretical approaches that put community needs and capacities at the center of the early warning cascade of events. This approach, now endorsed by the major international agencies active in this field, focuses on early warning systems, and stresses the need to overcome mere technical interventions or the simple focus on information networks, in order to develop bottom up, integrated and effective systems. Local as well as regional and global experiences in implementing early warning systems have been reported and analised based on documents available on the web. All the documents accessed through the web, were available at the specified websites during the months of October-November 2013.

Field research The primary data collection constitutes section two of the report, andderives from field work conducted in five different Cambodian provinces (Kampot, Prey Veng, Battambang, Kompong Speu and Mondulkiri) during four weeks in the months of October and November 2013.


Figure 2 Map of Cambodia with research sites

The research was conducted through qualitative methods. Data was collected during a series of group discussions and individual interviews conducted in 13 villages located in eight different communes, in five provinces. The participants were villagers, women and men, representatives of community organizations such as forestry, fisheries or water committees, or other groups. In addition, information was supplemented by conducting discussion meetings with local authorities in each of the visited communes; participants were commune chiefs, commune councilors and village chiefs. Details about the meeting locations, the discussion calendar and the attendance are provided in the annexes. The research activities consisted of facilitated community discussions on the 2 main research questions:

How is climate change situated among other community priorities and vulnerabilities?

How do communities get information and inputs about early warning and what are their information needs?

Theme 1 was approached through the entry point of perceived changes in climate and weather patterns, and then deconstructed by analyzing other changes, in particular local environmental changes, changes that occurred in access/control of the key agricultural resources, land and water, as well as agricultural inputs (technologies, capital, services, etc.) and other social and economic dynamics and pressures, such as migration. The theme of governance was explored by discussing


people's participation and representation in decision-making structures and finding out how accountable they were. This guiding frame constituted a theoretical and flexible tool that could accommodate participants’ priorities and allow unforeseen factors to be freely expressed. The process can be described as a “snowball” approach, where concerns, interests and priorities expressed by communities stand as guiding themes developed in subsequent sub themes and analyses.

Weather/climate

Environment and natural resources

Land, water, agricultural techniques

Socioeconomic dynamics and pressures

Governance Community action

Other factors

Figure 3 Community discussion process and priorities identification

The second discussion theme, related to early warning and community needs in terms of information, was approached with the same methodology, based on needs expressed by the communities in relation with theme 1. In the communities where weather related changes involved long onset events such as droughts, the resulting discussion was less articulated and developed. In each commune the meeting with local authorities focused on both issues of the research: climate change impact, community vulnerabilities, needs in terms of information and early warning.

Environment and NR

management

Weather

Early warning

Governance community

actiont

Socio economic changes

Land water agriculture


CCCN partners in each of the target areas organized the community and local authority meetings. Attendance varied from 10-12 to over 20 participants for community meetings and from 4 to 10 participants during local authority meetings. The discussions took place in community owned locations, such as sala bon, or in pagodas, or when these were not available, in individual households. The meetings with local authorities took place in commune halls. Meetings lasted a maximum of 2.5 hours, as most of the villagers were busy with seasonal work. Discussions with commune authorities lasted 1 to 1.5 hours.

Site selection The provinces of Battambang, Kampot, Kompong Speu, Prey Veng and Mondulkiri, were selected as target areas, based on the following criteria. This was discussed and validated during the CCCN Workshop in Siem Reap, 8-9 October 2013:

I. Different sensitivity to climate change II. Eco and agricultural diversity (uplands, coastal areas, wetlands,

rain fed and irrigated paddy fields) III. Availability of CCCN Partners

Table 2 Research sites location.

Province District Commune Villages CCCN Partners

Battambang Aek Phum Prek Lun

Bak Angrae Sdey Lew

Help Age International

Samroeun Knong

Samroeun Snao

Kompong Speu

Kong Pisey Chong Ruk

Chon Ruk Prey Roung

NAPA

Snam Krapeuw Tropeang Storng

Kampot Tek Chhu Prek Tnaut Prek Rain Prek Tnaut

Save Cambodia’s Wildlife

Prey Veng Ba Phnom Theay

Kompong Slaeng

WOMEN

Prek Kandien Prey Ankun

Mondulkiri O’Reang Dak Dam Pu Chorb Pu Leas Pu Treang

My Village


Data collection and analysis All participants were informed prior to engaging in the discussions about the purpose and methodology of the research in order to get their consent to report data and comments in this report. The results of interviews and discussions were transcribed and analysed in order to identify the main themes and key issues, and are reported in part or integrally as direct speech in the report. The results are reported by finding the middle ground between the research guiding frame and factors and the priorities expressed by each community and the key factors discussed. Therefore some discrepancies appear in the report subdivision of field results, which reflect research sites specificities. It has been judged appropriate to avoid mentioning the names of participants: direct quotes only identify gender, age, occupation and location. When more articulated testimonies were collected, interviewees' names are reported.

Results validation In order to verify the field-work findings two workshops were organized with communities, local authorities and NGO representatives, and results submitted to the audiences for discussion, validation and recommendations. The workshop sites, Kampong Chang and Kratie, were selected in order to reach communities from provinces that were not involved in the research (Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and other parts of Kampong Speu for the first workshop, Kratie, Kampong Cham, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri for the second one).

Limitations A few main aspects need to be underlined: 1) time and logistics; 2) connected to the first, broad research objectives; 3) limitations due to qualitative methods of research. Concerning the first two limitations, the research aims and scope; getting an overview of community priorities in 4-5 different geographical zones, imposed significant time and logistical constraints. A very tight schedule and scarce availability of transport, limited the length of each field visit. Related to this, the research aim to investigate and discuss two important and articulated issues, such as community priorities and hardships plus early warning, proved to be overambitious. It was very difficult to hold a substantive and participatory discussion on both themes, which have a common ground but are separate issues. The communities dealt with the problem in the most logical way, tracing the continuity lines between the two themes when these were of relevance for them; when this was not the case, discussion and information on early warning resulted in a quite limited conversation. The third limitation is in relation to qualitative methods of research. Such methods allow people to expressing concerns that may not be caught by quantitative methods of analysis. Nevertheless the themes that emerge during the discussions


should be interpreted as trends that contribute substantially to draw a view of issues at stake, but do not allow speculation about measurable quantities.


Cambodia and Climate Change Cambodia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCC, in 1995. This paved the way for a number of initiatives aimed at developing national policies and mechanisms to target climate change impact and vulnerability as well as reduce Cambodia's contribution to global warming and develop a green and sustainable development approach. As a result of UNFCC ratification and accession to Kyoto Protocol, Cambodia has obligations to collect information and data concerning the national response to climate change and report periodically to the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC. The Ministry of Environment implements the process of preparing the national communication. The Initial National Communication to the UNFCC was submitted by Cambodia in 2002. The Second National Communication is in preparation, with the support of UNDP, who assists Cambodia in this task.1Cambodia, as well as all other developing countries, is entitled to full financing for the completion of the National Communications, for which there is no fixed submission deadline2. Among the outputs resulting from Cambodia's adhesion to UNFCC, is the formulation of the National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change, NAPA, which appeared in 2006. NAPA, according to the decisions of UNFCC 7th Conference of Parties, should be based on a participatory process involving those most vulnerable to climate impacts, in particular, rural populations. It should focus on an analysis of the main climate hazards and coping mechanisms at the grassroots level, as well as programmes and institutional arrangements addressing climate related hazards and changes. It is also aimed at improving agricultural productivity and reducing vulnerability while prioritizing adaptive activities3. To provide a baseline for the process of NAPA formulation, a Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Hazards and Climate Change Study was conducted in 2005, under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment. The assessment identified floods, drought, salt water intrusion and increase in vector borne diseases as the key phenomena enhanced and intensified by climate change4. It also provided a map of Cambodian provinces more vulnerable to the main threats such as flood and drought.

1A draft report of the SNC project is discussed in the UNDP Cambodia Human Development Report, Future of

Rural Livelihood in the face of Climate Change, Phnom Penh, 2011, page 9. However the SNC does not seem to have been made public until now.

2For a comprehensive overview of the National Communications submission to UNFCCC, consult the website: http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php, last visited November 2013

3See Robert W. Solar, Cambodia and Climate Change, A review of climate change responses in Cambodia, Joint Climate Change Initiative, Phnom Penh 2010

4Vulnerability And Adaptation To Climate Hazards And To Climate Change: A Survey Of Rural Cambodian Households, NAPA Team, March Phnom Penh, 2005

http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php


Figure 4 Level of vulnerability to floods by province

(Vulnerability and Adaptation study, 2005)

Figure 5 Level of vulnerability to drought by province

(Vulnerability and Adaptation study, 2005)

Concerning adaptation, the report underlines the difficulties that farmers encounter in implementing adaptation strategies, and their lack of preparedness. It also reveals that forecasts for extreme weather conditions are not available yet and that after extreme weather events 45% of the interviewees did not receive post event assistance, while 55% of the people interviewed received only some assistance.

“Local people have a high understanding of climatic hazards and of their causes. Villagers are clearly aware of changes in hydrological patterns resulting from the construction of dams, dikes and roads and from deforestation, which may increase the frequency and intensity of floods, and the sedimentation of water storage structures. Traditional resignation to climate change and to climate extremes should not be equated to preparedness and adaptation.” Ministry of Environment Vulnerability and Adaptation Study, 2005, page 31


Cambodia’s NAPA identified 39 project activities, pertaining to 3 main categories: capacity building/training; awareness raising/education; and infrastructure development. They constitute "no regrets" options, “projects already justified by current climate conditions and providing a host of social and economic benefits for local people. Under changing climate conditions, which could include higher frequencies of climate hazards, the selected priority activities would be even more attractive”5. The projects targeted different vulnerability factors and areas. The mainstreaming of environmental and climate change mitigation and adaptation focus on national plans and policies has since then gained momentum: the National Strategic Development Plan NSDP 2006-2010 incorporates a strong focus on green growth and adaptation to climate change; a Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction, SNAP-DRR 2008-2013, was launched in 2009; sector plans have been made by the Ministries of Agriculture and Meteorology and Water Resources; a roadmap for REDD financial support has been prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery in 2009; a National Green Growth Roadmap was developed in 2010; climate change concerns have been mainstreamed in the National Strategic Development Plan Update NSPD 2009-2013 and in the Plan for Decentralisation and Deconcentration NCDD 2011-2013.

Coordination and Stakeholders Climate change adaptation activity in Cambodia is coordinated through a number of primary institutional actors: the National Climate Change Committee, NCCC; the National Committee for Disaster Management, NCDM; the Climate Change Department and the Designated National Authority for the Clean Development Mechanism. The key ministries involved are the Ministry of Environment6, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Fisheries, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Planning, and more recently other Ministries (Interior, Women’s Affairs, Rural Development) were added as key line institutions. Two national initiatives, the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance, CCCA, and the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, PPCR, play an important role in strengthening the capacity of the National Climate Change Committee to address climate change and enable line ministries, local government institutions and civil society organisations to implement priority climate change actions. The CCCA acts also as a trust fund entity, supporting projects and initiatives targeting climate change, adaptation and mitigation. Both are funded by international donors

5Ministry of Environment, Cambodia,, National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change NAPA,

Phnom Penh, 2006, page 8. 6The Ministry of Environment of Cambodia is also managing the Cambodian web portal on climate change:

http://www.camclimate.org.kh last visited November 2013.

http://www.camclimate.org.kh/


(CCCA by Swedish and Danish cooperation, EU, UNDP and the PPRC by the ADB). The organisational frame for the National Climate Change Committee is shown below.

Figure 6 National Climate Change Committee's organogram (Solar Robert, 2010)

In contrast, outside of central government, climate change has not yet been integrated into the development planning process at the commune level7. In terms of legislation, there are no new specific legal instruments ruling climate change, mitigation and adaptation initiatives in Cambodia, besides the laws pertinent to the environment and management of natural resources already ratified8.

Coordination, technical and funding support The main international reference bodies for climate change are the International Panel on Climate Change IPCC, established by the United Nations Environmental Programme UNEP, and the World Meteorological Organisation, WMO. The IPCC is an intergovernmental body with a scientific capacity that gathers resources and prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response strategies. The United Nations Environment Programme UNEP, is the United Nations entity for the environment, providing leadership, guidance and technical support, and

7Assessment of the second term of Decentralization in Cambodia, 2007-2012-Commune council performance and

citizens’ participation, Comfrel, 2013, page 24. 8A list of legislative instruments ruling environment and natural resources in Cambodia is available on Open

Development website at: http://www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/laws-regulations/ last visited November 2013

http://www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/laws-regulations/


advocating for the environment within the UN system and globally. These entities stand as references and provide technical support. More relevant is the role of the Global Environment Facility, GEF, which is a multi-national and multi-stakeholder entity providing grants for projects related to environmental issues. The GEF is the main funding mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UNFCCC as well as other environment related conventions. It provides funds to Cambodia for the preparation of the national communications and other initiatives, in cooperation with UNDP. Danish International Development Assistance, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the European Union, EU, all play important roles in Cambodia, in terms of funding and technical support. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC play an important role in Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the United Nations Office for Disasters Risk Reduction, UNRISD.

Figure 7 ASEAN Institutional Framework

on Environment, countries and sectors The Asian Development Bank, which identifies transition to low-carbon growth paths and adaptation to the unavoidable impacts of climate change as priorities, has developed financing and incentive opportunities for developing countries in the Asia Pacific through a series of resources, such as the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, the Climate Change Fund, and the Global Environment Facility GEF, funds to which ADB has direct access. ADB manages Climate Investment Funds in cooperation with the World Bank and other regional


institutions, as well as other funds concerning water investments, poverty and environment, and private sector. ADB funds involve grants but also loans; the bank is lending and granting funds to a number of climate related projects in Cambodia, mostly in the agricultural sector9. The Association of South East Asia Nations ASEAN is increasingly active in environmental issues and climate change: a declaration was issued during the Bali UN Climate Change Conference and a joint statement at the 2009 Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference. The Road Map for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015 situates climate change agenda in the context of sustainable development through regular meetings of ASEAN Ministers of Environment. This translated into the inclusion of environment in the ASEAN community building blueprints; the adoption of an institutional framework for the environment; the endorsement of a consultative platform, the ASEAN Climate Change Initiative, ACCI; and other shared initiatives concerning environment protection, mitigation and adaptation10. The structure of climate change intervention that results from this re-organisation and mainstreaming is characterised by an important disposal of funds: PPCR initial budget of US$105 million, has reached US$ 240 million in 2013, in grants and “soft loans” by ADB and WB; NAPA follow up received US$ 3 million in 2011; CCCA has been funded up to US$ 9 million; the National REDD Road Map funded by WB, FAO, UNDP and UNEP gets US$ 9 million; a vulnerability assessment and adaptation in coastal zones of Cambodia has been funded by UNEP up to US$ 1.6 million; added to these are other funds made available by USAID, EU, JICA, GIZ, among others11. Nevertheless, there are reasons for concern related to some of the initiatives launched under the umbrella of climate change adaptation. For example, large agricultural projects promoting accelerated shifts toward commercial farming, which impact on biodiversity and people’s livelihoods, does not seem to accord with the need to sustain biodiversity and smallholder agriculture. The same applies to large infrastructures, for example irrigation projects, which may not meet the objective of ensuring equal access to water resources, especially by the most poor and vulnerable12.

9For a comprehensive view of ADB Climate Change initiatives, funds and projects, consult ADB web site at:

http://www.adb.org/themes/climate-change/main ; there is possible to accede to the projects currently funded in Cambodia.

