VZCZCXRO5338
RR RUEHAST RUEHCHI RUEHDH RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHNH RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPF #0283/01 1240908
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040908Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0660
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PHNOM PENH 000283 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, OES AND S/P 
COMMERCE FOR NOAA 
USDA FOR FAS 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA 
BANGKOK FOR REO/HHOWARD 
BANGKOK FOR USAID/RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR ENRG EAID EIND CB
SUBJECT: CLIMATE CHANGE RISING ON THE RGC'S RADAR 
 
REF: A) PHNOM PENH 202, B) 08 PHNOM PENH 1003 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Climate change is a relatively new issue in 
Cambodia, but it is increasingly gaining the attention and concern 
of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC).  As a Least Developed 
Country (LDC), Cambodia stands to lose much if the predicted effects 
of climate change come true.  The country's high dependence on 
agriculture and fisheries, poor health sector infrastructure, and 
limited ability to monitor changing weather patterns highlight the 
country's vulnerability to the potential impacts of climate change. 
The RGC has developed a National Action Program for Adaptation to 
Climate Change, but lacks funding for implementation.  Greenhouse 
gas mitigation receives less attention, although the RGC has 
registered a few projects under the Clean Development Mechanism and 
is exploring potential Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and 
Degradation programs in cooperation with environmental NGOs.  As in 
many sectors in Cambodia, funding, capacity, and a lack of 
inter-ministerial coordination are barriers to the RGC effectively 
dealing with the impacts of climate change.  Continued investments 
in agriculture, health and education could help to mitigate some of 
these impacts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
HIGH DEPENDENCE ON AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Cambodia's agricultural sector accounts for approximately 30% 
of GDP and 58% of the labor force, but a much higher percentage - 
about 85% - of the rural population depends on farming to meet basic 
subsistence needs.  In spite of the emphasis placed on agriculture 
in development planning and everyday life, growth of the 
agricultural sector continues to lag behind its potential and other 
key sectors driving economic growth.  Limited investment in 
agricultural technology has meant that Cambodian crop yields have 
been traditionally lower than they could be, and they are vulnerable 
to changing weather patterns.  A January 2009 report by Singaporean 
think tank Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia 
(EEPSEA) mapped the region's climate vulnerability and found that 
parts of Cambodia, such Mondulkiri province, were among the most 
vulnerable to the potential effects of climate change, due to the 
country's low adaptive capacity.  For example, rural farmers' 
dependence on natural flooding patterns could lead to reduced crop 
yields when droughts or excessive flooding occur. 
 
¶3. (U) Cambodia's highly productive inland fisheries also account 
for a significant food source.  According to reports by the World 
Fish Center and the Mekong River Commission, the inland fish 
production of Cambodia alone is higher than that of North America. 
These fisheries supply 80% of the animal protein in the diet of the 
Cambodian population and are estimated to be worth over $2 billion 
taken as a whole.  A February 2009 study by World Fish Center found 
that less-developed, fishery-dependent countries such as Cambodia 
are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.  A 
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) assessment of the Mekong 
region's vulnerability to climate change found similar risks, 
cautioning that accelerated glacial melt, less predictable rainfall 
patterns, and changing water temperatures could have serious impacts 
on Cambodian fisheries. 
 
HEALTH CHALLENGES 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Climate change could also lead to increases in mosquito-borne 
diseases and illnesses caused by poor water sanitation, according to 
the Cambodian Ministry of Health (MOH).  Malaria incidence has 
decreased since 1999, but Dr. Duong Socheat, Director of the 
Cambodian National Malaria Center, told Econoff that the number of 
dengue fever cases has been steadily increasing, with a spike in 
¶2007.  The MOH cautioned in a 2007 report that increased flooding 
and drought could also reduce availability of clean water, leading 
to a rise in bacterial infections.  The report noted that health 
impacts of climate change would be more severe on Cambodia's 
majority poor and rural population, which has less access to public 
health facilities. 
 
