TONLE SAP LOWLAND STABILIZATION PROJECT

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

29 SEPTEMBER 2006

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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 EXISTING RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE 2

2.1 Infrastructure in the Project Area 2 2.2 Water Control and Irrigation 2 2.3 Rural Roads 3 2.4 Domestic Water Supplies 5 2.5 Other Small Scale Infrastructure 6 3 OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND LESSONS LEARNED 8

3.1 Other Projects 8 3.2 Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) 8 3.3 The Local Planning Process(LPP) 9 3.4 Labor Based Appropriate Technology (LBAT) 9 3.5 Rural Road Surfaces 10 3.6 Water Control and Irrigation 11 3.7 Domestic Water Supply and Sanitation 12 3.8 Infrastructure Maintenance 12 3.9 Other Considerations 13 4 CAPACITY OF PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS 14

4.1 Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology (DOWRAM) 14 4.2 Provincial Department of Rural Development (PDRD) 14 5 RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES 15

6 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION OF SUBPROJECTS 18

7 RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKPLAN 20

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: SUGGESTED CRITERIA FOR INFRASTRUCTURE SUBPROJECT SELECTION

APPENDIX 2: PROJECTS RELEVANT TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE TONLE SAP

APPENDIX 3 - MEETINGS AND FIELD VISITS, SEPTEMBER 2006

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List of Abbreviations

ADB Asian Development Bank CDP Commune Development Plan DOWRAM Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology ECOSORN Economic and Social Re-launch of the Northwestern Provinces FWUC Farmer Water User Community IDE International Development Enterprises ILO International Labor Organization IRAP Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries MOWRAM Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology MPWT Ministry of Public Works and Transport MRD Ministry of Rural Development NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRDP Northwestern Rural Development Project NWISP Northwest Irrigation Sector Project O&M Operation and maintenance PLA Participatory Learning and Action PDAFF Provincial Department of Agriculture and Fisheries PDRD Provincial Department of Rural Development PLA Participatory Learning and Action PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal RGC Royal Government of Cambodia RIE Rural Infrastructure Engineer RWSSP Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project TA Technical Assistance TSBR Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve TSLSP Tonle Sap Lowland Stabilization Project TSSLP Tonle Sap Sustainable Livelihoods Project VDC Village Development Committee WFP World Food Program WUG Water User Group WV World Vision

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1 INTRODUCTION

The project area, which includes parts of the provinces of , , , Banteay Meanchey, and Kampong Thom, covers the central lowland plains of Cambodia around Tonle Sap lake, either side of highways 5 and 6. The terrain is flat, with an elevation difference of only 5 to 10 metres. The plains are the result of long- term deposition originating from surrounding mountains as well as from sediments deposited by the annual cycle of flooding.

The information presented in this report is based on work undertaken during the International Rural Infrastructure Engineer's first input on the TSLSP PPTA from 28 August to 30 September 2006. Field visits were made to the six provinces around Tonle Sap, a literature review was undertaken and discussions were held with staff of relevant line agencies, both at provincial and central level, and with agencies and projects working around Tonle Sap. Key points arising from meetings and field visits are given in Appendix 3.

An outline of existing infrastructure in the project area is followed by details of other projects involved in providing rural infrastructure around Tonle Sap and lessons learnt from them. Capacity at provincial level is discussed briefly. Opportunities for rural infrastructure interventions are identified and criteria for selecting and prioritizing infrastructure subprojects are detailed. Finally, the proposed workplan for the two Rural Infrastructure Engineers is outlined.

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2 EXISTING RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE

2.1 Infrastructure in the Project Area

The Tonle Sap basin is served by National Route 5 from which passes south of the lake through Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, and by National Route 6 from Phnom which goes north of the lake through Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. Both roads have undergone extensive rehabilitation in the last few years and only a few rough stretches remain. The Phnom Penh to Sisophon railway line passes through Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang. Domestic air services connect Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and high speed launches vie between Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Chhnang and Phnom Penh except when the lake is exceptionally low.

Provincial capitals and district centers along the main highways have mains electricity supplies. A 50-megawatt electricity supply from Thailand to Siem Reap is currently being installed and is expected to be operational the end of October 2006. Some district centers and larger villages have private generators, which supply power for a few hours a day. The provincial capitals have telephone systems and mobile telephone coverage extends over most of the project area.

Much of Cambodia’s infrastructure fell into disrepair after 1970. Rehabilitation started in the 1980s but it is only in the since 1993, with a pause in 1997/8, that significant progress has been made. Almost all works to date have involved repair and rehabilitation of facilities that operated and had fallen into disrepair, or that had been poorly conceived and had never operated effectively.

Despite considerable progress most irrigation/water control systems operate partially at best, many communities have poor access roads, inadequate clean domestic water supplies and a lack of public facilities and services. In the wet season particularly, communities are often isolated due to the difficulty of reaching the main road network. Much of the rural economy is fragmented into small localized units operating largely on a subsistence basis.

2.2 Water Control and Irrigation

Annual rainfall in the project area is 1,000-1,700 mm, but with considerable year-to-year variability. Rainfall is seasonal with negligible rain in December to February, a rapid increase from March to May, and the wet season from June to October. Although water is abundant in the Tonle Sap basin it is frequently not available when and where required1. Of some 2 million ha of rice cultivated in Cambodia about 10% is grown in the wet season with supplementary irrigation, 1.5% is irrigated in the dry season, 4% is grown on flood recession, 7% is floating rice grown in deep water and the

1 ADB TA No. 4756-CAM, TSLSP, Cambodia Report on Water Availability, September 2006

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remainder is rainfed. Some 95% of irrigation practiced in Cambodia is supplementary, either for dry season flood recession rice or wet season ‘rainfed’ lowland rice. Pumps have to be used in many places.

Wet season lowland rice depends on supplementary irrigation during dry spells especially towards the end of the cropping season. Water from nearby streams, rivers or ponds is diverted or pumped when necessary. Potential yield increases due to supplementary irrigation tend to be low (0.5 ton/ha) and are often too small to justify the provision of irrigation infrastructure. Where dry season irrigation is assured and farmers are prepared to invest in improved seed, fertilizer and pesticides yields are higher than in rainfed areas. Rice growing on flood recession is found around the Tonle Sap. As the floods recede the land is prepared and rice is transplanted. Irrigation is supplied throughout the growing season using floodwater impounded in reservoirs with low embankments and residual flood water stored in canals. Yields are often high due to due to greater soil fertility arising from periodic alluvial deposition.

Inventories of irrigation/water management schemes in the target provinces list over 200 existing schemes, varying in size from about 10 ha to 13,000ha. Many of the schemes listed are, in fact, subdivisions of large schemes. Many of these were constructed in the Pol Pot era 1975-78. A few have had outside assistance with repairs and rehabilitation in recent years, but most are in varying states of disrepair and are not functioning effectively due to inadequate structures, land levelling, bunding and drainage, combined with poor water management and crop husbandry.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) tends to concentrate efforts on irrigation headworks and primary and secondary canal systems. Assistance is given with the formation of Farmer Water User Communities (FWUC) and establishment of by-laws, but farmers are often left to develop the tertiary level system themselves. MAFF is expected to deal with agricultural issues but there appears to be little collaboration between the ministries.