10 For a comprehensive overview of ASEAN Climate Change initiatives, declarations, strategies and projects consult the organisation web site at: http://environment.asean.org/last visited November 2013

11For a more detailed analysis of climate change financing mechanisms, view: Branka Buric, Patricia Gorin, Overview of Climate Change Financing Mechanisms in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, And Vietnam, FAO Climate Change and Environment Officer, Investment Centre (TCID) July 2011. A study on climate change financing in Cambodia has been launched by the NGO Forum, but not yet released.

12Loss in biodiversity due to large rice farming especially around to Tonle Sap lake has been reported extensively, see C.E. Packman et al., Rapid Loss of Cambodia’s grassland, Conservation Biology, Volume 27, Issue 2, pages

http://www.adb.org/themes/climate-change/main

http://environment.asean.org/


A number of local and international NGOs have gathered to coordinate activities, advocacy and research, and are playing an important role in the climate change arena in Cambodia and internationally. The Cambodia Climate Change Network, which has launched this research, gathers 32 local and international partners and promotes advocacy, research and knowledge sharing, as well as training, education and communication activities. The NGO Forum of Cambodia, with 109 members, is the main advocacy and campaign network of NGOs in Cambodia, and now has a Climate Change Policy monitoring sub group. At the community level, a structure of Community Based Organisations active in the different sectors of forestry, fishery, water resource management and other sectors has been formed and is now regulated by laws. Their representativeness, advocacy power and effectiveness still need consolidation within the national climate change dynamic.

Assessment of vulnerability and adaptation capacity of Cambodia communities The definition of vulnerability, agreed by international organisations and entities active in the global warming and climate change sector, is that vulnerability is a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacities (see Glossary). Exposure is an indication of recurrence, intensity and impact of climate hazards, such as floods, droughts, storms, sea level rise, in normal times as well as the result of global changes in climate. Two other terms, sensitivity and adaptation capacity, are more complex and involve the appraisal of geophysical, environmental, social, economic, cultural and political spheres and systems. The assessment of vulnerability is a function of the spheres and systems taken into consideration, their ranking and the methodologies adopted to assess them.

The interpretation given to vulnerability that derives from different approaches and priorities is not neutral and has very important implications for the assessment of community vulnerability13. On one side there are methodologies where vulnerability is the “end point” of a linear process, where climate is taken as the main stressor and vulnerability is an outcome. These methodologies are normally adopted by climate impact assessment studies and are based on large-scale climate data and top-down approaches. They constitute the majority of attempts to measure vulnerability. On the other side are studies where vulnerability is the starting point for an analysis that is built on concerns, knowledge and hardships expressed by communities, according to a bottom up process, and where climate

245–247, April 2013. For an analysis of the irrigation sector in Cambodia, see Learning from Irrigation Projects in Cambodia, Benefits and Challenges, NFO Forum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, 2011.

13 This discourse has been initiated by O’Brien Karen, Eriksen Siri, et al. 2007, in their studyWhy different interpretations of vulnerability matter in climate change discourse, Climate Policy 7:1, 73-88.


change stands as one of the stressors affecting community vulnerability, and is therefore contextualized among other factors.

Figure 8 Different vulnerability assessment (Adapted from O'Brien 2007)

A multilevel, contextualized assessment of vulnerability involves its relationship to climatic, environmental, socio-economic, political and institutional factors, and has a strong focus on livelihoods. In Cambodia vulnerability has been analyzed more within the linear frame centered on climate variability and its impacts on physical and technical aspects, and mainly on agricultural outputs, for which adaptive measures have tended to be limited and essentially technical. Recent studies however have adopted a contextualized approach, based on an appraisal of existing vulnerabilities and their relevance for an assessment of vulnerability related to climate change14.

14For a comprehensive review of vulnerability and adaptation studies see the Synthesis Report on Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for Key Sectors Including Strategic and Operational Recommendations Funded by: ADB and World Bank, Ministry of Environment, January 2013.

Despite progress achieved in assessing and projecting impacts of climate change, vulnerability and adaptation studies for Cambodia provide an insufficient understanding of existing vulnerabilities and responses required for adaptation. This is particularly the case at sub-national levels (provincial, district, commune, and village levels). Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for Key Sectors, Ministry of Environment, January 2013


Vulnerability and adaptation in Cambodia are not only the result of geophysical peculiarities, but also to a number of intertwined factors that increase vulnerability to other crises and shocks. Important changes in land use and ecosystems have had important consequences for the access and control of resources by the population. Of particular concern is the rate of deforestation. According to the Cambodian Forestry Administration statistics, deforestation has reached 0.5% per year and the total forest cover declined from 59 to 57% between 2006 and 2010. This categorizes Cambodia as a ‘high forest cover, high deforestation’ country15. The National Forest Administration, FA, recognises the threats to forest protection, and underlines the key role of governance and the frustration of local communities facing the task of protecting forest resources without appropriate and sound support from authorities.

Closely intertwined with deforestation is the situation of land tenure and landlessness. According to a Human Development Paper published by UNDP, involuntary landlessness is the main cause of poverty in Cambodia16. Economic land concessions granted to foreign and national companies, as well as distress sales, are the main reasons for land dispossession. Landlessness and land scarcity of agricultural properties smaller than half hectare impair rural livelihoods and together with defores-tation, deprive agricultural producers of the most important adaptive strategy they have; diversification and agricultural production integration.

Cambodian farmers derive their livelihood from integrated systems where different kinds of forests, rivers, swamps and lakes have crucial roles in supporting

15 Forestry Administration Cambodia, Cambodia Forestry Outlook Study, Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook

Study, Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations Regional Office For Asia And The Pacific, Bangkok 2010.

16 UNDP Cambodia Discussion Paper 5; Land and Human Development in Cambodia, 2007.

“The ecological landscape of Cambodia has changed dramatically in the last 30 years, possibly influencing changes in more localised weather patterns” UNDP Cambodia HD 2011 Future of Rural Livelihood in the face of Climate change, page xii.

“Natural resources are the foundation of rural welfare. The degradation of water supplies, soil erosion, and loss of access to NTFPs have direct and immediate welfare impacts. Recent history highlights numerous cases in the LMB [Lower Mekong Basin] where the transition to commercialization has represented a worsening or the onset of environmental problems which are affecting the poor disproportionally.” Mekong Adaptation and Resilience Synthesis Report, USAID, 2013


livelihoods and food security. Environmental degradation and resources scarcity have direct causal links with poverty and destitution17.

Such changes may result in additional effects on climate and weather at the local level, increasing its impact and consequences. Another cause of eco disturbance with important repercussions on vulnerability and adaptation is the development of a hydropower energy strategy that relies on a series of dams and reservoirs, with important ecological, economic and social impacts18. Economic and social dynamics are increasing the vulnerability of Cambodian communities and reducing their adaptive strategies. This is reflected by the latest data concerning poverty: 45.9 percent of the population lives in multi-dimensional poverty while an additional 21.4 percent of Cambodians are vulnerable to multiple deprivations19. Inequality of access is also determined by wealth, power, and social and political representation. The national human development index adjusted for inequality shows that this has a major impact in people’s poverty. Among the forms of inequality that have important impacts on vulnerability, gender based discrimination stands as a key factor, which contributes to vulnerability and low adaptation capacity20.

In terms of political representation and participation in decision-making, the voice of local communities and their prerogative to use their rights to influence decision makers, are not strong enough to counteract these trends and demand for accountability and new policies.

17 Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change, Synthesis Report Draft, USAID, 2013, page 22 18 See the NGO Forum environment sub group on hydropower for reports and documents on hydropower plants

and dams in Cambodia, at: http://www.ngoforum.org.kh/eng/enpublications.php?docs=hcrpdoc 19 UNDP Cambodia Human Development; The Rise of the South, Analysis on Cambodia, 2013 page 6. 20 Synthesis Report on Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for Key Sectors Including Strategic and

Operational Recommendations Funded by: ADB and World Bank, Ministry of Environment, January 2013, page 6.

“At this stage of democracy in Cambodia, local communities are encouraged to use their rights in managing natural resources but they still have minimal voice and usually have lost their demands to powerful and rich people while defending their rights from natural resource management. Therefore, in order to reach 60% forest’s cover [Cambodia MDG for the environment], bringing local community participation into highly active participation is essential.” Forestry Administration, Cambodia Forestry Outlook Study, 2006, page 5.


Despite the lack of studies informed by the contextualised approach to vulnerability, a number of studies have provided insight and information on other factors at work in climate change. A study conducted in 2009 by DanChurch Aid21 on public perceptions of climate change in Cambodia, targeting four provinces, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, Prey Veng and Battambang, showed that the perceptions of the communities concerning climate change were intertwined with a number of other factors, primarily changes in local ecosystems, in agricultural techniques and in resources availability. What farmers seemed to perceive clearly was an important reduction of their agricultural productivity and incomes, significant decrease in yields, soil fertility losses, intensification of pests and insect attacks, decrease of fish stocks, and augmented incidence of animal and human diseases. People interpreted these factors as the results of environmental changes, and primarily deforestation. The study showed also that farmers had attempted different adaptive strategies with different degrees of failure or success. A mapping study conducted in Mondulkiri in 2009 to identify key issues for disaster preparedness and response, takes into account a range of socio economic aspects, including governance and power structures22. Mechanisms of control, power and dispossession are crucial variables in people's vulnerability and adaptive capacities. Deforestation, mentioned by communities as the key cause of flash floods, drought, pests and diseases, is due to human interventions, and is made possible by the deficit in rights and power suffered by indigenous communities facing massive logging and land grabs. Villages in the province of Prey Veng were the target of a study concerning adaptation of agricultural practices to climate change23. Even if it did not fully consider aspects other than agricultural practices, it provides interesting insight into farmers’ constraints and adaptation strategies The already cited assessment of vulnerability and adaptation capacity conducted by the Cambodian Ministry of Environment in 2013 presents an initial multidimensional and contextualised assessment of vulnerability in 4 Cambodian provinces: Battambang, Prey Veng, Kompong Thom and Stung Treng24. Together with a comprehensive and critical review of the available studies on this subject, the synthesis report provides an important indication for a contextual and multidimensional analysis of vulnerability. Below are the adaptation priorities suggested by the report25.

21 Public Perceptions of Climate Change in Cambodia, DanChurch Aid/Christian Aid DCA/CA, Phnom

Penh,2009 22 Try Thuon, Mapping Vulnerability to Natural Hazards in Mondulkiri, Final Report, IOM, Phnom Penh, 2009 23Betsema Gemma, Changing Practices: Adapting to Climate Change? A study of adaptation strategies to climate

change by small-farmers in Cambodia’s province of Prey Veng, Master Thesis, University of Amsterdam, School of Social Science, International development studies, 2011.

24Cited in note 20; see Appendix 7 for the details of the vulnerability assessment in the target provinces. 25 Ibid. page 43.


Table 3 Adaptation needs and priorities for the agricultural sector.

Description of needs and priorities 1. Resolving long-standing issues of land access in order to provide farmers with

secure access to viable plots to make long-term commitments and investments to increase productivity, flood security and income generation needs.

2. Effective land-use planning in areas of high conflict, controversy and/or ineffective land management, or of high ecological importance, such as the coastal zone, the Tonle Sap region, and the northeast.

3. Rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure and its management and distribution;

and meeting irrigation needs of farmers through smaller-scale systems that respond to local needs and circumstances.

4. Adoption of high-yielding SRI approaches that utilize efficient water management.

5. Promote engagement in multi-purpose farming (integrated farming systems) to cultivate a range of crops within the same plots. This approach prevents soil degradation and restores ecological conditions in the area, and provides a diversified set of agricultural outputs.

6. Research, develop and breed new rice varieties that are tolerant to local agro-ecological zones, climate conditions, and floods and droughts.

7. Improved weather forecasting systems to encourage adaptive coping strategies. 8. Promotion of crop insurance to give farmers more confidence to make decisions

on planting and reduce risk aversion. 9. Provide agricultural extension services and technical advice to farmers to

improve and intensify agricultural production (e.g., Farmer Business Advisors and enterprise Centers).

10. Promote appropriate usage of chemical (fertilizer and pesticides) and mechanized (machinery and equipment) farming and agricultural inputs.

Early warning systems Early warning (EW) is a global political and legal imperative and obligation inscribed, in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1994 Yokohama Strategy and the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action. “To be effective, early warning systems for natural [and anthropogenic] hazards need to have not only a sound scientific and technical basis, but also a strong focus on the people exposed to risk, and with a systems approach that incorporates all of the relevant factors in that risk, whether arising from the natural hazards or social vulnerabilities, and from short-term or long-term processes.”26

26 Reid Basher, Global early warning systems for natural hazards: systematic and people-centred, The Royal

Society, Phil. Trans. R. Soc., vol. 364 no. 1845, 2167-2182, 2006, abstract


The concept of Early Warning Systems, endorsed by UNRISD, bridges technological and scientific inputs that are needed for effective forecast and information, with the social and political context where this information is needed in order to build an adequate response. It represents an evolution compared to more reductionist technical perspectives limited to technologies for monitoring and broadcasting events and information, without considering the socio-economic and cultural dimensions that shape risk, vulnerability, and response capacity. To be effective and complete, an early warning system should rely on four elements, which are intertwined and interact with each other: 1) risk knowledge, 2) monitoring and warning service, 3) dissemination and communication, 4) response capability.

Figure 9 The four systematic elements of people-centered early warning systems

(Bacher R., 2006)

Most early warning systems are centred on weather forecasts and communication technologies, but less frequently on integration of the different components.

Perhaps the most striking evidence of the relevance of these interconnections has been hurricane Katrina, which affected the Southern Coast of the US and the city

“The second element, the monitoring and warning service, is the most well recognized part of the early warning system, but experience has shown that technically high-quality predictions by themselves are insufficient to achieve the desired reduction in losses and impacts.” Basher Reid, 2006


of New Orleans in 2004. Despite having been forecast and announced in time, the hurricane induced severe human and material losses, especially among the most vulnerable citizens, due to lack of means but also poor governance structures. It revealed deep deficiencies in response capacity because no adapted responses were planned and enacted in time to reduce them27. The evolution of early warning systems (Figure 10) can be seen also as a series of steps, based on the development of scientific knowledge and technological means, as well as the increasing understanding of the components and structures involved. The third step in the diagram, called “end to end”, stresses the need to connect those who develop the message with those who receive it. However, end-to-end EW is not enough, because it does not foresee a reverse flow of information and does not involve adapted responses strategies based on vulnerability and risks.

27ibid.


Figure 10 Early warning evolution (adapted from Basher R., 2006)

Pre-science EW

Warnings, if any, may be based on unrelated factors such as meteor occurrence, cloud shapes, plant flowering or fruiting performance, etc., but also may be based on indigenous observations of relevant factors such as the state of the oceans or visibility of the stars

Ad hoc science based EW

These are systems such as are often established on the initiative of scientists or community groups concerned with particular hazards, such as near-Earth space objects, a nearby volcano or a flood-prone river

Ad hoc science based EW

the initiative of scientists or

as End to end EW

The best known and most developed are those of national meteorological services, for weather-related hazards. Typically these systems operate under a country-wide mandate and involve the organized, linear and largely uni-directional delivery by experts of warning products to users

Integrated EW Systems

The linkages and interactions among all the elements necessary to effective early warning and response, the role of the human elements of the system and the management of risks rather than just warning of hazards


An early warning systems approach highlights also the need to deal with multi-hazards, beyond the range of geophysical, short term climate hazards, and includes long-term risk factors arising from natural but also social, economic and political issues. Table 4 Illustration of factors of relevance to early warning systems and their time frames in seconds (S), minutes (M), days (D), weeks (W), months (M), years (Y) and decades (D) (Modified from Basher, 2006).