WEATHER CHANGING, BUT HOW MUCH, AND WHAT'S TO BLAME? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Seth Vannareth, Director of the Cambodian Department of 
Meteorology (DOM), told Econoff that the average high temperature in 
Cambodia had increased over the past 27 years, but she was hesitant 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000283  002 OF 004 
 
 
to estimate a specific figure.  She said that in the past 10 years, 
she had also observed more frequent and more severe periods of 
drought but admitted that weather patterns were becoming too 
unpredictable for her to guess if this trend would continue.  She 
explained that it would be difficult to verify if these temperature 
and weather patterns could be attributed to climate change, because 
most of her data only went back as far as 1982.  Pre-Khmer Rouge 
weather records for parts of the country exist, but only in 
hand-written notebooks.  Seth Vannareth told Econoff that her office 
lacked the time and resources to transcribe these records into the 
DOM's computer systems. 
 
THE RGC'S CLIMATE CHANGE STRUCTURE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The Ministry of Environment (MOE) has the lead on all climate 
change activities in Cambodia.  The National Climate Change 
Committee (NCCC), established by sub-decree in April 2006, serves as 
the primary climate change policy body.  Led by the Minister of 
Environment, the NCCC includes representatives from the MOE, 
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM), Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Royal University 
of Phnom Penh.  The MOE also oversees the Cambodian Climate Change 
Office (CCCO), which coordinates and implements national climate 
change policies, greenhouse gas mitigation and inventory 
initiatives, and climate change adaptation activities. 
 
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION 
------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) In 2006, the RGC approved the CCCO's National Adaptation 
Program of Action to Climate Change (NAPA), which was developed with 
support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).  The NAPA 
prioritizes climate change adaptation activities in key sectors, 
including agriculture, health, and water resources.  It includes 39 
proposed adaptation projects, which focus on measures that have 
direct impacts on the livelihoods of poorer Cambodians.  These 
so-called "no-regret" projects would facilitate Cambodia's overall 
development, even if the effects of climate change did not manifest 
as predicted.  The list of projects includes such activities as: 1) 
increasing the capacity of the Department of Meteorology to monitor 
and forecast changing climate patterns; 2) strengthening community 
disaster preparedness and response capacity; 3) developing and 
improving community irrigation systems; and 4) developing community 
rice banks. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Tin Ponlok, head of the CCCO, estimated that all of the 
projects in Cambodia's NAPA would cost a combined $196,350,000.  The 
program's 20 priority projects would total roughly $128,850,000.  He 
said that the RGC's main barrier to implementing these initiatives 
was funding, and he criticized existing climate adaptation funds as 
being either too small or too burdened with complex rules for 
eligibility and financing (Ref A).  In addition to financing its 
existing proposals, the RGC may find that its current NAPA is not 
enough, according to a 2007/2008 United Nations Development Program 
(UNDP) Human Development Report on climate change.  The study 
cautioned that many Least Developed Country (LDC) NAPAs' financial 
provisions may be unrealistically low given the potential climate 
change impacts that LDCs face.  The report specifically cited 
Cambodia's $128 million estimate as being too low. 
 
¶9. (SBU) On March 23, the World Bank announced that donors would 
provide $50 million for a climate change adaptation project in 
Cambodia under its Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). 
Cambodia is one of several developing countries to receive funding 
from the PPCR, which falls under the World Bank's Strategic Climate 
Fund.  (NOTE:  The UK is the primary donor for the Cambodian portion 
of the PPCR.  The USG has pledged funding to the World Bank's other 
climate investment fund, the Clean Technology Fund.  END NOTE.)  A 
World Bank representative told Econoff that the exact scope and 
details of the program had not yet been developed with the RGC.  The 
Ministry of Economy and Finance, which accepted the program on 
behalf of the RGC, has the lead on developing the framework of the 
program. 
 
GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The RGC's climate change efforts are primarily focused on 
adaptation rather than mitigation, as greenhouse gas emissions in 
Cambodia are traditionally much lower than those of more developed 
nations.  For example, the 2007/2008 UNDP Human Development Report 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000283  003 OF 004 
 