Under the ADB Northwest Irrigation Sector Project (NWISP), which started in 2005, 10 to 12 schemes will be rehabilitated in Siem Reap, Battambang, Beantey Meanchey and Pursat. Schemes in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve (TSBR) were deliberately excluded as it was considered that, given their sensitive location, they were better considered under more environmentally oriented projects such as TSSLP and TSLSP.

2.3 Rural Roads

Recognizing the importance of good transportation links, MRD in cooperation with aid agencies has rehabilitated and reconstructed over 20,000 km of rural roads in 24 provinces nationwide since 1994, including some 13,000 km in the provinces surrounding Tonle Sap2. Of these roads, about a third are surfaced with laterite and the remainder are shaped

2 National and provincial (primary and secondary) roads are the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPW&T), but the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) has sole responsibility for tertiary and sub-tertiary roads (generally referred to as rural roads).

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earth. Only about 4,000 km of rural roads nationwide have surfaces in fair to good condition.

Table 1. Length and Condition of Rural Roads in TSLSP Target Provinces3

Province Length (km) Road surface Surface (km) condition (km) T ST1 ST2 ST3 Total Gravel/ Earth Good Poor laterite to fair Kampong 301 468 182 659 1,610 1,609 0 301 1,308 Chhnang Pursat 137 137 150 972 1,396 548 849 71 1,325

Battambang 234 103 257 2,054 2,649 716 1,934 716 1,934 Banteay 78 20 156 1,527 1,781 513 1,269 513 1,269 Meanchey Siem Reap 228 108 196 3,537 4,069 306 3,763 306 3,763 Kampong 74 28 398 953 1,454 970 484 525 929 Thom Total for 6 1,052 864 1,339 9,702 12,958 4,662 8,299 2,432 10,528 provinces Note: T = Tertiary, ST1 = Sub-Tertiary Type 1, ST2 = Sub-Tertiary Type 2 ST3 = Sub- Tertiary Type 3

A number of major projects are contributing to further improvement of the rural road network in the Tonle Sap basin, including the Northwestern Rural Development Project (NRDP), Provincial and Rural Infrastructure Project (PRIP)4, Tertiary Roads Improvement Project (TRIP), Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRD) and ECOSORN.

In the project area villages tend to be clustered close to highways 5 or 6 and most rural roads are just a few kilometers long linking the villages to the highways. In each province a few longer roads pass through the transition zone into the buffer zone of the Tonle Sap. In the dry season some of these continue as rough tracks to the lake shore. Various projects have rehabilitated and upgraded some of the roads; mostly short stretches linking to the main highways, which have been raised on embankments up to 2m high and provided with culverts, bridges and laterite surfaces.

3 Strategic Plan for Rural Roads, Ministry of Rural Development, RGC, September 2006 4 World Bank suspended disbursments to PRIP in early 2006

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2.4 Domestic Water Supplies

At the time of the National Census in 1998, in the target provinces around Tonle Sap, about 2% of households had access to piped domestic water, which is generally only available in the provincial and district centers. Some 9% of households relied on boreholes, 58% on dug wells, 24% on surface sources such as the lake, ponds and rivers, nearly 4% purchase drinking water and the remaining 4% obtained water from other sources such as rainwater harvesting. Over 80% of households relied on shallow dug wells or surface water sources and many had to travel long distances to the closest source of supply, especially in the dry season. It could be assumed that some 80% of households did not have access to safe domestic water. The situation has improved since then due to the efforts of governement and aid agencies, but lack of clean domestic water is still a problem. Boiling of drinking water is generally not practiced and understanding of basic hygiene is limited. Diarrhea is common and can be attributed, at least in part, to dirty water.

Sanitation facilities are scarce even in the provincial and district centers, and are often inadequate where they do exist; this contributes to the problem of water contamination. In the target provinces only about 11% of households have latrines, but they are much more common in urban areas where some 38% of household have latrines, as against fewer than 7% of households in rural areas. Demand for low cost household latrines is gradually increasing as a result of water and sanitation programs, such as those of UNICEF and NGOs.

Many hand dug ring wells up to 15m deep, and tubewells varying from about 20m to over 100m in depth and fitted with handpumps, have been provided in the project area, particularly close to the main highways. Handpumps frequently fall into disrepair due, at least in part, to inadequate training of beneficiaries in maintenance and repair. In areas, such as in Kampong Thom and parts of Russei district in Battambang, well drilling has been tried but abandoned due to a failure rate of 60 to 70% despite drilling to depths of up to 100m.

Groundwater in the project area often contains iron or other minerals and, although not harmful, people tend to avoid drinking as they dislike the taste or blame the minerals for health problems (e.g. excess calcium is blamed for kidney stones). They are prepared to use the water for bathing or washing clothes. Iron and other chemical can be removed through aeration/filtration, even at household level. Harmful levels of arsenic have been detected in ground water in some areas, notably in Kampong Thom along the Stoung Saen River and in Stung Chinit and Thoth Chum in and in some parts of Battambang, but the problem does not appear to be widespread.

Many households, particularly those in flood prone areas, tend to rely on surface water from the lake, rivers, ponds or shallow unlined wells, plus rain water diverted from roofs into concrete water jars. Alum is often used to settle the sediment in water. In the dry season people, particularly women and children, often have to walk some distance to collect water.

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The main constraints for the improvement of domestic water and sanitation are: (i) the lack of a comprehensive hydrogeological survey; (ii) the lack of ground water at a reasonable depth; (iii) the heavy contamination of the shallow water table in some villages; and (iv) flooded areas where the water table is very near the surface.

2.5 Other Small Scale Infrastructure

Schools: School attendance in Cambodia has risen considerably in the last few years but is still relatively low, particularly in more isolated villages. In Battambang 80%, Banteay Meanchey 78%, Siem Reap 73%, Pursat 76%, Kampong Chhnang 88% and Kampong Thom 77% of 5 to 14 year olds attended school in 20035. School class sizes are generally large, with 50 children per teacher or more, and often two or three shifts a day are needed due to too few classrooms. In rural areas schools are frequently dilapidated old buildings or very simple wood framed, open sided structures with a thatch or corrugated iron roof. Remote areas have difficulty attracting trained teachers, so local volunteers are sometimes recruited and given training by the Ministry of Education. Children have to pay a small fee and additional funds are raised locally to help pay the volunteer teachers.

Health Facilities: Health care in Cambodia is not free. Expenditure on health is high and for poorer households, with little spare cash or saving, illness can be catastrophic. The 1997 Socio-Economic Survey of Cambodia reported that expenditure on health accounted for 5 percent of rural expenditure, and about 10 percent if associated costs (such as transport) were included. Limited access to quality health care is worsened by poor living conditions, poor hygiene, large families and food shortages. Illiteracy and poor knowledge of health and hygiene prevent people from coping with illness.

Hospitals exist at provincial level and also in some districts. Below this there is a network of health centers staffed by nurses, midwives and lab- technicians in district and some commune centers. The Ministry of Health considers that 8,000 to 12,000 people are needed in the catchment area of a health center for it to be viable. At community level there are traditional birth attendants, traditional healer and volunteer health worker who are not paid by the government. Poor people generally consult traditonal healers and birth attendants as they cannot afford to access government health services.

In the project area improved access to health care is a priority for people in more isolated communities. Women's reproductive health is a primary concern in these areas. Generally improved transport infrastructure to reach existing health facilities, improved staffing, upgrading the skills of health center staff and traditional village healers, and a better supply of drugs should be a higher priority than the construction of new facilities.