Factor

Timeframe S M D W M Y D

seismicity, tsunami X X X weather, oceans, floods X X X X

soils, reservoirs, snow pack, El Nino X X X conflicts, migration X X X X crop production, prices, reserves, food aid X X X environmental management, state X X X industry, urban, infrastructure design X X X land use planning, climate change X X

Table 5 IFRCC Guiding principles.

Principle Description Guiding principle-1 Integrate within DRR: EWS is not a stand-alone Guiding principle-2 Aim for synergy across levels: community, national and

regional/global Guiding principle-3 Insist on multi-hazard EWS Guiding principle-4 Systematically include vulnerability Guiding principle-5 Design EWS components with multiple functions Guiding principle-6 Accommodate multiple timescales Guiding principle-7 Embrace multiple knowledge systems Guiding principle-8 Account for evolving risk and rising uncertainty Guiding principle-9 EWS without borders: target the full vulnerability and

hazard-scape Guiding principle-10 Demand appropriate technology Guiding principle-11 Require redundancy in indicators and communication

channels Guiding principle-12 Target and reach disadvantaged and vulnerable groups Guiding principle-13 Build partnership and individual engagement

The South East Asia International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent has published a set of Guidelines for Early Warning Systems based on the people-centred approach to early warning promoted by the Hyogo Framework for


Action28. The guidelines are focused on community participation in the assessment of risk and appraisal of vulnerabilities and capacities, see Table 5. The EWS process suggested by IFRC stresses the fact that communities can develop their capacities to reduce risks at the local level only if they know the hazards and risks and can build on this knowledge to identify and target vulnerabilities. The process focuses also on the key role of authorities in risk knowledge, monitoring, dissemination and communication of warnings, and in building response capabilities; on this matter authorities must consider small level local events, as well as broader and large scale ones, and be at the service of vulnerable and marginalised communities and groups. Early warning in Cambodia is a component of the national structure for disaster management, the National Committee for Disasters Management, NCDM. The Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology, through the Department of Hydrology and River Work, and the Department of Meteorology, is responsible for establishing, maintaining and disseminating weather and flood forecasts as well as early warning systems29. A Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cambodia 2008-2013, SNAP-DRR, was launched in March 2009. Early warning is one of the key priorities identified by the plan, and the plan acknowledges that early warning systems are not yet working well30. The Mekong River Commission is developing flood and drought vulnerability indices for the Lower Mekong basin and produces flood maps for flood-prone provinces as well as flood forecasting and early warning for the river flood plains. These interventions are complemented by community-based EWS projects of the Cambodian Red Cross and vulnerability assessments by NGOs (Oxfam, Care and Action Aid among others). A Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) is active in the Region, but information concerning Cambodia is not yet reliable due to lack of meteorological data entry points. UNDP is supporting the strengthening of early warning systems based on the assessment that, early warning information, as well as recovery and response capacities are quite poor at the community level due to; unreliable weather monitoring structures, limited risk mapping, lack of standard operating procedures to pass information to communities and lack of dissemination of warning messages at the community level. The decentralisation process has led to the creation of Provincial Disaster Preparedness Committees, but at the lowest echelons of districts and communes there is a lack of structure and capacity to bridge efficiently the higher decision making structures with the communities on these matters.

28International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, Early Warning Early Action: A regional Guideline to

effective Engagement, South East Asia and Pacific Office, Bangkok, 2010 29 It is beyond the aim of this report to provide a detailed description of the national disaster management

structure, for which we refer readers to the NCDM web site: http://www.ncdm.gov.kh/ ; for an assessment on current frameworks see the WB Disaster Risk Management preparatory note that describes in detail the organisational structures, the actors and framework, available on the web at: www.drrgateway.net/sites/.../cambodia_disaster_risk_frameworks.pdf ‎

30UNDP Cambodia: Strengthening Climate Information and Early Warning Systems to Support Climate Resilient Development and Adaptation Project, www.GEF.org March 2013

http://www.ncdm.gov.kh/


Currently, a project has been submitted to the Global Environment Fund GEF, by Cambodia Ministry of Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology with the support of UNDP, aimed at strengthening climate information and early warning systems in Cambodia. The project is articulated through 3 components: transfer of monitoring technologies; model weather forecast data; disseminate information. It has a budget of 16 M USD but there is no specific focus on the community level of the Early Warning System.


Prey Veng

Characteristics of the target areas The fieldwork was conducted in 2 villages in Theay commune, Ba Phnom district, and in one village Prey Kandieng commune, Peam Ro district; both districts are located in the southern part of the province. The areas are prone to severe flooding during the rainy season; Peam Ro mainly from the Mekong River, Ba Phnom and particularly Theay commune, from the two lakes, Boeung Pring and Boeung Khsach Sa.31 The areas experience recurrent and severe droughts during the dry season. The abundance of water, as well as water management infrastructures, allow in some areas, the cultivation of dry season rice, of which Prey Veng province is a major producer. The majority of farmers cultivate rainy season rice, and dry season rice cultivation provides a significant addition to their yield, but it depends on irrigation. This creates important disparities between households having access to irrigation or receding waters during the dry season, and households that do not have access and control over water resources. Land is scarce in Prey Veng, as in other plain provinces, and recurrent flooding and droughts are important natural features of the province, where chronic poverty is prevalent, employment in primary sector involves more than 90% of the population and rice is the main product32. The villages are characterised by a high level of outmigration, which is the main coping strategy adopted by communities to deal with hardships. Table 6 Prey Veng research sites, data from 2008 Census.

Commune Population Villages Population

Theay 20 villages

2,473 families 10,752 persons; primary occupation in agriculture 94.2%; rice farming 90.9%

Kampong Slaeng

955 persons

Prey Kandieng 6 villages

2,376 families 10,516 persons, primary occupation in agriculture 99.2%; rice farming 99.2%

Prey Angkhon 1476 persons

31The road to Theay commune stands for a small portion between the two lakes; in case of flood the road is

submerged a very strong stream; impossible for motor bikers and even cars to travel. Big private trucks transport motorbikes and passengers for 3000 Riels. Recently a car with passengers got overturned by the stream and all passengers except one lost their lives; every year there are accidents of such kind in that part of the road.

32According to World Food Program 2007 10% of households are landless and 3% own less than 1 hectare; data from Prey Veng Provincial Data Book, 2009


Changes in weather patterns It is difficult to establish whether global climate change is having a direct impact on weather related events; during recent years severe flooding has become more frequent in the area, which was hit by severe floods in 2009, 2011 and 2013, while drought remains a constant threat. According to the villagers, floods are causing high losses; in 2013 rainy season nearly 30% of villagers suffered significant losses. The pace of flooding has changed, according to the farmers, with water rising very abruptly and receding too slowly. Villagers have observed an increase in human and animal diseases, as well as rice diseases and pests including an invasion of mice. Storms with strong winds have become more frequent and have impacted rice cultivation too: Two days before the research team visit, a strong storm destroyed four paddy fields in Kampong Slaeng.

Environmental factors Prey Veng is among the provinces in Cambodia where changes in land use and agricultural practices have impacted heavily on biodiversity. The forest for which the province is named (in Khmer language prey is forest, veng is long) disappeared long ago. Soils in Prey Veng are classified as poor and wide use of chemical fertilizers has created a cycle of soil hardening and infertility; a phenomenon aggravated by recurrent droughts. Irrigation through use of underground pumped water to cultivate dry season rice has also contributed to the deterioration of the ecosystem, reducing the availability of subterranean water and increasing soil salinization and hardening.

“No forest left here, very little shadow, so drought is more serious. During the rainy seasons the trees can reduce the water stream and protect from strong winds, but now they are gone” Woman farmer, Kampong Sleang

“Everything has changed, now it is too hot, too rainy or too dry. My chickens died 4 times this year, and even people are falling sick more frequently, especially with eye problems [conjunctivitis]”. Woman farmer, Kampong Sleang “I have planted rice two times this year and I have lost it two times, now I do not have rice seeds to replant.” Woman farmer, Kampong Sleang


The ecological unbalance is perceived by local authorities as very important and with the support of local NGOs they have allocated 8 hectares to a re-forestation project, which should contribute to reverse the losses in biodiversity. The latter is of great relevance for people’s livelihood; rice field fish, as well as small animals like frogs, are an important source of food. The loss in animal biodiversity is also associated with increased insect attacks and pests.

Land and water management Land scarcity and landlessness are critical issues for communities. A significant number of families lack agricultural land or own land in areas that is heavily flooded every year. This has created a disastrous sequence; of poor harvests, indebtedness, migration, and poverty. The social and economic stability of many family farms is insecure and in danger. Many households have very little land available. From discussions it appears that the poorest own only small pieces of land in areas where cultivation is difficult or risky. In fact communities appeared divided into different zones; upper parts not usually flooded and where dry season rice can be cultivated and lower parts, heavily flooded and where rice cultivation is permanently risky.

According to villagers in Theay commune, a reservoir and a water gate, which dates from the French colony, allows Peam Ro district to grow dry season rice, but leaves their villages underwater.

“Compared to before land shortage is a problem. Land was distributed evenly in 1982, but now has been divided within families, or sold. Many poor families here do not own land anymore; they rely on fishing or palm sugar or fuel wood cutting.” Man farmer and Village Chief, Kampong Slaeng

“People in upper parts want water because they can grow dry season rice; people in lower parts don’t want water, because their rainy season rice gets destroyed by flood.”

Woman Farmer in Prey Angkun


Local authorities in Peam Ro claim instead that rice cultivation in the lower part of the reservoir is not allowed, although they are aware that villagers are forced by land scarcity to cultivate this land. The villagers complain that this is now the only land available for many of them.

Socio-economic factors

Farmers in both of the villages Kompong Sleang and Prey Ankun, most of them women and men aged 50 or over, who participated in the discussion, complained about the increasing costs associated with rice production. New rice varieties that have shorter maturation cycles (2.5, 3 to 4 months) have been introduced, especially the Vietnamese short-term Nam Kom Vong. But they demand more fertilisers and do not grow very high, forcing farmers to mechanise harvesting. According to the comm-unities, the sale price for short-term rice varieties is too low, at only 600 Riels per kg. This, added to the risks of flooding and droughts, makes rice farming for many farmers unprofitable

“They keep water in this part of the dam to allow people in Peam Ro to cultivate two harvests per year. Before the dam rehabilitation it was possible to open the gate and let the water flow, but now the water gate is higher than before. The new gate keeps the water inland, to allow rice cultivation in the other part. Two years ago 40 villagers and the village chief, when the rice in our part was ripe, went to water gate and opened it to save the harvest. But now there is a key, which is in the hand of the provincial authorities and can only be opened by someone responsible. At least 50 hectares in this village are flooded by the reservoir, preventing us from cultivating dry season rice.”

Woman farmer and former member of village development committee, Kampong Slaeng

“Some have land in the upper part and are not in danger. The others cultivate in the lower part and they lose everything in case of floods. And floods now come very often.” Woman farmer, Kampong Slaeng

“Everyone here is good at farming, we could make two harvests per year, but now we have to buy fertilisers, rent the harvesting machine, and we have high losses. Many of us would have given up rice cultivation, if it wasn’t that we are farmers, we have a strong feeling for our land. Moreover, we are afraid that authorities will take back our land if we let it idle. So we do not give up farming even if we cannot make a life out of it anymore. Moreover, we are scared to leave the land idle because the government could take it back.” Woman farmer, Kampong Slaeng


and even subsistence is not guaranteed. The feelings expressed on this subject were alarming, and testimony to the deep crisis that is investing small-holder rice producers, most of them women.

The participants rely on loans from microcredit institutions to cope with this crisis: most of them are in debt with one, two or even more different financial institutions. The other coping strategy, adopted massively by villagers, is migration. This situation of crisis is well reflected by the age of participants, mostly women over 50-60, who attended the meeting with their grandchildren, whom they have to care for while the daughters and sons are away working in factories, construction or plantations. The workload that these stressful social adjustments is imposing on middle aged and elderly women is particularly heavy, and is not supported by any measure, service or welfare scheme.

Governance, civil society and community action From the separate discussions held with local authorities and communities some discrepancies appeared concerning the priorities targeted by decision makers in commune development plans. The degree of participation of communities in decision making at the local level doesn’t seem to be effective. As a consequence, the accountability of local authorities is not an accepted or advocated principle. The large majority of community participants in the research discussions had never participated in village development meetings, and had never discussed with local

“We spend a lot for gasoline, and fertilizer, and with low prices we cannot pay back. If flood destroys the harvest we must borrow from a second lender and if we cannot pay we borrow from another, to pay for food and family expenditures. Only few families here are in debt with one bank, most of us have debts with 2 or 3 of them. Land is kept as collateral and land titles are in the bank offices now.” Woman farmer, Prey Ankun

“Every family has members who have migrated; it is the only way to generate income. Children are assets, and also grandmothers, because they stay at the village and take care of grandchildren. Men go to Thailand, others move for seasonal work in rubber and cassava plantations in Kompong Cham, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri. There are ring-leaders who arrange migration to Thailand, not legal because it would cost too much to get a passport. The problem with this is that if in Thailand there are difficulties, like for example floods, they stop working. Others marry new wives and do not come back. Girls go to work in factories in Phnom Penh.” Woman farmer, Prey Ankun


authorities issues related to weather, environment, land, agricultural commercialization, debts or migration.

On the other hand, local authorities admitted that development plans were not focused on the priorities expressed by communities. Not only the authorities but also the NGO intervening in the area seemed to be not fully connected with the communities. This was reflected by their interventions that were mainly technical, targeting the environmental constraints, for example a biodiversity reserve of 8 hectares where trees were re-planted in Prek Kandien commune. The current hardships and problems expressed by the communities did not seem to have been integrated into the development plans by intervening NGOs. Perhaps more significantly, NGO interventions were mentioned exclusively by local authorities, but

“Here all the young are gone; the village is very quiet now. Women, men, all have migrated. A wife is in Phnom Penh working in a factory to send money to her husband who is raising pigs. Other families have 3 or 4 children who have migrated. We, grandmothers, are here with the grandchildren, looking after them day and night and farming as well. It is very hard, but it is our duty, we can do nothing about it." Woman farmer, Kampong Slaeng “Here we migrate to Phnom Penh in order to survive; men and women, even pregnant women and women with children; every family here has members who have migrated to generate income, we could not manage without. We do farming but we rely on factories in Phnom Penh, or even maid work. People come to pick young girls for doing housework in town. But this is not a good strategy, because girls migrating to do housework have little salary, cannot send home cash, it is just one less person to nourish in the household.”

Woman farmer, Prey Ankun

“We do not know about commune development plans. The village chief communicates with the commune council, and then we hear from him. But we never attended meetings.”

Woman farmer, Kampong Slaeng “We do not know about development plans here, but for us the priority is the economic situation: we buy expensive and we sell cheap; there is no way to do business; there are no jobs for people, especially the younger generation; we must borrow money and we cannot pay it back.”

Woman farmer, Prey Ankun


never come out during the discussions with the communities, who appeared to have not been involved in the planning and design of development interventions. One way or another, the communities have expressed their disappointment with political action and development policies by voting massively for the opposition during the last national elections.

