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Entry points for climate-informed planning for the water resources and agriculture sectors in Cambodia

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Abstract

Incorporating climate change concerns into national development planning allows adaptation to happen in harmony with the sustainable development of a country. Cambodia has received international support to enable climate change-resilient development; “mainstreaming climate change” is one of the key recent strategies. This article aims to identify entry points for integrating climate change concerns into national development planning, especially for the water resources and agriculture sectors. The study uses institutional ethnography research methods with informants drawn from government organisations, local academic institutions, and development partners, together with content analysis of key policy documents. It was found that the Cambodian national planning process restricts the involvement of other actors such as researchers, civil society, and private sector; yet flexible, in that it provides opportunities for the inclusion of climate change and other related concerns. The study identified specific entry points in key policy documents, such as the National Strategic Development Plans, and ministries’ plans. Other entry points were identified in the development planning process, for example, in the process of development departments and ministries’ plans, and actors such as department planners, and departments of planning of line ministries. Climate-informed planning is now plausible; more significant integration of concerns with future climate change, however, will require more commitment and stronger connections among national planning stakeholders, adaptation actors, and research communities.

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Notes

  1. This study was approved by the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol Number RO1430).

  2. Updated in 2014, the NCCC composes of representatives from the Ministries of Environment; Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; Industry and Handicraft; Mines and Energy; Water Resources and Meteorology; Commerce; Interior; Economy and Finance; Public Works and Transport; Planning; Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Education, Youth and Sports; Health; Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction; Rural Development; Women Affairs; and Information. The Council of Ministers, the Council for Development of Cambodia, the National Committee for Disaster Management and the Cambodian National Mekong Committee are also members of the NCCC.

  3. Within MAFF, there was one DOP sitting within the Ministry building (referred to MAFF’s DOP), and one for each individual division. For instance, the General Directorate of Agriculture and the Fisheries Administration each have their own DOP coordinating the planning in their respective divisions. The DOPs worked vertically with MAFF’s DOP.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the United Board Fellowship Program and Fogarty International Center/National Institutes of Health (funds from D43 TW000642).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4229, Australia

    Va Dany, Bhishna Bajracharya & Michael Regan

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Va Dany

  3. Australian Centre for Sustainable Mining Practices (ACSMP), University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Ros Taplin

  4. Unit for Social and Environmental Research, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Louis Lebel

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  1. Va Dany
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Correspondence to Va Dany.

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Dany, V., Taplin, R., Bajracharya, B. et al. Entry points for climate-informed planning for the water resources and agriculture sectors in Cambodia. Environ Dev Sustain 19, 1167–1188 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9788-5

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