Markets: Formal markets are mainly located in provincial and district centers along the main highways. Some commune centers have small markets. Farmers are often at a disadvantage in selling agricultural

5 Source: Seila commune database 2003

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produce due to the poor transport infrastructure, limited market information and small-scale dealings. They have little sense of marketing and devote little effort to improving their bargaining power through, for example, the organization of groups for collective sales.

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3 OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

3.1 Other Projects

A number of major projects are providing rural infrastructure in the provinces around the Tonle Sap. These include the Northwest Irrigation Sector Project (NWISP), the Northwestern Rural Development Project (NRDP), the Economic and Social Relaunch of the Northern (ECOSORN), the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRD) and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP). Brief details of these projects can be found in Appendix 2.

In addition to these, non-government organizations (NGO) such as Action Nord Sud (ANS), Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Concern, CARE, Hope, World Vision and International Development Enterprises (IDE) are assisting various types of infrastructure development in the target provinces.

3.2 Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP)

IRAP was introduced to Cambodia by the ILO Upstream Project and was piloted in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey. Through a participatory process, IRAP prioritizes infrastructure investments according to maximum need and impact, either by improving the road network or by improving the distribution and siting of the services within an area. The process results in a District Accessibility Action Plan (AAP) which identifies and prioritizes rural access roads, water supplies, schools, health centers and markets.

MRD adopted IRAP as the standard planning tool for rural infrastructure. Under the ILO-IRAP/GIS component of NRDP, IRAP was being mainstreamed throughout the country. NRDP made some use of IRAP in Siem Reap, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Otdar Meanchey provinces. The WB Provincial Rural Infrastructure Project (PRIP)6 used it extensively in Siem Reap, Otdar Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom during project preparation. ECOSORN made considerable use of existing District AAPs to identify and prioritize potential infrastructure subproject (other than irrigation) to be implemented between 2007 and 2010.

ECOSORN staff are satisfied that the IRAP process was participatory, thorough, fully supported by local government and a good guide to infrastructure priorities, although not always a hundred percent correct. However, some NRDP staff considered the process too top down, felt that there was no real ownership at local level and that the outputs were not user friendly. The ILO contract ends in October 2006. MRD appears to

6 WB suspended disbursement to PRIP in early 2006

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have lost interest in IRAP and has already started to disband the IRAP team. This may in part be due to major changes in senior level staff.

3.3 The Local Planning Process(LPP)

Most infrastructure investments funded under Seila are identified through the local planning process (LPP) – a commune-based, participatory, bottom-up process – and then progressively aggregated through district facilitation workshops into provincial strategic development and investment plans. Seila provides limited funding for investments identified through the LPP as well as for provincial initiatives, including rural roads, health centers, schools, water supplies, and in the fields of income generation and natural resource management. The LPP, combined with severely limited funds has a number of disadvantages. The identification and prioritization of rural roads for rehabilitation through the LPP lacks the larger geographic planning vision desirable for improving the road network. Also, Seila tends to use lower technical specifications and construction standards than those adopted by MRD, often with poor quality outcomes. The NWISP PPTA report commented on Seila assistance to irrigation: "During project preparation many structures provided by Seila were observed. Most had been put in place on an individual basis to meet some critical failure or replace an older failing structure within a scheme, but few were performing any useful function within the overall context of the schemes themselves. Similarly, without proper farmer water user organizations these structures were only being operated and maintained on an ad hoc basis at best. To be meaningful then, it seems clear that the provision of infrastructure must take place within the context of overall scheme planning including the participation of the intended farmer beneficiaries."

Whilst rural infrastructure needs should be identified through a participatory process involving people at village and commune level, prioritization of all but the smallest village works should be at a higher level. For example, roads must be connected to one another in a network, all but the smallest water control and irrigation schemes serve more than one commune, a school may serve several villages, and well drilling may not be economic in just one village but becomes viable across a number of villages and communes. Good engineering and careful planning is required even for small structures.

3.4 Labor Based Appropriate Technology (LBAT)

The ADB Rural Infrastructure Improvement Project (RIIP) and the ILO Upstream Project successfully introduced labor based appropriate technology (LBAT)7 for rural road construction. They recruited large groups of laborers from the local communities that benefited from the infrastructure. Stung Chinit Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure project is

7 LBAT is a structured method of providing or maintaining infrastructure to a specified standard, while optimizing the use of labor, and employing people with fair working conditions. The use of labor is supplemented with appropriate equipment where necessary for reasons of quality or cost. It is a supervision-intensive system. The term incorporates the idea of optimizing the mix of labor and equipment to produce a cost- effective result.

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using LBAT for canal construction, but has found that appropriate on-the- job training of laborers and their group leaders is essential for good quality work. The Tertiary Roads Improvement Programme (TRIP) funded by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) uses LBAT combined with food-for- work provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) for road rehabilitation. WFP also supports provision of infrastructure prioritized through the Seila process and provides food-for-work for labor-intensive road rehabilitation and implementation of other small-scale rural infrastructure.

MRD put NRDP under intense pressure to use LBAT almost exclusively, rather than machinery based construction, which the project found a handicap. Bids were evaluated on basis of social rather than technical content. The use of LBAT tended to slow down work as contractors were not familiar with handling large numbers of laborers and in some areas it was hard to recruit enough workers. In practice contractors, with MRD collusion, often falsified labor documents. Other work opportunities now exist and NRDP staff feel that there is no longer a need to create jobs.

3.5 Rural Road Surfaces

Good quality laterite for surfacing rural roads is becoming scarce and expensive in much of Cambodia. Some roads constructed under NRDP are deteriorating faster than expected due to the chronic shortage of good quality laterite in Banteay Meanchey, Battambang and Siem Reap. ILO started small-scale testing of alternative low cost road surfacing materials, such as stone blocks, water bound macadam and bamboo reinforced concrete in 1999. In 2002 DFID funded construction of trial sections of different road surface types along a section of road in in Siem Reap. Two years later clear differences in the durability of the different materials were visible, particularly as the opening of a sand quarry at the end of the road led to 50 tonne trucks using the road until an agreement was reached with the quarry owner to limit loads. Single seal trial sections were severely damaged but double seal, dressed stone, packed stone and bamboo reinforced concrete sections all stood up well to this severe test of resilience. The technologies are not new, for example, bamboo reinforced concrete roads are widely used in Thailand. Stone block roads were used in Cambodia when Wat was at its height and they are used in many places in Europe, often in city centers due to their durability. A bamboo reinforced concrete road built around Puok market in Siem Reap six years ago is still in good condition; it has an expected life of at least 30 years. Where suitable material such as stone is available near a road construction site, its use on the road surface may be similar in cost to laterite. NRDP has proposed a 19km soil stabilization trial in , Banteay Meanchey, but it is being opposed by some in MRD. MRD's apparent lack of interest in alternative road surfaces may be because the cost of road rehabilitation generally at least doubles.

In designing rural road rehabilitation, the whole life cost of the road, both initial construction and long term maintenance costs, should be considered for alternative surfacing options.