Early warning needs and information The discussion on this section of the research was influenced by the context: the area has suffered severe flooding recently, the access roads were not practicable, and villagers were facing post disaster difficulties and hardships. According to LA early warning systems are in place, information is forwarded by telephone or walkie-talkie, and reaches representatives of communities. There is a provincial network for disaster prevention and response and a commission to manage disaster events. At the commune level there are specific groups in charge of rescue and safety as well as health and hygiene. They report to the disaster commission at district level. Local authorities inform NGOs and partners in order to get them involved in managing hardships and emergencies. There is a system in place for disaster preparedness, which concerns information spread and the provision of safe drinking water, supported by NGOs through distribution of water filters. Other NGOs have provided training and information on health and hygiene. The authorities admit that early warning and response activities need to be improved and resourced although the whole 5 year budget has been already been allocated for different projects (dam and road rehabilitation) and there is no more available. Nevertheless, from the discussion with the communities it does not appear that early warning and weather forecast information reaches all the villagers, neither are they aware of contingency plans to deal with and respond to emergencies. According to the villagers, this is due to a lack of reliable and in time information made available to local authorities, as well as to the difficulties in transferring information from authorities to the whole community. People rely only on TV and radio news, which are not detailed enough and does not provide specific information about local weather.

“Plans were made last year; they concerned road rehabilitation, dam rehabilitation and electricity. We did not discuss about managing water resources [the reservoir gate] or debts or these issues.”

Commune councilor, Theay commune


The communities appeared distrustful and fatalistic concerning disasters caused by weather, and tend to consider them as recurrent and unavoidable facts, for which public remedies are not available. This is reinforced by the fact that in case of flooding there are no mechanisms in place to support the poorest members of the community and provide them with basic emergency services. The same happens along the road that links the commune to the provincial town: private trucks are there and ask for 3000 riels to transport motorbikes and persons along the flooded tract. During the community discussions many farmers, mostly middle-aged women, demand for rice seeds. In October their rice fields were destroyed by flood for the second time in the same season, and they did not have seeds left to replant. The villages use to have rice banks, but at the time of the research these structures were empty and not functioning.

The village chief in Kampong Sleang has sent a report about the damages and the families in need: nearly 30% of the rice harvest was destroyed and 30% of families lacked support. Normally, according to him, after the flood authorities have plans to distribute seeds, but this year they were late and no seeds had arrived yet. From the discussions in Prey Veng it appears that villagers were never called to attend meetings with LA concerning early information needs or response and preparedness.

“To reach the market in the upper part of the village we must walk carrying children or stuff with the water reaching our waist, or we have to pay the boat 500 riels to go and 500 riels to come back; if you have a bicycle the price increases to 1000 riels. As soon as the flood arrives, the man with the boat is there to get our money. We have to reach the market every day, how we can pay such a price?” Woman in Kampong Slaeng “Now we sold our seeds; we need to pay back the debts, so we do not have seeds left to replant. The companies are selling rice seeds to farmers and they buy our rice, and we must sell as much as we can to repay the cost of fertilisers, machines and pesticides. So people migrate; children will become housemaids, girls will go to work in the factories, pregnant women help in construction work in Phnom Penh, men go to plant rubber of cassava in Ratanakiri or Mondulkiri, or in Thailand; my health is not good otherwise I would have left the village to wash dishes for restaurants in Phnom Penh.” Woman in Kampong Slaeng


Summary Changes in weather patterns are stressing an environment already

characterized by unpredictable weather and disasters Access to natural resources, especially land and water, has decreased or is

unjust The shift toward commercial rice production does not meet the needs of

smallholders: social and economic stability of small farmer enterprises are at risk

Community coping strategies are dictated by distress; massive migration and indebtedness become adaptation strategies

There is a deficit in community representation and their voice in shaping development is not recognized; communities are not supported and not active


Battambang

Characteristics of the target areas The district of Aek Phnom is located along the Sangkae River, West of Battambang town. The commune of Preaek Lun is, near the Tonle Sap Lake side of the district, whereas the other research site, the commune of Samroeun Knong is nearer to Battambang town. The area is classified as wetland, due to its proximity to the Tonle Sap and the river. Long term floating rice is grown during the rainy season whilst only a few farmers grow dry season rice. Another important source of livelihood is fishing and vegetable growing, especially in the commune near the town. Floods are frequent, as are droughts; they cause significant damage to farms, destroying rice and other vegetables and creating considerable safety and health concerns for the population. The ecosystem of the Tonle Sap flooded plain and forest is very important for the area's biodiversity; clearing land of trees and bushes has important consequences for local fisheries and livelihoods in general. Land is scarce; 24% of households in the province own less than 1 hectare and 15 % of the households are landless. In October this year the area was affected by very severe floods, and also by the opening of the Banan dam, which caused an abrupt and unannounced increase of water level that caught people unprepared and caused significant agricultural losses. Table 7 Battambang research sites, data from 2008 Census.

Commune Population Village Population Preaek Lun 7 villages

1,966 families 9,383 persons, of which primary occupation in agriculture 87.2%, rice farming 74%, vegetable farming 9.3%, fishery 3%

Bak Angrae 1215 persons

Sdei Lew 1532 persons

Samroeun Knong 5 villages

2,655 families 13,499 persons, of which primary occupation in agriculture 58.32%, rice farming 57.3%

Samroeun Knong 2925 persons

Changes in weather patterns The fieldwork in Battambang Aek Phnom district was carried out during the aftermath of a severe flood which affected most of the villages situated along the Sankae river. The water was still high and the rice fields inundated; the road to


reach Prek Lun commune collapsed during the flood and the area was accessible only by boat. The communities were under stress after the danger endured during the emergency phase and were worried about the material losses and the hardships ahead.

According to the farmers, severe droughts, like in recent years, had impacted their floating rice growth; plants were weak and thin and could not survive floods, especially if the water rose quickly, with strong winds and waves coming from the lake. During the 2013 rainy season according to the communities at least 50% of rice was lost.

Environmental factors

The communities identify other things that intensify the devastating impact of extreme weather events. In particular, change in land use and clearing of

“Here we have had 2 serious flooding, in 2011 and now in 2013, and droughts are more intense than before. This year since the beginning of July our rice was flooded. We suffer very important harvest losses. We think that deforestation has changed the climate, not only flooding, also drought, temperature increase and new diseases; especially we see eyes diseases, with swollen and red eyes, malaria and dengue because there is plenty of water for mosquitoes to survive. Wind is stronger than before, not regular, and a few months ago we had a kind of little hurricane that destroyed 2 houses here. Before we used to plant floating rice but now the flood is too quick and floating rice that normally could grow with the water level cannot follow the speed, becomes very weak and does not give product.” Woman farmer, Baek Angrae village

“The flooded forest has been cut to make rice fields and vegetable gardens because people wanted more land. Especially the ones with a lot of land already wanted more, but now we all suffer; people who cut the trees and even those who never cut them. The landlords cut, but the poor who never cut suffer most. The landlords have a lot of land here. Now we try to grow trees to counteract deforestation and prevent damage from strong wind and waves.” Woman farmer, Sdey Lew village


inundated forest, are recognized as factors that aggravate the impact of weather changes. According to the communities the vegetation in the swamps nearby has changed, namely the proliferation of thorny bushes that do not allow fish reproduction. The bushes appeared 7 or 8 years ago and, according to the villagers, cannot be stopped. Their impact on fish is very destructive. Another important ecological imbalance is represented by the explosion in the population of mice, possibly related to changes in wildlife, diminution of mice predators as well as changes in weather patterns. Farmers have tried all possible means, including electrical wires around rice fields, but invasions are massive and they could not get rid of them.

Land and water management Land is scarce in both target communes; the majority of the families possess around 0.3 hectares for rice cultivation, and losses due to drought and flooding are very high. This is associated with the increased costs of producing rice. New short-term maturation rice varieties have been introduced to overcome the risks tied to traditional floating rice production, which is not adapted to weather fluctuations. However, the change has not brought significant benefits and new problems have appeared. According to farmers, a new rice disease (red disease) has appeared which was never seen before; the new varieties are fast growing but seeds are less resistant and cannot be kept for a long time; in 3 months only 50% of seeds germinated, which did not happen with the traditional varieties. Apparently seed companies are very active in advertising new varieties, especially rice from Vietnam, but the selling price is very low and according to farmers and does not cover the production costs.

“Now we have a lot of mice that destroy the rice fields. They have increased because of drought: drought has become more severe in the recent years and mice find safe shelter into the broken soil. They reproduce very quickly, 2 or 3 times a month. It was terrible; we could see the rice moving without wind, because of mice in the fields, and the baby mice climbing the rice straws to eat the seeds!” Woman farmer, Bak Angrae village

“This generation has no land and producing rice demands lot of inputs: seeds and fertilizers, pesticides and machines. I need to borrow money to cultivate rice, but when the flood destroys the harvest we can only migrate to Thailand.”

Woman farmer, Sdey Lew village


Recurrent floods have reduced the availability of rice seeds, which is also the reason why many farmers now grow short-term Vietnamese varieties, a new phenomenon in the last few years.

Socio economic changes The crisis and hardships faced by farmers is well reflected in the distress strategies they adopt to ensure their livelihoods. This is evident in the massive migration of the younger generation of men and women to work in Thailand or in Phnom Penh factories; some villages are only populated by elders. This contributes to weaken the community's capacities to deal with agricultural work. The remittance flows tends to be utilized to cover debts and debt interest more than being invested in productive activities.

“Many families here are vulnerable, because of age, some are poor, or have very small and scanty houses. But vulnerability is also due to socio-economic factors. Even if there is no flood and we manage to get a good harvest, the price is very low, 600 Riels kg. With these revenues we cannot pay back debts and interest, we cannot send children to study, we cannot afford expenditures for improvements. Here we have had in 2011 the flood, in 2012 drought and mice, and now in 2013 flood: we cannot pay back what we borrowed. That’s why young people need to migrate. They send money home because if we cannot pay back the debts then we have to sell land and properties.”

Woman farmer, Samroeun Snao village

“The traditional varieties have a better selling price; with the short term ones we do not have profit margins. The middlemen publicize the seeds and make individual contracts with farmers, their buying price is low but we need money fast, to pay back fuel, pesticides and fertilizers. So we sell at a low price, only wealthy families can keep rice and sell it when the price increases. Poor families cannot, we do not dare to negotiate the price, we are afraid that middlemen will not buy and then we do not know how to pay back the money borrowed. We are also afraid that rice could germinate; in that case we will lose everything. So then we have to buy rice for our house consumption at a higher price.” Woman farmer, Bak Angrae village


Migration is seen as a very destructive coping strategy. Old women are in charge of grandchildren, and agricultural work, which makes a very heavy work load. Communities and authorities agree that migration is disrupting families, creating discontent and making life hard and sad for both the migrants and the people left behind.

Migration to Thailand is essentially illegal; the cost of legal expatriation documents is too high and not affordable by the families, moreover jobs for illegal Cambodian migrants are at the low end of the labor market, uneasy and not secure. Other villagers, essentially women, take home work from textile factories based in Thailand. The work is paid by piece, with low rates, and materials such as thread are not provided. Many farmers borrow money to cultivate rice, a very risky investment now that harvests are threatened by floods, droughts and low prices. Community-based saving groups do not provide enough cash, so people rely on banks or private moneylenders. They are the richest families, owing large plots of land, lending harvesting machines and having the means to store postharvest rice to get better prices.

Governance, civil society and community action

Local authorities in the research sites appeared divided; some commune councilors and village chiefs seemed to share community concerns, but appeared overcome by the problems, especially socio-economic changes. The shift towards commercial rice production, driven by commercial seed enterprises and mills or rice storage facilities, exerts a strong pressure on

“Climate and weather changes are only the top of the issue, many other problems lay beneath: no jobs, little land, bad marketing for our products, price of fertilizers, and migration. We need to negotiate with the government to get better prices. We have plans for agriculture, for improving techniques, raising more animals, but if we cannot control the agricultural market, especially for people affected by repeated floods, we ensure livelihood. It is impossible to survive if we have to sell our products at low price. Migration and borrowing money do not solve the problem.” Women and men farmers in Sdey Lew

“For sure we do not like migration. Living separate brings lot of problems, families get broken, villages are empty and old people are left taking care of children and fields. We do not want to migrate; we want jobs here, in Cambodia, in our villages.” Village chief, Sdey Lew


farmers in the area. Along the road to Prek Luna a large new rice mill stands as proof of these changes; a number of harvesting machines were visible along the road too. Communities complain about these trends aggravating their already precarious situation. Moreover, the coping strategies, borrowing money or migration, are perceived as destructive and not able to solve the problems. NGOs in the research site have taken the lead in disaster preparedness and have launched projects that are considered by the communities valuable and useful. In particular a community based three phase action: before disaster, during it and after it. This is accompanied by safe drinking water provision during floods, support and empowerment of elders and weaker members of the communities, and post disaster recovery with seed distributions. The communities are also engaged in collective actions to protect their environment and to access resources, in particular fisheries, and more recently have developed elders’ committees to support and advocate for old people. Nevertheless, communities are disempowered, facing the new social and economic hardships that are now impacting them, such as indebtedness, massive migration and growing inequalities.

Community stories: a woman leader

I feel committed to find solutions and improve people’s life here. I feel uncomfortable and really want to help; here we are poor, and now even poorer. Migration has changed the villages, now there are only old people, looking after children day and night, farming and taking care of everything. Thanks to the NGO there has been a request by the community to include support for old people in development plans. A little budget has been set apart and distributed to each old person. I’m active within the old people's committee; I support them, especially when they need health care. Since 1999 I’ve been involved in community activities here. We set up a committee against private fishing companies. A Company arrived here years ago and informed the villagers that wherever there was water, and fish, it belonged to the company. So we tried to get organized, because we couldn’t fish anymore. We were worried about possible violence, so we tried to engage mostly women. I did not know about advocacy, or have any skills; I tried to do my best to involve more people. But the Company became stronger too, and soldiers came here to protect the fishing lots. The conflict got bigger, but fortunately the government understood, and in 2003-4 half of the fishing lots were suspended, and in 2010 completely closed. It has been a very important activity, conducted by the community. But now we are again in trouble, with floods, droughts, mice, migration and debts. I want to organize advocacy again especially for migration, it is very important because migration is breaking solidarity and villages become weaker. And also we need to protect the bush and flooded forests, otherwise fish cannot grow anymore. At district and commune levels they are not interested in what happens with the communities, and they do not praise women. So I work here with people, and train them to get more power and stand up for their rights. I try to be a role model, my husband supports me, he looks after the children while I am encouraging community people and women to learn and know more.


Early warning system and information In Battambang the research was conducted in villages that were affected a few days earlier by a severe flood and were still facing an emergency situation. The communities and local authorities in Aek Phnom rely on TV and radio for weather forecasts and receive very little information from upper authorities on such events. Some community members communicate directly with other villages located up stream to get information about the flooding. This year the flood caught the community unprepared: the water flow arrived abruptly and very quickly at night time; high water came from different sides, the river, the lake, the upper ground, together with a lot of heavy rain. The communities think that this was due to a combination of the factors mentioned before, but first of all because of the opening of the dam in an upper district.