 
calculated that an average air-conditioning unit in Florida emits 
more carbon dioxide in a year than a person in Cambodia during their 
lifetime.  Cambodia is currently one of seven Southeast Asian 
countries participating in a UN Framework Convention on Climate 
Change (UNFCCC) project to build developing country capacity to 
inventory their greenhouse gas emissions.  The project receives 
support from the U.S., through the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and State Department, and from Japan.  The UNFCCC is using USG 
funds to support project management, such as the regional 
coordinator's time, costs for regional and national meetings, and 
travel of participants.  The EPA is also funding and managing 
development of an Agriculture and Land-Use Change Greenhouse Gas 
Inventory Compilation software tool in cooperation with Colorado 
State University. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The RGC's limited greenhouse gas mitigation efforts are 
focused on initiatives that could qualify for funding under the 
UNFCCC's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) framework.  Tin Ponlok 
told Econoff that the areas with the largest CDM potential in 
Cambodia are renewable energy, energy efficiency, and waste 
management.  There are currently five RGC-approved CDM projects in 
Cambodia; most are small, with the exception of the 193 MW capacity 
Kamchay hydropower dam in Kampot Province (Ref B), which is 
currently under construction.  Other operational initiatives include 
a bio-gas project using rice husks and a project generating power 
from methane collected from pig farms. 
 
¶12. (SBU) There are several potential REDD (Reducing Emissions from 
Deforestation and Degradation) projects being developed, led 
primarily by NGOs in cooperation with the Forestry Administration 
(FA).  Community Forestry International (CFI), recently absorbed by 
international NGO PACT, has made the most progress with a potential 
REDD project in Oddar Meanchey province, in partnership with the FA 
and U.S. firm Terra Global Capital.  CFI estimated that the 60,477 
hectare project could sequester about 8.7 million metric tons of 
carbon dioxide over 30 years, which the NGO estimates could be worth 
up to $30 million on the carbon credit markets.  Wildlife Alliance 
and Wildlife Conservation Society are also developing potential REDD 
projects in Koh Kong and Mondulkiri Provinces, respectively. 
 
COORDINATION, CAPACITY ARE CHALLENGES 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Although the MOE nominally has the lead on climate change 
activities, these activities are spread among several ministries and 
are rarely coordinated.  Tin Ponlok lamented that the RGC's 
inter-ministerial committee on climate change had not met since 
prior to the July 2008 elections.  Seth Vannareth, Director of the 
Department of Meteorology (DOM), explained that she conducted her 
climate change research in her spare time, and that she did not yet 
have a mandate or funding to formally assess climate change patterns 
in Cambodia.  The CCCO's climate change studies and projections were 
conducted by the MOE without the cooperation of the DOM.  When asked 
if she worked with the MOE, Seth Vannareth confessed that she had 
not yet met Tin Ponlok, although she had given presentations on 
climate change in Cambodia at various meteorology conferences in the 
region.  Keo Omaliss, Deputy Director of the FA's Wildlife 
Protection Office and the Cambodian lead on REDD programs, told 
Econoff that he also had little interaction with the MOE.  He knew 
which other ministries were engaged in climate-related activities, 
but he did not know who his exact counterparts were. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Tin Ponlok, Seth Vannareth, and Keo Omaliss all noted that 
there is a strong need for climate change education and scientific 
capacity building in Cambodia.  Tin Ponlok noted that climate change 
research currently has to be conducted with donor resources and 
foreign-educated technical experts, as Cambodian institutions are 
unable to provide training on climate change issues.  Seth Vannareth 
emphasized that solid baseline data was needed for future research. 
Ouk Navann, Deputy Director of the MOE's Department of Environmental 
Education and Communication, felt that an education campaign was 
needed to inform both the RGC and the general public of the 
potential impacts of climate change.  Most RGC officials view 
climate change as a strictly environmental issue, Tin Ponlok 
explained.  He said that the RGC has not yet recognized that climate 
change is an economic, social and development issue as well. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) In international climate change negotiations, LDCs like 
Cambodia can sometimes be drowned out by their more vocal developing 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000283  004 OF 004 
 
 
country counterparts, such as China and India.  But it is the 
countries like Cambodia that are most at risk of becoming unstable 
if climate change were to impact their basic needs, such as 
potential food security effects.  Although the USG's traditional 
focus on clean energy technology can be helpful, some of the most 
effective ways to minimize the impacts of climate change in places 
like Cambodia are to support improvements in the technical and 
adaptive capacity of the agriculture and fisheries sectors, continue 
to support improvements in Cambodia's health infrastructure, and 
provide more opportunities for scientific and technical exchanges. 
 
 
 
ALLEGRA