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3.6 Water Control and Irrigation

Under the EU funded Support Programme for the Agricultural Sector in Cambodia (PRASAC) II, support was given to development of 21 small and medium scale irrigation schemes. An economic assessment of irrigation development under PRASAC showed that investment in irrigation infrastructure was considerably more expensive, and the returns to investment much lower, than improving rain-fed rice production through agricultural extension. The report recommended that rather than building new irrigation works, the focus should be on sustainable management of existing schemes.

ECOSORN has found it difficult to identify small irrigation subprojects (<200ha) as schemes tend to be large. Most communities farm parts of large schemes. Reservoir projects tend to be too large and have too many conflicts. Secondary and tertiary canal systems are underdeveloped or non- existent. ECOSORN is working closely with NWISP and is concentrating on secondary and tertiary systems, water management, O&M and farmer training. ECOSORN engineers emphasize that it is essential to examine the entire irrigation system and visit every village to ensure that proposals makes sense – sometimes curing one problem creates another.

Irrigation/water control subprojects are only likely to be successful in the long term if the infrastructure is provided within the context of a well planned scheme, designed in close cooperation with the water users. Operation and maintenance of all but very small schemes is likely to be beyond the ability of water user groups. Even for small schemes, it is essential that support is provided not just for construction of any civil works, but also for training water user groups, and for improving on-farm water management and crop husbandry.

Communities in the project area often lack social cohesion and have little experience in cooperating on communal works. This is a particular constraint for operations and maintenance of larger infrastructure works such as irrigation / water management systems, which require excellent cooperation between water users to ensure efficient water management and active participation in O&M.

IDE, a non-profit NGO funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, has tested simple and cheap micro-irrigation technologies in Cambodia, including treadle pumps and low-cost drip irrigation. Micro- irrigation is defined as self-contained irrigation systems for use on small plots of land (typically less than 0.5 ha) by individuals or small groups of people without the need for collective infrastructure. IDE has also begun working with a local manufacturers to produce the equipment locally, although some drip irrigation components may need to be imported from Vietnam. Drip irrigation provides a means of delivering water to the base of plants through a network of plastic tubes resulting in more efficient water use, labor savings, and increased yield for farmers. The smallest kit consists of a 20 liter bucket with enough tubing to irrigate a 25 m² plot and costs about $5. The next size consists of a 200 liter drum with tubing to irrigate 125 m² and costs about $25. Larger kits can irrigate areas up to 1,000 m². The systems are expandable so that farmers can start small and scale up as their financial capacity and technical skills increase. IDE is now

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at the stage where it needs to develop a strategy to assist small enterprises to produce, assemble, distribute, install, and promote the drip kits on a commercial basis

3.7 Domestic Water Supply and Sanitation

The PRASAC II domestic water supply and sanitation component which included the drilling and rehabilitation of wells, the installation of hand pumps, the construction of large water jars and tanks to collect rainwater, appeared very successful. Formation and training of Water User Groups and Water Point Committees and training in sanitation and hygiene and in O&M were important elements. The pumps installed were robust, reliable and easily maintained and repaired, with spare parts generally available cheaply in local markets.

ECOSORN staff feel that too much emphasis has been put on well drilling for domestic water. Agencies generally subcontract local well drillers, but inadequate supervision leads to low quality designs, low yielding and poor quality wells, poor quality pumps and poor community training. This leads to a high failure rate. Also, people often dislike the taste of water from drilled wells because of high mineral content. Well water is sometimes blamed for health problems – e.g. high calcium content of water blamed for kidney stones. In late 2006 a hydrogeologist will investigate groundwater availability for drinking water in ECOSORN's project area.

ECOSORN intends to encouraging roof water harvesting and large concrete storage jars. Poor people may be provided with subsidies to replace thatched roofs with corrugated iron. Local entrepreneurs could be trained to make the large jars. The project would conduct awareness campaigns to ensure demand and perhaps give each new jar maker an initial contract for 500 jars. There is high demand for latrines in the project area and concrete jar makers could also produce latrine slabs. Health and hygiene education will be provided and the use of water filters will be promoted.

3.8 Infrastructure Maintenance

The problem of maintaining infrastructure remains to be solved. Provincial departments receive negligible funds from central government for maintenance and, for all but the smallest infrastructure, it is generally beyond the capacity of communities. Water User Groups, Farmer Water User Communities, District and Commune level road maintenance groups and other community O&M groups have been established and trained by aid projects. In most cases, as soon as the project finishes maintenance stops also. Groups find it hard to raise the necessary funds and only emergency repairs are carried out.

A case study carried out by ILO in Battambang in late 2000 and early 2001 showed that from 1996 to 2000 some US$7.6 million was invested in rural roads in the province, but by 2000 the asset value of the rural road system had declined to US$1.7 million due to the lack of a systematic maintenance

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program. The length of rural roads in maintainable condition declined from a peak of over 170km in 1998 to 112km in 2000.

Under NRDP a budget has been provided for rural road maintenance, but on a sliding scale with the RGC contribution increasing each year. RGC provided no maintenance funds last year and none so far this year, so all road maintenance has stopped.

3.9 Other Considerations Deleted: Province ... [1] For infrastructure such as schools and health centers, government budget are needed for salaries, furniture, equipment and supplies, and a commitment from the relevant authorities must be obtained prior to construction. Schools, for example, should only be constructed where they are identified as a priority by the Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport (MOEYS) and are in conformity with their development plans. Where schools have been constructed or expanded, projects usually find that staff are recruited and the schools fill with pupils quickly. However, NRDP has found that newly built health centers often remain empty, despite assurances from the Ministry of Health that staff, equipment, supplies and running costs will be provided. Upgrading the skills of existing health staff and traditional village healers and birth attendants is likely to be more effective than providing new buildings.

Activities where close cooperation between beneficiaries is a prerequisite require substantial investments of time and energy to mobilize participants. People must be convinced of the benefits of cooperation, they need to realize these benefits within the life of the investment, and their organizations need to be recognized by the Government and protected by a legal framework. Realistic implementation schedules must provide adequate lead time for preparatory activities, especially for beneficiary consultations. Implementers must work very closely with communities from the infrastructure feasibility study stage. Community user groups should generally be formed prior to infrastructure construction and agreement reached with beneficiaries regarding the general design features, intended implementation approach and their contribution; subsequent operation and maintenance arrangements must be assured.

A major concern of any infrastructure development in the TSBR is the affect it may have on the environment. Improving roads through the transition zone to the buffer zone around the Tonle Sap is likely to increase migration to the lake putting further pressure on natural resources. Small-scale irrigation / water control schemes will disrupt water flows, and may lead to further extension of crop land into the flooded forest zone and pollution by agro-chemicals.

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4 CAPACITY OF PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS

There is a general shortage of skilled and experienced government staff, and low salaries mean that many staff have second jobs to supplement their incomes. Adequate training must be provided to upgrade skills and, where necessary, consulting services must be recruited to assist infrastructure survey and design, and for supervision of implementation.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) has primary responsibility for irrigation / agricultural water management and urban water supplies. Rural roads, rural water supplies and other small scale infrastructure fall under the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD).

4.1 Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology (DOWRAM)

Each province is serviced by a DOWRAM and some district level offices. Each office is divided into five sections; administration and human resources, irrigation and drainage, water conservation and environment, water supply and sanitation, and hydrology and meteorology. Staff resources, both in terms of number and capacity, vary widely between provinces. Five DOWRAMs in the project area have some 30 staff, of whom two to four are engineers. is an exception, with about 70 staff, including 9 engineers. Generally, capacity is better where bilateral and other projects are being implemented, as it is through these initiatives that staff are able to use their skills and training. DOWRAM Banteay Meanchey is particularly weak.