According to the commune authorities and the communities, measures for early warning and response need to be strengthened. There is a need for more coordination at commune level, between commune authorities, village chiefs, and communities. The alert messages should be spread by loudspeakers or using the drums from the pagoda, in order to reach all the villagers. In terms of preparedness, boats need to be ready, as well as food, firewood, medicines, safe areas for people and animals. Families without means and elders need to be taken care of. An important contribution to the early warning system at local level is due to the activities launched by Help Age International. This was articulated at community, district and provincial level, focusing on preparedness at community level and on coordination and communication at district and provincial level. In four villages a pilot project is in place, to provide health and hygiene information and tools. As a

“People were not prepared; there was not enough time to prepare firewood, to gather in safe places, to recover the rice already harvested, so now rice has already sprouted! Here many people do not have boats, if water starts to rise what can we do? With timely information we could prepare better: better information means more time to get prepared and less losses. We need also assistance after flood, especially seeds, road rehabilitation and support for the families at risk and more in need.” Commune Councilor, Prek Lun “Information should be clear, this year we hear from TV and radio, and other people, but we did not expect such flooding. The flood came in one night, no time to prepare, some people tried to harvest in water. Some people received early warning but thought it was not serious.” Woman farmer, Sdey Lew “Some people called from other villages to inform us about the water coming very quickly and high, because of the dam in Banan. So some people received information, but others didn't, or did not believe it.” Community leader, Bak Angrae


result, villagers in Aek Phnom district are better prepared to deal with weather hardships and disasters and have an articulated perspective of their needs in terms of response.

That said, the information available at local level are still sketched and not timely disseminated. The effort deployed in preparing communities to face hard weather and flooding is not followed by adequate measures to support the response and the post disaster recovery. All communities were in need of emergency aid, in particular agricultural tools such as seeds, in order to restore their production, but were not receiving answers by authorities or emergency and post disaster structures. Sadly, some villages did their best the evaluate the damages and draw a realistic inventory of the aid needed, but they did not have a referral entity to which the request could be addressed and they have, at the time of the discussion, little hope in a prompt response. Summary • Weather and environmental factors impact communities livelihood and

security • Resource scarcity and a shift toward commercial agriculture, without

measures and policies aimed at supporting smallholders, are increasing inequality and poverty

• Coping strategies, such as borrowing money and migration are imposing heavy costs on migrants and those left behind, especially old women forced to take up productive and reproductive work

“We need to prepare for flood in many ways: for people who do not have boats, make banana tree boats and cover them with rain coats, prepare some food, firewood and water, but this only if your house is safe, otherwise move to a safe hill or place. We need also to care about poisonous animals and insects that climb to the houses, especially cobra and scorpions, four people have died because of cobras in this village. Toilets are flooded, so the water is dirty, we must pay attention to it.” Woman farmer, Bak Angrae “Now we know better how to deal with disasters, how to get prepared, but we still need help. People here tried to harvest fields in high water. Now we need rice and vegetable seeds, distributed by government or NGOs for free. Also the rehabilitation of the road is necessary, because it collapsed; all the toilets are flooded, we need to fix this because we have serious health concerns. We want the government to control the market price of agricultural products, especially for people affected by flood. We think that a leaflet with pictures and figures could explain better and increase awareness of community and CC. And we need support for replanting trees here around, to reduce wind, waves and reduce water flow.” Community members, Sdey Lew


• There is a general understanding that market issues are critical factors and necessitate macro adjustments, but communities need support in order to develop an agenda on such issues


Kompong Speu

Characteristics of the target areas Kompong Speu is among the Cambodian provinces with the lowest annual rainfall. Droughts, severe and prolonged, are recurrent and the district of Kong Pisey, located in the southern part of the province between national roads 4 and 3, is among those most affected by rain scarcity. The massif of mount Oral on the west and the Cardamon chain on the south, are natural obstacles to the monsoon rains. Soils are sandy and among the poorest in Cambodia. Intense deforestation, which started, during KR regime and continues today, has left the hills nearby without trees. Sugar palms that bordered rice fields have been cut massively. As a result of these natural obstacles and human interventions, the soil has become very dry and has limited water retention. Rain fed rice production is the main community occupation; weather constraints do not allow dry season rice production or vegetables growing. Landlessness or very small plots of land contributes to increase people's hardships; migration to Phnom Penh or other provinces and work in garment factories located along national roads 4 and 3, have increased in the recent years. Table 8 Kampong Speu research sites, data from 2008 Census.

Commune Population Village Population Chungruk 25 villages

2,486 families 13,125 persons, primary occupation in agriculture 99.2%; rice farming 99.2%

TmoKda 498 Prey Rong 478 persons

Snam Krapeuw 24 villages

2,403 families 12,891 persons primary occupation in agriculture 99.2%; rice farming 99.2%

Tropeang Stong

754 persons

Changes in weather patterns According to villagers and local authorities changes in weather and climate in the area are not only recent events. Droughts in the area have always been prolonged and rains usually arrive very late, at the end of the rainy season. Water shortages are common, creating hardship for agriculture and people’s lives.

“In this commune, there has been drought since ancient times; my father used to say that drought could last until Pchum Ben. The rain jumps from the Cardamon mountains directly to Phnom Penh and Takeo, without falling here.”

Commune councilor, Chungruk


What villagers and authorities observe is an increase in temperature; they tend to ascribe a number of health problems they are now facing to that change. Another major change is the increasing strength of storms and winds and the risk due to lightning; many farmers have been killed. Local authorities and communities ascribe this fact to the disappearance of sugar palms, once planted to demarcate rice fields.

Environmental factors The decline of sugar production is due to a number of factors: some rice field owners did not want the palms on their land, thinking that palms had a negative impact on rice seedlings. But perhaps more importantly, the lack of firewood forced sugar producers to abandon the production; an important source of revenue was lost, according to the communities. Both communities and authorities, consider deforestation as a central contributing factor to the particular weather patterns in the area.

“It is extremely hot now; heat lasts the whole day and the evening. Diseases like fever, diarrhea, dengue, and eye infections are increasing. Before we could treat them with traditional medicine, now no more, diseases are getting more serious, especially children's diseases; we have to rush to the hospital as soon as the child get fever.” Village chief, Tropeang Storn “Before, during every storm some sugar palms were burned to the roots by lightening. Now there are no more palms and lightning strikes people. We advise people to be careful, switch off phones during storms.” Commune councilor, Chungruk


Land and water management Land scarcity plays an important role in endangering farmers’ livelihood. This is mainly due to increased population pressure, fragmentation and land sales. But access to water for irrigation is the key factor in an area traditionally affected by severe droughts. Water availability determines land quality and is strategic for farmers. The discussions with the communities focused on water management, which is a major concern for villagers. For example in Prey Rok village, the rehabilitation of a dam has changed the irrigation pattern, hindering their access to water sources.

The dam dates from the KR time; different expert teams came to study the area before the rehabilitation but did not discuss with the communities or conduct any impact study. Apparently the people have tried to negotiate and raise the issue with the authorities, without success. For the villagers cut off from water, life has changed radically. The cultivation of vegetables and fruit is now limited to the areas near the dam. Rainy season rice production does not guarantee surplus, not even family consumption, and many families find themselves without any source

“The dam stops the water flowing until here. Before we could grow vegetables and water melons; there were trucks collecting our products to sell in Phnom Penh and Kampong Speu. Now only families in the upper land can grow vegetables and also dry season rice. But the majority here now can only rely in rainy season rice, which is risky.” Woman farmer in Prey Roung

“Once this area was covered by forest, bush and bamboo; even here, near the commune house, there were wild animals, and further away, near the hills, also tigers. The KR started to clear the forest to plant cassava; when the people relocated here, they continued to cut trees to cultivate rice. Without trees the soil couldn't keep the moisture. Rain flows very quickly from the highlands but the soil cannot keep it. Now we do not have water, we must build water ponds to keep water during the dry season and cultivate vegetables. And in some villages people have to buy water from trucks every day.”

Male farmer, Prey Ruong


of income. A similar pattern appeared from the discussion with the other communities: new infrastructure or the rehabilitation of old ones has created important disparities in water access and only a minority of villagers benefit of them. The communes of Chon Ruk and Snam Krapeuw have plans to develop community ponds and store water during the rainy season, supported by NGOs or donors. Some of the structures have already been completed. The structures are quite large and beyond the investment capacities of the communes, therefore local authorities are looking for funds to develop such structures. The development of family ponds is not considered a viable solution by the authorities because of land scarcity and fragmentation of household properties.

Socio economic factors The shift towards commercial rice production is very intense in the area and local authorities are playing an important role in facilitating these changes. There are several reasons for this shift, according to local authorities, adapting rice production to weather changes and allowing farmers to grow more than one harvest per year. At the same time, NGOs and seed selling companies seem to be playing an important role in this shift. For some commune councilors, companies guarantee short term high yield rice seeds and ensure good market prices to farmers. But community people do

“The dam is useful only for people having land nearby. The water stored is not enough for everybody, so the people with water can grow rice and vegetables and develop good businesses. But here we cannot survive. Before the dam water was distributed everywhere but after the dam no more.”

Woman farmer, Chon Ruk

“In our development plan the priorities are; changing rice varieties and introducing short term maturation rice, then rehabilitating big ponds and hygiene and sanitation.”

Commune councilor, Chon Ruk

“The dealers want farmers to buy seeds. The company purifies the original seeds they collect and sell them back to us. If you buy their seeds you enter their list and they will buy from you, if you do not get their seeds they will not buy. Moreover we cannot keep the seeds for a longtime, I don’t know why, so we have to buy seeds every year. My field is not irrigated; I depend on rain, so I do not see why I should change. They say we can save money with direct seedling, but we need a lot of fertilizers. The cost of producing rice has increased very much; I cannot afford to buy seeds.”

Woman farmer in Chon Ruk


not share the same enthusiasm since only the farmers who have access to water can buy the seeds, and afford the costs that come with it; fertilizer and harvest machine rental. Furthermore the selling price is not as good as the company claims. Lastly, water scarcity does not allow two harvests per year, except for a small group of farmers having access to reliable water sources. For the others, even a single harvest is risky. Many farmers cultivating rainy season rice consider production costs too high; this coupled with weather unpredictability, is pushing them toward a situation of insecurity. Borrowing money from microcredit institutions, or migration are the coping strategies that families are adopting to face such contingencies. Communities in the communes of Chin Ruk and Snam Krapeuw are highly indebted; very few families are not in debt.

As for other research sites, migration is the coping strategy. Young men migrate to Phnom Penh, or Thailand; young women migrate to Phnom Penh or find jobs in the factories along National road 4 or 3. Therefore most of the participants in the research discussions were middle aged or old women and men and their grandchildren. The younger generations were absents, working outside or in the best cases, studying in town.

“When we borrow money they take the land title, and they check if we have cows, motorbikes, and collect all the information, such as how many people work in the family. For example if we have children studying, they will not lend money to us; if children are in the factories or husband working in construction, is OK. They need a salary.”

Woman farmer, Prey Ruong

“We are all in debt here! Only the people with capital, who can do business, are not in debt, and they are the ones who lend money. Every day we spend money and we must break our head in two to find it. So we borrow from A, then from B to give back to A, then from C and so on. Children are in the factories, men work in construction, I’m too old to work in the factory otherwise I would be there too.” Woman farmer, Tropeang Storn


Nevertheless in a village in Prey Ruong the majority of the community seems to have made different choices. Farmers continue to plant the traditional rice varieties for which they have found a niche market. The village is engaged in the production of traditional desserts (ansom, trieb, nomkao), weddings cakes and cakes for traditional festivities. The products are prepared from locally available ingredients, with little cost; an agreement with a local market dealer allows them to sell the whole production every day. This extra activity guarantees a small income besides rice cultivation. The village looks different also because villagers have better protected their environment: trees are still shading houses and sugar palms are still standing around the borders of rice fields. According to villagers their strength comes from good governance and cooperation.

Governance, civil society and community action A marked difference between local authorities and communities became obvious during discussions held with both of them. Authorities were mainly focused on development plans which encompassed new infrastructures for water management and facilitation of commercial rice production. The hardships discussed with the communities were not acknowledged by authorities, who tended to minimize some of the problems, and focus strongly on the new infrastructures and agricultural technologies as a panacea for ameliorating the living conditions of the people. The role of NGOs, as perceived by some communities, seemed to be focused on technical support for example for building water ponds, but not supporting community advocacy and action in key issues such as access to resources. At the community level important differences were evident. In some communities cooperation was strong and common goods prized and respected, people were capable of finding solutions. In other communities the social fabric appeared looser, unstructured, and the communities were not capable of gathering, getting organized or advocating for change.

Early warning system and information Communities in Kampong Speu were confronting a drought, a long onset climate event, for which early warning was not identified as a primary need.

“When we see our children coming back from Phnom Penh we start trembling. The first thought is that they probably face some problem and require money to fix it. So we have to run to find where to borrow other money.” Woman farmer, Tropeang Storn


The community's priorities were not directly linked to or depending on early warning and weather information needs. In the area people's priorities were mainly related to access to key resources and particularly water in Kampong Speu. Villagers rely on TV and radio for weather information, which they judge sufficiently articulated in relation to their needs. Their priorities are determined by drought; water scarcity and unequal access to water resources. From the discussion with the community it appears that a better distribution of this scarce resource would be very important in dealing with the problem. Early warning is not considered a key service enabling people to get access to resources and reduce their vulnerability. Summary Weather patterns represent a constant and traditional constraint in an area

characterized by drought and low rain fall Water is a key resource and uneven water management leads to inequalities

and hardships Shift toward commercial rice production does not meet the needs and

constraints of smallholders and impairs the social and economic reproduction of farmers’ enterprises

Community coping strategies are dictated by distress, massive migration and indebtedness

The deficit in community representation and voice in shaping development plans is not recognized; communities are not supported in their demands


Kampot

Characteristics of the target areas The commune of Prek Tnaut, located in the district of Teuk Chhu in Kampot province is situated 30 km west of the provincial town, along road N3 to Kompong Som. The communal area is a narrow stretch of land between the massif of Phnom Bokor and the seashore of the Siam Gulf. The coast is characterised by low sandy shores and mangroves, which present a natural barrier against the sea and salt water intrusion, as well as an important ecosystem for fish, crustacean and mollusc reproduction. The commune land for rice plantation amounts to 500 hectares and there is no other land available. Rice cultivation is rain fed and yields are quite low. During recent years a number of villagers have shifted from rice production to fishing, which has become for many villagers the main source of income. The important advantage of fishing, apart from increasing prices, is the easy access to markets since buyers come directly to villages and demand for seafood. A significant number of villagers collect crabs and shrimps along the shore with simple hand tools; others have access to small fishing boats, made of one piece of wood, and can fish at sea. Only a minority of villagers possess fishing boats with engines, for which investment and running costs are high (6000 $ for a boat + fuel cost + manpower at least 3 persons). Illegal fishing is increasing, especially by large scale fishing boats coming from neighbouring countries that are allowed to fish in Cambodian waters. This constitutes an important threat to villagers’ livelihood and the ecosystem. The Bokor massif, where villagers use to collect firewood, wood for small boats and NTFP, is undergoing intense exploitation by private business. The ecosystem of Preaek Tnaot is complex but vulnerable and people’s livelihood depends critically on the availability of multiple resources, land, sea, and forest. Table 9 Kampot research sites, data from 2008 Census.

Commune Population Villages Population Preaek Tnaot 4 villages

1,572 families 8,323 persons, of which primary occupation in agriculture 86.2%, rice farming 38.7% fishery 42.4 %

Preaek Tnaot 1414 persons Preaek Raeng 1609 persons

Changes in weather patterns Villagers and local authorities agree on observations concerning weather; something has changed in the seasonal weather calendar. Weather has become unpredictable and extreme weather more frequent. Of particular relevance for their livelihood activities is the wind behaviour. Normally strong winds arrived regularly


in November, during the winter monsoon from the North East. Now strong winds are less regular and blow during the rainy season. As salty water intrusion follows the wind patterns, it becomes less predictable too, with important consequences for rice cultivation. According to local people salty water is now inflowing with more strength, higher waves, supported by stronger winds, and is eroding the seashore. The strength of windstorms during the rainy season is perceived to have increased, and each year houses are collapsing during such storms. Rice cultivation is becoming more difficult not only because of salt water intrusion but also due to strong winds and storms. People have changed rice varieties from traditional floating rice to short term, and built wooden barriers in order to protect the plants from wind damage. Another change observed by villagers is droughts. In the dry season, water provision for agricultural and house-hold use has becomes problematic.