A few provincial staff have attended short training courses under the JICA Technical Service Center for Irrigation System Project. Technical manuals produced under the JICA project (which are available in only hard copy) have not been circulated to DOWRAMs, although many have been translated into Khmer.

FWUC or O&M service units are being, or have been established in most DOWRAMs. Typically these units consist of four staff who are responsible for training, support to and monitoring of the FWUCs. RGC budget support to these agencies is low and unless staff are receiving external support, they are unable to travel to the field regularly.

4.2 Provincial Department of Rural Development (PDRD)

The PDRD is responsible for implementing and coordinating all MRD activities in a province. Each PDRD has five units with responsibility for (i) administration, finance and logistics, (ii) rural water supplies, (iii) rural infrastructure (iv) rural economic development and credit, and (v) primary health care. Rural Roads Offices have recently been established under the PDRDs. Staff capacity is weak and training would be require to enable the technical staff to undertake rural road surveys and design.

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5 RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITIES

As expected, preliminary results from PRAs in the project area indicate that increased water for agricultural production, rural access roads, domestic water supplies, schools and health care are priorities.

Irrigation/Water control: Some 200 existing irrigation/water control Deleted: Water Supplies and schemes in varying states of disrepair have been identified in the target Sanitation provinces, varying in size from about 10 ha to 13,000ha. Many of these are, in fact, sub-sections of large schemes. Few are functioning effectively due to inadequate structures, land leveling, bunding and drainage, combined with poor crop husbandry.

Water management / irrigation infrastructure is needed but systems should be developed within the framework of an integrated approach to irrigated agriculture that ensures sustainable management of the system, agricultural support services, farm-to-market roads, and adequate marketing opportunities for produce. Some opportunities exist for the construction/rehabilitation of small-scale stand-alone water control/irrigation schemes. There is greater scope for improving the water management of sections of existing large irrigation/water control schemes through development of the secondary or tertiary canal networks, land levelling, and provision of simple structures such as outlets and gates to aid fairer water distribution. This must be combined with support and training of the FWUCs and WUGs in O&M of the system and on-farm water management.

Simple technology such as treadle pumps and micro drip irrigation systems could be promoted for vegetable growning in areas where soils are suitable.

Transport infrastructure: Villages in the project area are mostly clustered close to highways 5 or 6 and the main scope is for rehabilitation of roads up to 10 kilometers long, but mostly 5km or less, linking the villages to highways 5 and 6. In flood areas the roads would typically be raised on embankments up to 2m high and provided with 3 to 5 culverts per kilometer.

In some cases the provision of simple individual road structures, such as small bridges, concrete drifts or culverts, would make roads or tracks passable year round, considerably reducing the isolation of communities in the wet season.

Water Supplies and Sanitation: Various types of water supply systems Deleted: Water Supplies and could be provided under the project. If sufficient water is available it could Sanitation also be used for home gardens.

In readily accessible villages with suitable aquifer conditions, hand dug ring wells or drilled wells have often been provided by agencies such as UNICEF. However, there is still considerable scope for provision of wells and hand pumps, together with rehabilitation of old wells.

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In areas where poor aquifer conditions or the length of annual flooding precludes the use of wells and where no other source of water is available, ponds and reservoirs can be provided for dry season use. This must be combined with a filtration system or some other means of sterilizing the water as agencies have generally been unsuccessful in persuading people to keep animals away from ponds, even where they are fenced.

In areas not prone to deep flooding, large water jars (holding up to 3m3) can be used to store rainwater harvested from house roofs. The jars proved popular under PRASAC II but have two particular disadvantages. Firstly, thatched roofs are not ideal for collecting rainwater, which discriminates against poorer families. Secondly, the stored water generally lasts no more than 3 months so other sources are needed towards the end of the dry season. However, there is a case for subsidizing jar production and distribution, and for assisting poor families to replace thatch roofs with corrugated iron.

Various low technology methods of sterilizing water from polluted sources can be promoted in the project area. For example, IDE has introduced a simple ceramic water filter to Cambodia. It consists of a clay pot filter set in a plastic bin fitted with a metal tap. The kiln-fired porous clay pot is impregnated with colloidal silver, an anti-bacterial agent, which lasts several years and ensures that the filtered water is completely clean. A women’s pottery cooperative in Kampong Chhnang started making the filters in August 2000 and now produces 2,000 a month as a commercial enterprise. The clay pot costs $4.50 and the complete filter sells for $7.50 each. Besides making water safe to drink, use of these filters would reduce the need for firewood to boil water.

WHO promotes a nearly cost free method of disinfecting drinking water with sunlight. The process requires only sunlight, an empty plastic soft-drink bottle and a black surface. The bottle is filled with water and placed horizontally on a flat black surface for about 5 hours (2 days if no sunshine). The heat and ultraviolet radiation kill any microorganisms. The method is most effective if the bottom half of the bottle is painted black or the bottle is placed on a black sheet of corrugated iron or plastic, which absorbs more heat and kills more pathogens. The NGO, ADRA, has successfully tested this method in villages in Siem Reap. For small public buildings such as rural schools and health centers, simple commercial solar water pasteurizers are available. A single unit is capable of pasteurizing 600 to 700 liters of water a day.

Earlier water and sanitation projects have raised awareness of the benefits of improved hygiene and sanitation and women in particular are now beginning to request assistance to construct latrines. For areas not prone to deep flooding a range of low cost sanitation technology exists, including various types of pit and composting latrines.

Schools: Many children in the project area fail to attend school, partly because of the cost, and partly due to the lack of a facilities within easy reach. In remoter areas, new primary schools are needed in some villages to reduce the distances children have to travel. Elsewhere dilapidated classrooms need to be replaced and additional classrooms are often needed. Under the Project, blocks of two to five classrooms could be

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constructed where they are most needed, provided the schools are also a priority of the Ministry of Education and are included in their development plans. In isolated areas, where it may be difficult to recruit and retain teachers from elsewhere, it may be necessary to construct houses for teachers or provide teacher training to local people. The Ministry of Education must guarantee teachers salaries and school running costs, and the local community must be prepared to raise funds to supplement this where necessary to keep the school operational.

Health Facilities: Where new health centers are constructed they often remain empty because the Ministry of Health cannot afford to staff and run them. Also, poorer people often cannot afford the the small fee levied at health centers and tend to consult traditional village healers and midwives. In some cases existing health centers could be renovated, but in isolated villages an alternative may be to upgrade the skills of the local traditional healers and mid-wives and provide them with an initial package of basic equipment and supplies. Other options include provision of primary health care and specific programs such as birth spacing through visiting teams from Provincial Departments of Health or the Ministry of Women and Veteran Affairs.

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6 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND PRIORITIZATION OF SUBPROJECTS

A tentative long list of subprojects will be identified through an analysis of Deleted: ¶ the PRA exercises, consideration of Commune Development Plans, <#>¶ discussions with local officials and meetings with village groups. Subprojects will be prioritized and a short list of subprojects selected in public meetings and workshops in each province.