Other community concerns that villagers associate with recent changes in weather and environment are diseases. According to the communities, people’s health is deteriorating; diseases are more serious and difficult to treat.

“Rice production is becoming more risky. Floods, and drought, salt water and wind can destroy the plantation. Before more agriculture, we were growing more rice; we were busy with rice fields and, during the months with less work we used to fish. Now it has changed, we rely less on rice and more on fishing, crabs or shrimps. Today you see the rice beautiful green and high, tomorrow, thanks to wind or water, all could be destroyed! We have little land now, and rice cultivation is more risky.” Male community committee member, Preaek Tnaot

“Normally salty water used to inflow in November, but now it can come in October, or before, with wind storms from the South West, while before strong winds used to blow from the North only”

Commune councilor, Preaek Tnaot “In the past the seasons were clear, now they have changed; before there were streams with permanent water but now they are dry from January: even wells become dry.” Male farmer, Preaek Tnaot

“We are seeing now many diseases, new ones never seen before, affecting people but also animals. People think that they are due to chemical products utilised in agriculture and also chemicals in frozen fish. That’s why here we do not eat frozen fish.” Woman fishery committee member, Preaek Tnaot


Environmental factors During recent years there have been relevant changes in natural resource availability. The Bokor massif, which has traditionally provided villagers with wood for houses, boats and NTFP, has undergone intense deforestation, which has deprived the area of these resources. According to the villagers, the establishment of the National Park in Bokor is limiting access by villagers but it is not an obstacle to more intense and organised deforestation activities that is being further facilitated by the new access road.

Communities report that deforestation has impacted the streams that flow down from the Bokor massif. Their flow has been reduced and in the recent years they have dried up during the dry season, a fact seldom seen before, according to the villagers. The coast shore has undergone important changes too; increased erosion, loss of cultivable land, and strong reduction of mangrove cover.

Threats to fish resources are also very important for the communities. According to local fishermen the danger of over exploitation comes from big fishing boats, using illegal and destructive fishing methods. Large boats come from neighbouring countries, mainly Vietnam, and utilise large trawl nets. These methods are illegal because of their destructive impact on fish resources. Another natural resource now endangered is sea grass. It constitutes with the mangroves,

“Before the forest was thick and wide; now most of it has been cut. The park extends into 4 provinces, with only 50 rangers, not enough to monitor the whole territory. Protection is very difficult. Villagers here cut wood for firewood, small trees, because we do not have carts or other transport means. What we cut must be carried on our shoulders. But there are other people that use motor saws and cut big logs for business. Male farmer, Preaek Rang

“In the last 4 to 5 years along the coastal areas we have seen an increase in erosion. This is especially important for the land in the lower part of the village. Before the land extended beyond the coconuts in the sea direction, but now there are no more coconuts, so a lot of land has been lost already.” Woman villager, Preaek Tnaot

Now we have less than half the fish we had before! We need to protect our resources; fish should be enough for everybody. Rich people use more equipment; can go far, while small fishermen cannot. The big boats from Vietnam come and practically collect everything, reducing fish varieties. Normally they could not come near the coastal area, but in fact nobody stop them. They are illegal for our fishery committee, but not for the authorities. We call these big boats sea cleaner, nothing is left after them. Woman fishery committee member, Preaek Tnaot


the habitat of many sea species, and particularly the ones fishermen can capture along the shore.

Land and water management Commune land for rice plantation amounts to 500 hectares. There is no other land available, and according to the villagers, this land is now not enough to feed all the families living in the area. The intrusion of salty water and the winds, now becoming destructive for rice plantation earlier in the season, reduce the chance of getting a good harvest. Rice producers who have means can build barriers to protect their rice, but this cost is not affordable by everybody.

“Sea grass protection is very important for fishermen; the plants and the mangroves are protecting and allowing fish to grow; if we destroy the plants, we will have an empty sea, with no fish, shellfish or crabs. But now it is very difficult to protect sea grass because there are dealers coming from Thailand to buy it. The dealers encourage people to collect it; they set a price and poor people go and fetch sea grass for them. Only a few people agree, and only because there are dealers offering them 700 riels per kg of sea grass. It is not an initiative of the people; it would be easy to stop it by forbidding the dealers from doing this business; no dealers - no destruction.” Woman member of fishery committee, Preaek Tnaot

“Before there were fewer families living here, but now the population has increased and many people that do not have money to buy land in the upper part of the village, have moved to the lower part, near the sea, where there is erosion, and salty water comes in. Families that are richer can construct walls against salt water and protections against the wind, or they plant mangroves. But the poorest cannot, they settle there to fish. They do not consider about protection or cannot afford to build protections. They think day to day, what they fish is their daily food.”

Man farmer, Preaek Rain


There are also other problems concerning land titles and concessions in the forest covered areas. In 2012 the government launched an initiative to check land left idle by economic land concessions, with the aim of returning unexploited resources to communities. Regulation 01, as the initiative was known, was been carried out by university students all over the country, who checked and measured concessions and estates. According to the community forestry committee in Preaek Rain, the community was not informed clearly about the process. Many people thought that all land left idle would be seized by the government; some rushed to cut trees and work the land, also in areas protected by the committee. Part of the work done by the forestry committee in order to promote forest protection was endangered. After the work done by the students-who anyway were very appreciated by the community for their commitment- according to the villagers, something went wrong with the new land entitlement. Rich people from Kampot town obtained land titles and companies reappeared with their property claims.

“We, as community, got the approval for a community land and we have 8 stamps in the map; we only could manage the process because we got support from UNDP and FAO. Now there is this land there is a billboard, placed by a company that says the land belongs to them. The company took 800 hectares based on an agreement with authorities but the community was not informed. The people saw the pillars delimitating the land but thought it was the new railway. Before the students came to check and measure the land we asked to participate in the preparatory meetings, but local authorities did not allow us. And then the people at the cadastral office intervened, and created lot of problems; we think that they complicate things to get bribes. Community people do not have money, so land titles went to rich people in Kampot, including policemen and armed forces. But now, seeing that a company is claiming land again, we feel really hopeless.” Forestry committee members in Preaek Rain


Governance, civil society and community action The priorities expressed by the communities in the area appear to diverge substantially from what was expressed by the local authorities. Many concerns and hardships voiced by the villagers during the discussions were not mentioned by the authorities, who tended to depict the situation as one of relative wealth with a low incidence of poverty. The authorities seemed to be less concerned about over exploitation of natural resources than the communities, and did not support the latter in their efforts to protect natural resources, such as forests and the sea on which they depend for their livelihood. According to the commune chief the living standards in the area were good, people were lucky and only a few people were

PROTECTING SEA RESOURCES

We have set up a fishery committee here that gathers 200 members, and we are active in protecting the environment. We rely on fishing and we must protect our resources. We try to preserve the ecosystem because we need to think about the next generation; how they will make a life if the resources are damaged? We have set up a crab bank to protect female crabs with eggs and make people understand that leaving female crabs depositing their eggs today, they will have one thousand crabs tomorrow. It is a difficult task. People need to understand and learn to act without destroying resources. We need time and patience to convince them, and set a good example. There are many issues that create problems and risks for people’s livelihood: increasing wind strength and sea water intrusion, the increase of population, but also destruction of natural resources and habitat. For example, the destruction of sea grass: We are trying our best to stop the collection of sea grass along the coast. It is a very dangerous activity, without sea grass fish will not reproduce and grow. We must convince people, but on the other side there are dealers, who come here from neighboring countries, to buy sea grass. They offer rewards and the poorest people accept. Nobody collected sea grass before, only after the dealers came. It would be easy to stop it, but nobody does it so we must train the people and convince them.

And we also have a lot of illegal fishing boats coming near the coast. Sometimes with 30 people on board, sometimes 50, even more. Their nets are very big, and sweep the sea floor. This catch is illegal and forbidden. After they fish there is nothing left because they scrape to sea floor and collect everything. Our committee meets with the fishery department, to set up plans to reduce illegal fishing by giant boats. The fishery department wants to work on this issue; we know that they have meetings in Vietnam every 3 or 6 months. But then nothing happens right now, police and navy are not active, and we have no right to stop the illegal boats.


poor. But this judgement was not shared by the communities. He was perhaps describing his own situation, considering the big new cars that were parked at the back of the commune hall on the day of the meeting. Local authorities and community dialogue does not seem to be efficient; according to the communities their problems go unnoticed or are not included in the commune development plans. The local authorities have set as priorities, protection from sea water intrusion along the coast and the introduction of new short term rice varieties. On the community side, efforts should also be concentrated in protecting natural resources from environmentally destructive practices; illegal fishing and destructive business along the coast; deforestation and change in land use. A strong demand has come from the communities to get the law enforced. NGOs in the area offer support and technical inputs to communities in small enterprises (an ecotourism resort, support for a crab bank initiative, and training in rattan handcraft). Some of these initiatives, however, do not take into full consideration the difficulties that communities have in defending their rights and protecting natural resources.

Early warning systems and information In Kampot communities were not directly affected by bad weather and emergencies at the time of the research, but they are very aware about the relevance of weather information because of their activity at sea, and the increased vulnerability of their environment. Therefore early warning and weather information came into the discussions very naturally.

protecting natural resources.

“Here we would like to have good health, good opportunities, prevent salty water to come in but increase biodiversity and protect the resources, sea and forest. We need more respect for the law. There are illegal practices that nobody can stop, even local authorities. We want to see the young generation develop with more jobs, and more women involved. Here we are poor and in debt, we need more solidarity and support.” Member of forestry committee, Preaek Rain “The fishery committee try to protect the coast from the big boats fishing illegally; we try to stop and catch illegal fishermen, but local authorities are not cooperating and the police is not honest. The maritime authorities, the navy, cooperate but it is only to show off; every time the committee asks to stop illegal fishing nothing happen! This is very bad and dangerous for our resources.” Member of fishery committee, Preaek Tnaot


From the discussion with local authorities early warning and weather information are not considered a priority for the area. The commune chief was adamant: information is broadcast by TV and there is no need to inform people further. Moreover the area is protected from typhoons or other weather related disasters, so this is not a matter of concern for the authorities, even in terms of preparedness. Communities expressed a different opinion: for them early warning and weather information are considered very important. The area is prone to strong winds and storms, which are very dangerous for people living along the coast, particularly fishermen. Each season the community suffers loss of life. In term of material losses, storms and winds destroy rice fields, push salty water deep inside the land, and damage or even destroy villagers’ houses. The communities rely on weather forecasts from Vietnam and Thailand, which are considered more reliable particularly for the condition of the sea. Traditional signs, such as the sound of the forest that used to announce strong winds and lasted a few days, allowed people to get prepared. Deforestation has changed the vegetation of the Bokor Mountain and this sign has disappeared, leaving people without this natural early signal.

Another reason for concern is the reduction of the fish resource. This pushes fishermen to go further and take more risks. Land scarcity and the increased cost of land, especially in the upper part of the commune, where fields are not prone to

“Every year some fishermen disappear at sea. The conditions of the sea can change very quickly and become dangerous. We have very small boats and we are easily in danger.” Fisherman, Prek Rain village “Traditionally we used to look at the clouds; we observed them and knew that we must come back. Now winds come without warning. Our life depends on 30 l. plastic tanks that we keep on board or lifejackets when we have one. Fishing is more dangerous and more risky now.” Fishery committee member, Prek Tnaot village “When my boat sank I tried to swim, a boat rescued me, it was very hard. I stayed in the water for 24 h, a day and a night, naked, waves were very strong, and I survived thanks to a plastic ice box.” Fisherman, Prek Rain village

“Farmers and members of fishery committee would like to get more precise and reliable information. Windy weather is the best for fishing, but we need to have better ideas about the risk. We would like to have loudspeakers to broadcast alerts along the national road, where the people leave, in case of extreme weather. Fishermen and their families would like to have a nightlight on the shore, to avoid getting lost at night, and pillars that indicate where the water is high.” Fishery committee members, Prek Rain village


sea water intrusion, oblige the poorest families to move near the sea, where salty water can reach their land and the erosion is strong. Richer families can construct walls or protection against the sea and the wind, but the poorer are more at risk because they cannot afford to build these protections. When local authorities organized a meeting to discuss the national disaster protection plans communities were not invited, only village chiefs attended it. This created a divide between authorities and villagers not only about early warning needs, but also about response and preparedness. The village chief who participated in the community meeting admitted that these issues were never discussed during the commune council; he was hearing the community proposals for the first time. Summary Changes in weather patterns, especially winds and intrusion of salty water,

are impacting people's livelihood and reducing land available for agriculture Protection of vital natural resources, particularly from forest and sea

exploitation, are a major concern for communities The effort made by communities to protect their resources does not receive

adequate support by local authorities Communities are organized and conscious of the necessity to act in order to

safeguard resources for fair and sustainable development


Mondulkiri

Characteristics of the target areas Situated in the Northern east part of Cambodia, south of Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri is the largest province of the country and the one with the lowest population density. Covered by different kinds of forests and grasslands, the province has been until recently mainly inhabited by indigenous people, ethnic Bunong, whose livelihood was based on upland rice, as well as vegetables and fruit cultivation, NTFP collection, fishing, hunting and animal breeding (buffaloes, cows, elephants, small pigs and chicken). Upland rice cultivation in forest areas, known as shifting cultivation, is an extensive practice where plots of forest are cleared, burned, cultivated without laboring, and left idle for a sufficient lapse of time to allow vegetal re-grow. This system, based on traditional customs and rules, has been severely impacted by recent changes, primarily deforestation, land clearing for agricultural purposes, changes in land tenure, and the rapid expansion of commercial crops and plantations. The intense in-migration from Cambodian lowlands, made possible by new roads and infrastructures, has driven these changes. O’Reang district is an upland (900 meters altitude) located in the south east part of the province, with hills separated by valleys and streams. It is also a district severely impacted by recent changes in land tenure. Economic land concessions have alienated huge areas of land, so that no more is available to local indigenous communities who once used to cultivate, collect and let animal grazing there. Deforestation has also impacted the soil capacity to retain water, in an area already exposed to droughts and strong winds, where soil evaporation is critical. The decrease of forests has affected NTFP collection, and particularly resin, a product traditionally collected and traded by indigenous people33 . The scarce population density of Mondulkiri and O’Reang can be related to indigenous people's adaptation to a challenging environment. In recent years the population has nearly doubled, due to in-migration from other provinces, triggering rapid changes in agricultural practices, which have impacted on the environment and need accurate evaluation.

33Resin is an ingredient of lacquers, utilised in boats, carpentry and more recently in natural paint production; it is

also a high added value product, whose collection represents an eco-sustainable practice, and the loss of which represents an important damage for indigenous peoples.


Table 10 Mondulkiri research sites, data from 2008 Census.