The TSLSP Inception Report, Appendix 5, September 2006, contained a table "Suggested Criteria for Sub-Project Selection" which is suitable for irrigation / water management schemes. This has been revised slightly so that it is applicable to any rural infrastructure interventions – see Appendix 1 below. It is suggested that a simple scoring system is used to prioritize potential subprojects. Each project should be given a score ranging from 1 for poor to 4 for good against each of the criterion listed in Appendix 1. Projects can then be prioritized on the basis of the highest number of points scored. Since irrigation / water management subprojects have three extra criteria, a weighting systems should be used to calculate the final scores.

Infrastructure subprojects prioritized under TSLSP should: • Be demand driven – participatory • Complement community strengths • Result in investments that specifically benefit the “poor” • Be technically and economically feasible

Criteria to be used to screen proposed subprojects include technical, social and economic considerations as follows: a. The proposed infrastructure must be identified through a participatory process which includes the poor and vulnerable, and benefits poor households and vulnerable groups, as well as the community at large. b. Subprojects must have little or no adverse effect on the environment. Subrojects that are certain to have an adverse effect on ecologically sensitive areas must be excluded. c. A high priority should be given to subprojects in areas where large numbers of the potential beneficiaries at present migrate to the buffer and core zones of the Tonle Sap to exploit the natural resources. d. The proposed infrastructure must build on community strengths, for example, where community groups already exist or where a community has already attempted to raise funds for the infrastructure. Communities must be prepared to contribute funds or labor to implementation of the subproject. The better off should be prepared to pay more so that the poor pay less. The local community must be capable of and prepared to take responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the finished infrastructure. e. Subprojects where significant resettlement is required should be a low priority.

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f. Where government support is required for staff salaries and running costs the subproject must be a priority of the relevant ministry and included in the ministry's development plan. The ministry must guarantee to provide the necessary staff and budget. g. The infrastructure must: - be technically straightforward; - have many beneficiaries, particularly from the poorest households, and have an immediate impact on the livelihoods of the local community at large; - produce benefits to livelihoods that are measurable and sustainable; - not be unduly costly for the type and scale of infrastructure; - be situated in villages which have received little or no benefit from previous or on-going development assistance.

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7 RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKPLAN

The first input of the international rural infrastructure engineer (RIE) finishes on 30 September 2006. She will return to Cambodia on 9 November to start her second input.

The domestic RIE will work with the agricultural and environmental specialists in October and early November. He will investigate infrastructure priorities identified in the PRAs and in Commune Development Plans in the six TSLSP provinces. He will visit villages to discuss the priorities and alternative solutions to meet them. He will identify a typical infrastructure subproject of each main type, collect and analyze data together with the beneficiaries and provide a report detailing the main features of the proposed subproject, estimated costs, possible constraints, likely benefits, and O&M needs.

From mid-November to mid-December both RIEs will assist the TSLSP team in drawing up long list of subprojects, then prioritizing and selecting short lists of subprojects in public meetings and workshops in each province.

Prefeasibility studies of the shortlisted infrastructure subprojects will be conducted by the RIEs from mid-December until late February, starting with those given the highest priority and working down the list.

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APPENDIX 1: SUGGESTED CRITERIA FOR INFRASTRUCTURE SUBPROJECT SELECTION

Criterion Low Medium High Outstanding Adverse Project is near or Likely adverse effects can Project is in a location or The project would enable environmental or immediately upstream of be mitigated or avoided and small enough that no environmental and ecological ecological effects an ecologically sensitive local communities recognize adverse effects are foreseen. enhancement of areas that area and is certain to the need to do so. presently are degraded create adverse effects Social displacement Resettlement of a Social displacement impacts There would be no adverse The project would encourage (resettlement) significant number of can be successfully social displacement effects social stability through local job families would be needed managed at small financial creation and resource and costs would likely be and social cost development. >20% of total project cost Seasonal migration Less than 30% of the 30%-50% of the population 50%-70% of the population Over 70% of the population population migrates migrates towards the TS migrates towards the TS migrates towards the TS Core towards the TS Core Area Core Area to collect natural Core Area to collect natural Area to collect natural resources to collect natural resources resources and cultivate rice resources and cultivate rice and cultivate rice and cultivate rice Community support Community not used to Community is engaged in Community is active in Functioning community groups, cooperative work and not some cooperative work and cooperative projects, with with effective female yet persuaded that it is expresses readiness to strong leadership and female representation, already exist and needed establish user groups participation, and expresses implement activities, supported willingness to establish user by VDC or equivalent groups, FWUC etc Encouragement of Project infrastructure and Project components can be Local community and Project scale and proposed private other interventions would handed over to local business have the existing components are clearly within sector/community depend for the foreseeable community and business capacity to take full the capacity of the community participation future on RGC capacity for after capacity building and a responsibility for the project and services can be provided by operation and 3-5 year hand-over period. after a 2-3 year hand-over local businesses. maintenance. period. Contribution to Target area has poverty Poverty incidence is 20-40% Poverty incidence in the Target area poverty incidence poverty reduction, incidence <20%, and food and food insecure project area is 40-60% and >60%, food insecure households food security, gender insecure households are households are 20-40% of food insecure households >60% of total. Project would equity <20% of total total, with high are 40-60% of total. Project provide major benefit to food representation of female- would improve food security security, cash income, and job headed households. Project and cash income, especially creation, especially for female- would principally increase for female-headed headed households.

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food security. households. Agri-business and Local rural infrastructure Initial steps are being taken Most aspects of rural All aspects of rural infrastructure, supporting (roads, telecoms etc), to develop infrastructure, infrastructure, institutional institutional capacity, and infrastructure institutional capacity, institutions, and/or support capacity, and support support services are favorable governance, support services in the area services are favorable for for project success and services are inadequate to project success and sustainability support project sustainability implementation. Financial aspects: All three criteria in column Two criteria in column five One criterion in column five Project implementation cost are implementation cost, five are outside preferred are outside preferred limits is outside preferred limits reasonable for type and scale of O&M costs, and IRR limits infrastructure proposed (<$800/ha in case of water management / irrigation schemes), O&M costs are expected to be <30% of total project cost, and IRR >12% Overlap with other There are other similar There are other similar The proposed project The district has been largely projects projects in the proposed projects in the proposed complements other socio- neglected by socio-economic subproject district, which subproject district, but economic and rural and rural development initiatives, already are dealing significant needs remain for development initiatives in the and the project would provide adequately with key rural development district opportunity for community issues, needs and capacity capacity building building Adverse effects on The project would severely Adverse effects on other Adverse effects on other The project would have no water users affect other water users users and ecosystems users and ecosystems can adverse effects on other users and/or reduce flows mostly can be mitigated, but be mitigated year-round and may be enhance water needed for ecosystem dry season effects may be availability downstream maintenance significant

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In addition for water management / irrigation subprojects

Water availability Sufficient water would The project would assure The project would assure The project would assure water not be available from water availability for 4 years in water availability at all availability at all stages of crop any source at least one five for most of the season, stages of crop growth for 4 growth in all years year in five but not at the start of the years in five season Soils The project uses low The project uses medium The project uses high The project uses high potential potential soils (Prey potential soils (Toul Samrong, potential soils (Kompong soils and includes a significant Khmer, Prateah Lang, Labansiek, Koktrap groups) Siem, Kein Svay, Kbal Po, component to enhance fertility and Bakan groups) Krakor groups) structure Existing water Local projects have Local projects are small, in Local projects are The project extends an existing management or been unsuccessful in poor condition, and/or are successful and indicate a project that already is sustainable, agricultural the past and are not unsustainable without ongoing community capacity to and successful in poverty development project functioning assistance from RGC/NGOs sustain and benefit from reduction/economic growth success project assistance.