Commune Population Village Population Dak dam 3 villages

332 families 1452 persons, of which primary occupation in agriculture 97.3%, rice farming 91.7%

Pu Chorb 451 persons

Pu Leas 413 persons

Pu Antreang 588 persons

Change in weather patterns As for other research sites community members have the perception that weather has changed. As well, they associate what they observe with local environmental changes, very evident in the area. This is due to a traditionally intimate and knowledgeable relationship with the environment that allows indigenous villagers to perceive and identify changes unnoticed by less attentive observers34. According to communities and authorities the weather started to change from 2000-2003 and changes became more evident after 2006. Rains are more concentrated and more intense in few months and stop earlier in the season; temperatures have increased with fewer cold days; droughts are more intense and last longer; wind strength has increased. According to them, deforestation and change in land use have contributed to increasing the impact of such changes.

34Among indigenous people from Ratanakiri, ethnic Braw, Ian Baird, has reviewed more than one hundred

different terms to classify forests, based on types of vegetation, water, sloop exposition etc., Baird Ian G., The Ethno-ecology, Land-Use, and Livelihoods of the Brao-Kavet Indigenous Peoples in Kok Lak Commune, Voen Say District, Ratanakiri Province, Northeast Cambodia, Geography Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 2000.

“Climate change is due to global changes, like smoke from factories, cars, garbage, and increased population, but comes also from deforestation. Without big trees it gets hotter, and the land gets drier.” Woman farmer, Pu Leas

“Now there is less wild grass; too much forest has been cut, streams get dry and wind dries the soil very quickly after the rains. Buffaloes and cows get sick very easily, many have died. Forest animals now come to our fields to find food and destroy them, especially monkeys and wild pigs. We don’t know how the next generations will manage without the forest, without the buffaloes and the cows, and not enough water.” Woman farmer, Pu Chorb


Environmental factors The granting of a very broad land concession to a private company that is growing pines trees has increased the negative pressure on local resources. The company land covers most of O’Reang district and is creating conflicts and problems for the villagers.

Apart from the large Chinese concession Wushisan, there are others companies, from Vietnam, Korea and Malaysia, but also small ones owned by Khmer from the lowlands or the US. They grow cassava and rubber. More recently there has been a new wave of Vietnamese migrants renting land from Khmer owners to grow pepper. The consequences of these changes, added to changes in rain patterns, wind and temperatures, are crucial for indigenous people living in the area.

“The pines have damaged the grass; pines leaves fall down and cover the soil so that near the pines no grass can grow. And also they use chemicals in pines plantations and we think that this is damaging our animals and ourselves. Cows and buffaloes used to graze far from the village, but now it is impossible, if animals enter the concession they are seized. So now we keep them near the village but it is not good for their health.”

Man farmer, Pu Chorb

“The dense and big forest here around has been cut. When people buy land around here they cut everything to make plantations. I can see the difference from before. I used to go to the forest at dawn and usually there was fog. Now no more, the land is drier and there is no dew. No forest means more heat and less humidity, so more drought. Long droughts, no dew at night and very strong storms, so there is not enough water. Rice production has decreased, because of irregular rain, and forest cutting; Rice production has decreased a lot, from 100 baskets (30 k) per hectare to 5-20 maximum.” Male farmer, Pu Antreang “In the last 10 years we saw big changes; before harvests were enough and we did not have these new diseases of animals. Buffaloes die now, before we could sell them in case of emergency or distress, now if we need money we can only look for work in plantations. Young cows and buffaloes are very sensitive and die very often. We try our best to raise them but it is very difficult. We do not have medicines and there is not enough grass. Before there was a lot of land for farming where animals used to graze after harvest. Now there is only a little land and we think that there are pesticides and chemicals used by planters. We must keep our animals near the village and they suffer. All around here there is land owned by outsiders.” Woman farmer, Pu Leas


Of particular concern are the changes that these things have caused in agricultural practices. Successful and sustainable shifting cultivation relies on a number of factors: the choice of forest plot should not damage the most dense forests; trees in the plot must not be uprooted but cut 1 m high to allow re-growth; burning must destroy unwanted seeds and soften the ground; after 1 to 3 years the plot is left idle for 10 to 15 years according to the area. Now practices are changing.

Land and water management Recent changes in land tenure are at the core of community’s distress and have created a complex situation where conflicting interests, bad governance and community disempowerment have merged together. The low population density and the misunderstanding of, or failure to recognise the value of indigenous agricultural practices, have created the common perception that large extensions of land are free and available. Land concessions, granted without previous information, consultation and consent by local communities, as well as new in-migration, have resulted in a massive shift in land tenure; from collective exploitation by the community towards private ownership. This change has also involved to some degree, indigenous people themselves, who have been lured and pressured to sell land plots to newcomers. As a result, communities are now divided between the small group of families who have sold part of their land, and those families who

“Shifting cultivation is still practiced, but now we cannot keep the older fields idle for many years, only a few years, because there is no land to rotate them and we are also worried that if we leave land idle it will be seized by new-comers or companies. So when we cut and burn only bush and small trees, the nutrients from ashes are not enough and soils are less fertile. We never used fertilizers or chemicals in upland rice, but we can see that the soil is less fertile than before. We cannot cut new fields and the old ones are less fertile.” Woman farmer, Pu Antreang

“Community people sell their own land, that’s why newcomers come and plant cassava, rubber or pepper. We cannot stop people from selling their own land; it is their right to do this.” Village Chief Pu Chorb

“Some people sold their land because companies and dealers persuade them to do it. They have different techniques: they said that land left idle will be taken by government or a company anyway, so better to sell and at least make some money out of it. More recently they have used different arguments. They say: be careful, you have so much land, don’t you known that the government will come and ask for taxes on it? They will make you pay a lot of money then.”

Man farmer, Pu Chorb


didn’t, but now suffer the consequences of shrinking land and in-migration of new comers. This would not have been possible without the involvement of local authorities in charge of signing and approving land sales. The discussions showed very well the intricacy of the situation, the different interests at stake and the disillusion and distrust now reigning among communities and between communities and authorities.

Indigenous people have a right to collective land title, but the process to obtain it is not easy and since the approval of the Land Law only a few communities have been able to obtain a communal title35. The process becomes unmanageable as soon as land plots are sold to new comers who hold individual land titles. In one of the villages in the area the process of collective land registration is now on-going, supported by an NGO, but most of the land has already been sold or taken by companies; this voids the process in its aim and scope and does not ensure community livelihood anymore.

Socio economic changes Indigenous communities, under this pressure, have gone through important changes. If they appreciate some of improvements that economic development has brought to them, such as provision of electricity and water and access to modern equipment, they are also conscious that these innovations have a price.

35For an exhaustive review of indigenous people and land title, Baird Ian, 2011, Indigenous Peoples’ and land: Comparing communal land titling and its implications in Cambodia and Laos,Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol. 54, No. 3, December 2013, pp269–281

“We are not aware about land title, it is our birth place and we did not think that we needed documents to certify our land. But some people try to persuade villagers to sell, they talk about taxes, and say that the government will take the land back, and so the village chief and commune chief advise to sell. The ones who bought land do nothing on it; they wait and re-sell it at higher price.” Man elder, Pu Leas

“Indigenous people have never cut precious wood or big trees in the deep forest, only the outsiders; now it is difficult to go back, now there are roads, and TV and motorbikes, but we also have lost our heritage. There is no more solidarity in the village, only competition for money. Before we worked together, to cut the fields, burn them and build the fence around. Now we hire laborers and we pay others to work. Now people do not have enough land; they become laborers in cassava or rubber plantations. I miss land, forest and animals.” Women farmers, Pu Leas


Working as an agricultural labourer for private planters has become a strategy for families when short of food. Women are hired on mass for stripping grass; the work is organised by dealers who inform the villagers when they need labourers. Men are hired for more demanding work, including cutting trees and clearing land. Many young indigenous know little about the forest now; elders complain that the young people get lost after the first stream. Outside support, including from NGOs is not perceived as having important impact or being adapted to the communities. Some NGOs have promoted new rice varieties, but according to the villagers the new seeds are not adapted to upland rice conditions and sometimes have not been appropriate. In one case new seeds provided were for inundated rice fields, and villagers were advised to grow them near streams.

Governance, civil society and community action According to the communities, local authorities have a key role in protecting, or alienating, indigenous land. Good willed authorities can easily stop land sales, inform villagers and make them aware of the land law and their rights. According to communities this is not occurring. Other problems come from powerful people and armed forces, especially the ones positioned near the border with Vietnam. According to the communities these people do not follow the rules and do not respond to any authority. NGOs are perceived as weak and not able to support local people in claiming their rights and holding authorities accountable. Traditional authorities have lost influence and people, especially the younger generations, do not follow their advice anymore.

“Even the community cemetery in the deep forest was sold; somebody put a panel, for sale on it, and the company gets it and bulldozers now razed all the land. Dealers come mostly from PP, they are outsiders, but the ones who persuade villagers are insiders, Khmer and also Bunong; they do it because of commissions and bribes they receive for land sales. The NGO is supporting the process of registering community land but most of the land is already gone, taken by the Chinese company or privates. Companies take land, and outsiders too, and intellectual and educated people come here and persuade villagers to sell land. Here 40 families are outsiders, and people now are labourers in land of companies and outsiders.” Woman farmer, Pu Leas


“Here the problems come from outsiders; they cut and make new plantations, because LA sit and do nothing. When we protested we were told that people have rights to cut and shift, and after 5 years land belongs to them. What happens is that outsiders come, they bought a small piece of land but they cut much more than the initial plot; when they registered the land, the size was not the initial but much larger and the authorities sign the title anyway. Here outsiders have more rights than us! They do what they want. They are powerful people, and LA gives them what they need, land titles. We know, we have proof, they take bribes from outsiders. We call this signer yo loi. They sign to get money. Armed forces started to clear land in 2003, they learned that land was valuable and they came. And land titles were arranged by authorities, for example they got land 50 meter wide and 100 meter long, but in fact they cut more and the land becomes 300 meter long, reaches the stream. Then they register it with the new map, and they wait and keep it idle. When the price increases they sell it according to the new map, and commune chief and village chief sign it.” “Community wants to have more rights and prevent land sales and grabbing by companies, and establish collective land title. And we want police to intervene when illegal logging happens, and set a forest house to guard forest. NGOs should help local people to protect land and avoid land sales and grabbing, especially from outsiders from lower Cambodia. How to prevent land sales? The most important issue is the role of local authorities, they are the ones who can sign land sales and put the stamp on it. They should educate and prevent people selling, not encourage them. But commune chiefs want to sell; they are the ones encouraging, because selling brings them advantages and bribes.”


Early warning systems and information As for Kompong Speu, communities in O’Reang district in Mondulkiri are affected and impaired in their livelihood by slow onset changes in climate, and particularly the rarefaction of rains and drought. While in other areas of Mondulkiri extreme weather may be relevant, O’Reang is not at risk of flash floods as in other districts in the province. For the communities, the loss of land and forest are the causes of their vulnerability and result in a substantial reduction of their response capacities. Without land available and with the degradation of the environment caused by land concessions and plantations their marge of maneuver in case of weather related hardships, such as shorten rainy seasons, is severely reduced. Communities do not resent the lack of early warning information as a priority and a way to reduce their current hardships and vulnerabilities.

An elder perspective Outsiders come and clear land, and then they get land titles. Some are armed forces; they keep the land for selling it later. Some are villagers, and people are angry with them. The elders use to say: if you sell your land it means that you sell yourself. But people think only about money. So now land is only around the village, fields are far and few. We have a difficult life, women, but also elders, little products, diseases, and lots of work. We do not know what to do: you come here and we expect that you have ideas about how to deal with it. The NGOs help us with land registration for collective land, but most of the land is already gone. Now people who sell regret it a lot, they sold before, without considering or knowing the consequences. IP who sold land are still poor, only very few become rich; they are the cleverest. No one who sells land did it openly. Land sales are done secretly. Smart people do not share information; they use to go into the forest, put up a sign and sell. The others know what happens only after, when outsiders or companies come. The dealers tease us, they say do not be crazy, think about motorbikes, and cars, and government taxes, and land grabbing from companies. We do not know about many things from outside, so we thought that dealers were sincere, we would never believe that they were cheating us. The poor are like women, and the rich are like men trying to tease them. Here dealers come and also LA and State come, so we believe that selling was a good strategy. LAs persuaded many people to sell after the Chinese company came and got so much land. People feared losing their land, but in fact LAs think about their own benefit, they took bribes from land sales. We know very well that they took money. It is difficult to choose good LA, because we cannot vote for individuals, only for parties, so we have no choice. Now we face difficulties for collective land registration, because people think that with the collective title they cannot sell land. So now it is a very difficult task to get the community together and agree on land title, also because the commune council is not happy with community land title registration. Farmers from Pu Leas and Pu Chorb


Summary Weather changes have impacted on a situation that is already vulnerable

because of environmental damage and abrupt shifts in land tenure.

Land, a key resource for indigenous communities practicing extensive agriculture, is shrinking, disrupting agricultural practices and putting their livelihood at risk.

External pressures exerted by private companies and newcomers are

complicit with authorities that are in charge of local governance and the rule of law.

Communities are left with little ground for asserting their rights whilst

external support in advocacy does not seem able to support them in this task.


This research provides important insights into the intertwined challenges faced by local communities in order to secure their livelihood in a fast changing natural, social and economic environment. In this context the impact of global climate change appears to interact with and enhance a series of modifications that are already reducing community's adaptive capacities. In all the communities, villagers have observed important changes in climate and weather patterns. Increased frequency and severity of floods are perceived by communities located in Aek Phnom district in Battambang and in Ba Phnom and Peam Ro districts in Prey Veng. Water from rivers and lakes rises more quickly and lasts longer, increasing material losses and risks for people safety. The intensity of droughts has increased, and according to observers, follows floods and adds hardship to hardship. In Kong Pisey district, Kampong Speu province, lack of rain is a recurrent problem and the district is experiencing very severe droughts. In Kampot the pace of monsoon winds and rains has changed, becoming more unpredictable; this influences seawater intrusion and makes fishing more dangerous. In Mondulkiri rains are more concentrated and intense, and are followed by longer droughts. In all provinces communities have witnessed an increase in temperature. The communities associate these observed changes in climate and weather patterns with the significant alterations that have occurred in their ecosystems in recent years. Global factors are not ignored, but are considered by the communities as only one side of the problem; the other side is represented by local factors, due to human disruptive interventions in the ecosystems that have contributed to alter local climate and enhance the local impact of global changes. Deforestation is considered by all communities as the main culprit, having impacted heavily on all their ecosystems. The term cutting forest in this context refers to different vegetation forms: primary forests in Mondulkiri; mangroves and sea grass in Kampot; wetland trees and bush around the Tonle Sap in Battambang, secondary forests, bamboos woods, or even planted trees. In Prey Veng and Kampong Speu it refers to all kind of trees, including sugar palms, and the changes in land use to make place to extended rice fields. The alteration of the ecosystem - reduction of biodiversity, deforestation, erosion, over fishing, chemical agents, etc. – is not only a co-factor in climate change. It is threatening the majority of Cambodian smallholder producers, whose livelihood relies on diversified low-input and integrated agricultural systems. Even in the less diversified areas, such as Prey Veng, where rice production is almost the only agricultural output, natural resources remain crucial to provide important food components, traditional medicines, materials for houses and tool construction. Small animals, fish, NTFP, medicinal plants, material for equipment and tools and for house construction, have become less available and pose important threats to people’s nutrition and health, habitat and living standards.