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APPENDIX 2: PROJECTS RELEVANT TO RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE TONLE SAP

Project Start- Project Description Value Location Completion (US$ '000) 1 Tertiary Road Improvement 1992-2005 - rehabilitation of 400 km of rural road using LBAT 3,500 4 Provinces: Kampong Thom, Kampong Programme TRIP III and food-for-work from WFP Chhnang, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham KfW- WFP, Grant No. 99 65211 - total of 1,200 km of rural roads rehabilitated over 3 phases - road maintenance - next phase in pipeline 2 Tertiary Rural Infrastructure 2005-2007 - improvement of 250 km tertiary roads 12,100 7 Province: Kampong Cham, Programme (TRIP) Phase IV Kampong Chanang, Kampong Thom, Kampong KfW Speu, Prey Veng, Kratie, Svay Rieng 3 World Food Program, Food Aid -2007? - Provide additional income and temporary 58,301 Directed by WFP poverty mapping and Siela for Recovery and Rehabilitation employment in rural and urban areas through target provinces. - Battambang, Banteay - building Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap, Protracted Relief and Recovery - Enhance social systems of social support for poor Pursat, Prey Veng, Kampot, Kampong Thom, Operation. and disadvantaged people. Kampong Cham, Takeo, Rattanakiri and Pailin PRRO No. 6038.01 - Support national emergency preparedness and response. - Build capacity for enhanced ownership and empowerment. 4 Partnership for Local Interventions identified and prioritized by Commune 12 Provinces: Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Governance Councils Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap, Pursat, Prey - support to the RGC Seila Veng, Kampot, Kampong Thom, Kampong Programme Cham, Takeo, Rattanakiri and Pailin UNOPS and other donors 5 Agriculture Sector Program, -2005 - Rural Road Inventory & Maintenance System 1,426 6 Provinces: Takeo, Kampot, Kampong ADB Loan No. 1445-CAM (SF) - Strengthening the PRDCs and VDCs Chhnang, Kandal, Koh Kong and Kampong Speu 6 Stung Chinit Irrigation & -2006 Part A (MOWRAM) 23,800 Kampong Thom Rehabilitation Project - Irrigated Agriculture Development ADB Loan No. 1753- CAM (SF) - Farmer Community Organization & Extension Sources: Services ADB US$ 16M - Irrigation Infrastructure AFD US$ 2.6M - Irrigation System Management RGC US$ 4.8M Part B: (MRD) Beneficiaries US$ 0.4M - Improvement of about 150 km of rural roads in and TOTAL US$ 23.8M around the Project Area - Upgrading of six local markets. 7 Northwestern Rural 2003-2007 - Capacity Building 35,319 4 Provinces: Battambang, Oddar Meanchey,

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Project Start- Project Description Value Location Completion (US$ '000) Development Project - Rural Infrastructure Development Banteay Meachey and Siem Reap ADB Loan - Rural Livelihood Enhancement - Project Management 8 Community Based Rural 2002-2008 - Agriculture Development 23,000 2 Provinces: Kampong Thom and Kampot Development - Rural Infrastructure Development IFAD Loan - Community Development Sources: IFAD US$ 10M - Institutional Development GTZ, WFP, Ausaid & RGC US$13M 9 Provincial Rural Infrastructure 2007 - Secondary and tertiary road rehabilitation 4 Provinces: Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Improvement Project (PRIP) (Suspended in - Secondary and tertiary road maintenance Preah Vihea and Kampong Thom WB Loan PC071207 2006) - Capacity building 10 Northwest Irrigation Sector 2005-2009 - poverty alleviation through improved water use, 37,400 4 Provinces: Siem Reap, Battambang, Banteay Project (NWISP) particularly for agriculture production Meanchey and Pursat ADB Loan CAM 34379 - capacity and institution building in key agencies at the national and provincial level 3 components: - provision of irrigation infrastructure, - agriculture support - support to integrated water resources management. 11 Rural Water Supply and 2005 - 2015 - assisting RGC to achieve its Rural Water Supply 10,000 5 Provinces: Battambang, Kampong Chhnang, Sanitation Project and Sanitation Sector (RWSS) Investment Plan Kampong Thom, Pursat and Siem Reap ADB loan CAM 34382-01 (2005-2015) - target to increase % of the rural population with access to safe water supply to 50%, and sanitation facilities to 30%, 4 components: - community mobilization - water supply improvement - sanitation improvement - implementation assistance 12 Economic and Social Relaunch Dec 2005-Dec - poverty reduction 20,000 3 Provinces: Banteay Meanchey, Battambang of the Northern Provinces of 2010 - increase household income and Siem Reap Cambodia (ECOSORN) - increase local community empowerment in rural EU grant areas 5 components: - agricultural, livestock and fisheries production - off-farm job opportunities - capacity building at commune council level and

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Project Start- Project Description Value Location Completion (US$ '000) below - improved access to key amenities and services - mine risk reduction 13 European Fund for Micro- 2004?-2006 - basic access roads 1,900 1 Province: Battambang projects (EFMP) - primary education facilities EU grant - basic village water supply and sanitation facilities - 2 district training centres for women. - Kam Rieng, Phnom Proek, Samlot, & Sampov Loun districts 14 Technical Service Center for 2006-2009 - Aims to improve the technical capacity of Pilot areas in Kandal, Pursat (Thlea Maom, Irrigation System Project, MOWRAM staff. 100ha)and Takeo Phase 2 - 3 pilot areas are being implemented alongside JICA training. - under Phase 1 some 36 technical manuals for (Phase 1 2001-2005) irrigation were produced covering survey, planning, design, construction and water management – most in both English and Khmer. Material comes from a variety of sources including FAO manuals. - Another 20 or so manuals have been produced under Phase 2 – most are either in English or Khmer, but not both languages – and more are planned.