In the plain provinces of Prey Veng, Battambang and Kampong Speu agricultural land is becoming scarce: many families in the research areas survive with less than half hectare; not enough to ensure their livelihood. The poorest families have lost land also because of distress sales and debts. A process of land concentration, which started a decade or more ago, is taking place and has increased inequalities among rural communities. Land and land tenure security constitute an important problem in communities located in areas where population density is low and the commercial value of land is high; this is the case of Mondulkiri and Kampot. In Mondulkiri a land rush is on-going, with new comers arriving in mass and buying, or occupying, land that was traditionally used by indigenous communities. The new comers’ practices are not environmentally sustainable and are trigging crucial degradation of the ecosystem. Communities in these areas are confronted with direct threats to their right to possess or get access to land and natural resources that are vital for their livelihood and their survival as ethnic groups. In Kampot forest resources are disappearing and communities are struggling to preserve their rights to land and forests.

Access and control over water resources is another cause of hardship in many research sites. Water scarcity is an environmental constraint in Kampong Speu, but is relevant in other areas too during the dry season. Management of water resources for agriculture is often not inclusive, making water accessible only to part of the community. Infrastructures for water management in some cases have not been designed and shaped based on all users’ needs; as a result farmers or groups of farmers are cut off from the irrigation schemes. The shift toward commercial farming, requiring intensive inputs, but more vulnerable to climate and market fluctuation, is very evident in rice producing areas. Farmers are confronted with the increased cost of producing rice and low sale price for their harvest. Very few services are available to smallholders and private companies have entered the sector with aggressive marketing strategies. The shift toward the commercialization of rice seeds by private companies is a matter of concern. From the discussions it appears that marketing of new varieties is done very intensively, in some case without paying attention to the real needs of smallholders. It is not clear from these discussions, what advantage the majority of rice farmers have gained from the establishment of rice mill enterprises. This shift has not been accompanied by measures and policies aimed at supporting smallholders and favoring a fairer distribution of wealth. Social inequalities have increased; the transformation of a few wealthy farmers into agricultural business entrepreneurs has occurred at the expense of the weakest ones, who make up the majority.


The most evident demonstration of this process is that the sustainability of smallholders’ farms is at risk and can only be supported through external money inputs. These may be obtained by borrowing from banks or moneylenders, or remittance flows from family members who have migrated for work. In Prey Veng, Battambang and Kampong Speu the majority of the farmers who participated in the discussions were in debt, often with more than one lending institution. The interest rates applied by finance institutions, 2.5 to 3 % per month, are not comparable with the negligible profit margins of smallholder rice producers. Because the bank often holds their land title as a repayment guarantee, if they are unable to repay the loan, small farmers risk losing their land and becoming impoverished. In order to pay back interest and support daily life, migration is their main option. Young people have migrated massively, men in search of better job opportunities, women to alleviate the family hardship by sending remittances. Often, their remittances are used, not for productive investment, but to support daily livelihood. Old people and particularly women find themselves in charge of heavy productive and child caring work, at an age where these workloads and worries should be delegated to fitter family members. This socio-economic insecurity and deterioration of living conditions is tangible. In some villages in Prey Veng the majority of the houses are of zinc, as wood is too expensive and other natural materials are less available. The houses are so hot during the daytime that owners cannot live inside them. Village structure has changed. Houses are packed together with little land between them; their yards are often dusty and dirty, populated mostly by children and old people. In some villages in Kampong Speu there was not a single tree left around the houses or surroundings. Community priorities are often not recognized and communities are not supported in their demands, whilst local development plans tend to be based on top down decision making processes. In general, priority is given to infrastructures such as dams and roads, but communities are not involved in their impact analysis or design. The potential local participation provided by the decentralization process has not been yet exploited and translated into bottom up democratic practice to hold decision makers accountable. This disconnect between communities and local governance priorities and concerns is particularly relevant in areas where important resources are at stake, such as land, forests and sea fisheries. In Kampot, community members and representatives were deliberately excluded from decisions and consultation. In Mondulkiri decisions and administrative practices concerning land sales were not transparent. When the value of the resources is high - wood, or sea fisheries - local communities are particularly at risk of losing land rights and receive little support by local authorities in their attempt to protect and preserve their rights.


The role of NGOs appears instrumental in supporting community-based structures, such as community committees, savings groups or other projects. Nevertheless, there are differences in practices and approaches: in some cases the disconnect observed between communities and local authorities is similar to the relationship between communities and NGOs. The latter are more oriented toward technical interventions of very limited very limited and which economic sustainability not fully analyzed. Very often NGOs interventions lack to acknowledge that grassroots and communities based businesses cannot survive without macroeconomic policies that regulate market forces. A common issue shared by most of the NGOs intervening in the areas, is the choice to utilise training as a magic formula for most of the communities’ problems, even when these are not the result of lack of knowledge or capacities. This unidirectional conception of development disregards communities’ knowledge, capacities and initiative. In some cases communities have tried their best, with or without support, to get organised and defend their rights to accede, make use, control and protect key resources. In other cases they appear disempowered, hopeless and fatalistic. These differences should be investigated more deeply to understand what empowers communities and what, in contrast, prevents them from becoming more active. The research findings concerning early warning and weather information have started theoretically, to situate these concepts on a more solid ground. It is now internationally recognised that the early warning needs to be conceptualised as a system. This term underlines the need to integrate weather monitoring, dissemination of information and warning messages, risk knowledge and response capacity, into an integrated process, which should be based on a vulnerability assessment. Communities are the starting point for the process and should be involved in the design of each of these components. Concerning early warning systems and information, local communities in most of the research areas do not received adequate, reliable and prompt information concerning weather related events. Lack of access to weather forecast and early warning concerns local authorities too, who do not receive the information from upper authorities that enable them to alert the population. In some communities weather information is available but there are no warning systems in place to operationalize a response. In other cases, for example in Kampot, local authorities and communities seems to have different priorities concerning the need for early warning information; while communities consider this a very relevant and lifesaving service, authorities do not rank it among their priorities. Media, TV and radio, are the main source of information concerning extreme weather in most of the communities; in some cases, for example Kompong Speu and Mondulkiri, affected by long onset phenomena like drought or early rain cessation, these information sources are judged sufficiently accurate and timed. In communities such as Battambang and Prey Veng, at risk of severe flooding,


information, including key lifesaving messages, are not available or not disseminated in time, and this constitute a risk for the people and their belongings and production. In the research locations in this study such an early warning system is not operational. Many obstacles are still present: primarily the fact that there is a cascade of authorities having a mandate to launch and disseminate early warnings, and a disconnect with communities and their responses. Community vulnerability and risks are not sufficiently understood and constraints to their responses not targeted. Local authorities are not always able to deliver early warning information to the communities, as often they do not receive the right information in time; communities are not sufficiently involved in designing early warning based on their needs. Local communities have ideas and plans for reducing their vulnerability to weather hazards and lessen the risks they are facing, but those are impaired by the lack of effective dialogue between communities and authorities concerning vulnerabilities, often disregarded or not fully taken into consideration. When local authorities and communities work together on issues concerning risks and preparedness the community is more active and better prepared. Contrarily, if communities are not engaged in discussions and consultations about their response priorities, and are exposed to repeated weather hardships, for which they do not receive support, they develop fatalistic attitudes. In the case of Battambang, where communities tried their best to get prepared, they have to face an unexpected event, the abrupt flood caused by the opening of a dam in a upstream district. The disaster overwhelmed communities’ preparedness and capacity. Post disaster support is still inconsistent in relation to people’s needs, which are mainly to restore are quickly as possible their agricultural production and ensure their livelihood. As for other initiatives linked to climate change, there is a risk that narrow interpretations of early warnings, limit their scope to technical aspects, such as communication systems, without taking into consideration the receivers in the community. It also may create the risk of delivering early warning information not accompanied by response interventions, which may result in little impact on reducing people’s risks or increasing their adaptive capacity. It is important to highlight that gender represents an important factor in the making of vulnerability and in shaping communities ‘priorities. The environmental, economic and social changes that communities have to deal with have a gendered impact: in all the community meetings women were the majority of participants, and counted among the poorest farmers. Gender inequality add to other vulnerabilities, limiting their access to and control of tangible resources such as land, agricultural tools, machineries or transport, as well as non-tangible resources


such networks and social linkages, education, or participation in decision making and political instances. This is further aggravated by the chronic lack of time due to women’s workload, which sums production work in agriculture and reproduction and care work within the household. All these factors render rural women particularly vulnerable and their livelihood as well as the one of their dependants at risks. Nevertheless, despite these disadvantages, the majority of the women participating in this research were extremely vocal and articulated in their analysis, very concerned by the environmental, economic and social changes impacting their communities, and many of them actively engaged in community initiatives and activities aimed at protecting communities’ rights to a sustainable and fair livelihood.


RECOMMENDATIONS 1. It is important to adopt a contextualised approach to change in climate and

weather patterns, and acknowledge that changes act in synergy with environmental, economic, social and political changes. Community vulnerability depends on all these factors.

2. Response to climate change cannot be limited to technical aspects but should reflect community priorities

3. Most of the priorities highlighted by this study necessitate socio-economic

and political measures to correct inequalities, deficits in participation, accountability, and rights, and rule of law enforcement.

4. Communities must be involved in more discussions and analyses about their

hardships, priorities and constraints, in order to develop agendas and proposals for change and to build their advocacy strategies to achieve their goals.

5. There is a lack of local and micro level data, concerning: land tenure, land

concentration, landlessness, land rental; rice production and costs/benefits analysis; financial services and indebtedness; out migration, remittance flows and use, impact on migrants and receivers; infrastructure development and usage patterns; etc. These data are needed to substantiate and support communities in their advocacy. Methods for quantitative research at local level, led by communities should be piloted and extended.

6. The communities are knowledgeable, have capacity and are experts about

their own environment and problems; there is the need to acknowledge this indigenous knowledge while structuring development interventions, in order to avoid disempowering approaches.

7. Differences in community self-organisation and advocacy capacity should

be better understood, to avoid disempowering approaches and identify best practices.

8. The opportunities provided by decentralization should be utilised by communities to participate and influence decisions, and hold decision makers accountable. Research and programmes should be tailored to provide the data and support whatever communities need in this process.


9. There should be a critical analysis of changes in agriculture and its impact on inequalities. Especially, NGOs should engage in this process and review uncritical pro-market strategies that rely on poor, mainstream, oversimplified theoretical approaches.

10. For the communities it is essential to work with other groups or organisations at national and regional level to learn from their experiences.

11. National policies, investments and impacts of climate change interventions by donors, government or other entities should be monitored and reviewed, and results made available to communities and networks.


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USAID 2013, Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change, Synthesis Report Draft

Wilsner Ben, Pier Blaikie et al., At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters, Second Edition, NY, 2005.


GLOSSARY The most important terms related to climate change have been listed and the definitions provided are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, United Nations Environmental Program and other internationally recognised sources. Adaptation In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate. Adaptive capacity The combination of the strengths, attributes, and resources available to an individual, community, society, or organization that can be used to prepare for and undertake actions to reduce adverse impacts, moderate harm, or exploit beneficial opportunities. This capacity depends largely on one’s access to assets (natural, human, social, physical and financial), and how well these assets are utilized. Those with higher adaptive capacity are often able to recover or adapt to new conditions. Anthropogenic Resulting from or produced by human beings. Biodiversity The total diversity of all organisms and ecosystems at various spatial scales (from genes to entire biomes). Climate Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the average weather, or more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period for averaging these variables is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. The relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate change A change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcing, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Climate extreme The occurrence of a value of a weather or climate variable, above or below a threshold value near the upper (or lower) ends of the range of observed values of the variable. For simplicity, both extreme weather events and extreme climate events are referred to collectively as ‘climate extremes’. Disaster Severe alterations in the normal functioning of a community or a society due to hazardous physical events interacting with vulnerable social conditions, leading to widespread adverse human, material, economic, or environmental effects that require


immediate emergency response to satisfy critical human needs and that may require external support for recovery. Disaster risk The likelihood over a specified time period of severe alterations in the normal functioning of a community or a society due to hazardous physical events interacting with vulnerable social conditions, leading to widespread adverse human, material, economic, or environmental effects that require immediate emergency response to satisfy critical human needs and that may require external support for recovery. Drought A period of abnormally dry weather long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance. Drought is a relative term; therefore any discussion in terms of precipitation deficit must refer to the particular precipitation-related activity that is under discussion. For example, shortage of precipitation during the growing season impinges on crop production or ecosystem function in general (agricultural drought) and during the runoff and percolation season primarily affects water supplies (hydrological drought).Storage changes in soil moisture and groundwater are also affected by increases in actual evapotranspiration in addition to reductions in precipitation. A period with an abnormal precipitation deficit is defined as a meteorological drought. Early warning system The provision of timely and effective information, through identified institutions, that allows individuals exposed to a hazard to take action to avoid or reduce their risk and prepare for effective response. Defined also as the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities, and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss. Evapotranspiration The combined process of evaporation from the Earth’s surface and transpiration from vegetation. Exposure The degree of climate stress upon a particular unit analysis; it may be represented as either long-term change in climate conditions, or by changes in climate variability, including the magnitude and frequency of extreme events. There are two main elements to consider in exposure.

Things that can be affected by climate change (populations, resources, property, and so on)

The change in climate itself (sea level rise, precipitation and temperature changes, etc.)

Flood The overflowing of the normal confines of a stream or other body of water, or the accumulation of water over areas that are not normally submerged. Floods include river (fluvial) floods, flash floods, urban floods, pluvial floods, sewer floods, coastal floods, and glacial lake outburst floods. Global warming an increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution

Greenhouse effect Greenhouse gases effectively absorb thermal infrared radiation, emitted by the Earth’s surface, by the atmosphere itself due to the same gases, and by


clouds. Atmospheric radiation is emitted to all sides, including downward to the Earth’s surface. Thus, greenhouse gases trap heat within the surface-troposphere system. This is called the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gas Those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, which absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, by the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect. Water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3) are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Hazard The potential occurrence of a natural or human-induced physical event that may cause loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service provision, and environmental resources. Impacts Effects on natural and human systems. In this report, the term ‘impacts’ is used to refer to the effects on natural and human systems of physical events, of disasters, and of climate change. Land use and land use change Land use refers to the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs undertaken in a certain land cover type (a set of human actions). The term land use is also used in the sense of the social and economic purposes for which land is managed (e.g., grazing, timber extraction, and conservation). Land use change refers to a change in the use or management of land by humans, which may lead to a change in land cover. Land cover and land use change may have an impact on the climate system locally or globally. Mitigation (of disaster risk and disaster) The lessening of the potential adverse impacts of physical hazards (including those that are human-induced) through actions that reduce hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Mitigation (of climate change) A human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of Greenhouse gases. Resilience The ability of a system and its component parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions. Risk A compound function of the natural hazard and the number of people, characterized by their varying degrees of vulnerability to that specific hazard, who occupy the space and time of exposure to the hazard event. There are three elements here: risk (disaster), vulnerability, and hazard, whose relation is: Risk = f (Hazard x Vulnerability). Salt Water Intrusion: Displacement of fresh or ground water by the advance of salt water due to its greater density, usually in coastal and estuarine areas.


Sensitivity The degree to which a system will be affected by, or responsive to climate stimuli (Smith et al., 2001). Sensitivity is basically the biophysical effect of climate change; but sensitivity can be altered by socio-economic changes. For example, new crop varieties could be either more or less sensitive to climate change. Vulnerability This is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of change, including climate variability and extremes. It is understood as a function of exposure (the character, magnitude and rate of climate change and variation to which a system is exposed), sensitivity (structural factors that either heighten or lessen the impact of exposure, such as land tenure), and adaptive capacity. Vulnerability is expressed as a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity: Vulnerability = f (Exposure Sensitivity Adaptive Capacity)

many factors research report

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