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APPENDIX 3 - MEETINGS AND FIELD VISITS, SEPTEMBER 2006

DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING 3/9/06 ADB Cambodia Alain Goffeau, Project • Recommends we see Mr Chan Senath, Director of Irrigated Agric., who is responsible for PIM etc. Resident Implementation Specialist • IMF has provided Cambodia with $80 million debt relief, provided that funds are spent on poverty Mission, PP Tel: 012 976 410 reduction. Govt has decided that entire amount should go to irrigation in east of Cambodia. $30 million will be spent over next 3 years – work has already started • Colin Sinclair - new engineer with NRDP 4/9/06 NWISP, PP Mr Prum Viratha, Asst. Team Leader • Provided a list of subprojects identified by NWISP Tel: 012 900 559 • Does not know of any manuals of standard designs for irrigation structures 5/9/06 & DOWRAM Mr Dauk Bunthon, Director Tel: 012 • DOWRAM has a total of 36 staff. Staff by section: 8/9/06 Kampong 919414 o Admin and human resources – 11 Chhnang o Irrigation and drainage – 9 Mr Ky Savinn, Deputy Director o Water cons and environment – 3 Tel: 012 832455 / 011 832455 o Water supply and sanitation – 3 o Hydrology and meteorlology – 2 • Office has 4 engineers, 3 technicians and 2 supervisors • Also district offices in , Kg Chhnang, Kg Leaeng and Rolea B'ier each with 1 officer, and in Kg Tralach and Sameakki Meanchey each with 2 officers. • Kop Sess reservoir, Kg Tralach district, Tang Krasang reservoir in and small reservoir in Chhyeang rehabilitated in recent years. • This year 2 irrigation projects in Tuek Phos District are being rehabilitated: o Scheme in Chaong Maong Commune - medium sized dam, 23km main canal serving 2,000 ha wet season rice – 7.8km of main canal being rehabilitated. o Paok Pen Scheme in Toul Khpos Commune (400-600 ha wet season rice). • Also, work is being done on 200ha of the 326 ha of Thnol Ampil scheme in Kg Chhnang Comm, Kg Chhnang district. Water is pumped from Boeung Alum lake. Last year a canal was dug and lined with concrete to protect it from flooding. Pump station and main canal are complete. • The following schemes were suggested for TSLSP: o Trapaing Trabek, Kok Banteay Comm, Rolea B'ier – potential 250ha dry season cropping? o Trasek Chrom, Kok Banteay Comm, Rolea B'ier – potential 450ha dry season cropping? o Stueng Trapeang scheme, Melum Comm in Baribour (dyke crosses district boundaries) adjacent to 20 May scheme, Svay Chrom Comm in Rolea B'ier • Roads in the province are mostly in reasonable condition • Republic of Korea and Govt of Cambodia have carried out a water resources feasibility study of the Krang river basin. See report: The Feasibility Study for Multi-Purpose Water Resources Development in Krang Ponley River Basin in Cambodia, March 2005. Implementation now under negotiation - $36m for 5 year project. • Mr Ky Savinn promised to provide us with an updated long list of irrigation potential together with basic data 5/9/06 Field trip to Accompanied by Mr Dauk Bunthon, • Steung Trapeang scheme, Melum Comm in Baribour. A Khymer Rouge era reservoir was formed by a Melum Comm., DOWRAM Kg Chhnang 3km long dyke from Thma Kaev in Svay Chrom Comm, across Stueng Trapeang river, finishing in Boribour District, Melum Commune where the command area lies. A 30m? long bridge with gates has subsided severely Kg Chhnang and a section of the dyke some 30m long to one side the structure was washed out last month. There

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING are also 2 other fairly sizable breaches in the dyke elsewhere. The reservoir still retains some water and in the dry season DOWRAM puts a pump in the reservoir bed for dry season rice. World Vision constructed a small earth canal from one of the breaches in the dyke, for use in the dry season – it is submerged now. In Melum floating rice is being grown both sides of the dyke at present. Land inside the reservoir is owned by government but people have a traditional right to use it. If the dyke was repaired it is claimed that 1,070ha owned by 271 families could be irrigated. Both floating rice and dry season rice (3-4 t/ha yield) could be grown. • Tuol Roka/Melum scheme, Melum Comm in Baribour. A check structure is proposed across the perennial Steung Baribour (no reservoir) to provide gravity irrigation to both banks of the river. The command area is estimated to be 1,000 ha and falls in 3 communes Melum, Phsar and Khon Rang. The Steung Baribour is a fairly sizable river at this time of year. 6/9/06 DAFF Kampong Mr Ngan Nany, Director • There is good cooperation between DOWRAM and DAFF in Kg Chhnang apparently. DAFF is keen to Chhnang Tel: 012 845546 / 012 520320 cooperate with TSLSP also, and can assist studies of cropping aspects of potential irrigation subprojects. • 6 agric ext staff in HQ and 8 based in districts. In addition, 21 field assistants work directly with farmers. None have had training in irrigation water management. • System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is being promoted in 97 villages, of 38 communes in 8 districts. 1,800 families are using SRI on 432 ha. There are plans to have demonstrations in all communes. Yields of 3 to 5 t/ha are achieved, up to double previous yields. Seed rates have been reduced from 80kg/ha to 13-15 kg/ha and compost is used rather than chemical fertilizer. 6/9/06 DOWRAM Mr You La, Deputy Director • Mr Keo Vey , DOWRAM director, left last week for 1 months training in Japan Pursat • DOWRAM staff by section Mr Kit Phal, Engineer o Admin and human resources - 6 Tel: 012 966978 o Irrigation and drainage – 4 o Water supply and sanitation – 3 o Hydrology and meteorology – 3 • Office has 4 engineers, 3 technicians and 3 supervisors • Also 5 district irrigation offices in Krakor, Bakan, Kandieng, Kravang & Sampov Meas, each with 2 staff • The department has 4 ongoing irrigation projects: o Kom Bang (Kom Peang? Som Dam?) o Dom Nak Ampil, Lolok Sa Comm, Sampov Meas Dist., o Tlear Gharm o Me Theak • NWISP already working on Bomnork Chheu subproject in Tom and Svay Sar Communes, Krakor Dist • JICA is developing 2 irrigation projects adjacent to Highway 5 in Bakan • Mr La is worried that TSLSP may encroach on what he regards as NWISP territory. He would prefer TSLSP to concentrate on the area between highway 5 and the lake. In particular, he felt that Chheu Tom and Svay Sa should not be included in TSLSP PRAs 6/9/06 Field trip Accompanied by Mr Kit Phal, • Field trip to Sna Ansa Commune, DOWRAM Pursat • 30km earth canal from Pursat River runs parallel to highway 5 to Sna Ansa comm in Krakor district. Canal sections have been rehabilitated at various times by WUA with assistance from different agencies and a Govt Minister. • In Sna Ansa 2 command areas are each served by 2 branch canals from main canal. We visited one area where 250ha irrigated wet season rice is farmed by 162 families from Krang Veaeng village – in dry season only 30ha can be irrigated. Branch canals are earth with no control structures. In neighboring

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING village of Beng 115 families have irrigated wet season rice, but only 25ha can be irrigated in the dry season. • DOWRAM would like to widen and improve sections of the main canal for more wet and dry season irrigation 7/9/06 PDRD Pursat Mr Huon Bonith, Director • ADB Water Supply and Sanitation Project is main work at present Tel: 012 520066 • No major rural road works being implemented at present. ADB and WB funded projects have finished. Mr Phoeung Sophath, Deputy Seila is assisting communes to rehabilitate roads in some places with technical advice from PDRD. Director Tel: 012 947788 • Inventory of condition of roads carried out at end of rainy season. Commune and district road maintenance teams have been formed and trained but inactive as no funding from central govt. Laterite for road surfacing costs $4.5 - $5 /m3. • IRAP was proposed for Pursat but, due to various problems, not implemented. • The director suggested that we should visit a rural road in need of rehabilitation in – it is important for access to market 7/9/06 PDAFF Pursat Mr Lay Viseth, Vice Director of • One member of PDAFF staff working with NWISP/DOWRAM. DAFF staff could assist TSLSP with data Agriculture Tel: 012 766063 collection and analysis for potential irrigation schemes Mr Hov Chandara, Agronomist • IFAD project finished in 2005 • FAO food security project finishes in December 2006 • 19 agric ext staff, 27 agronomists in PDAFF HQ. 5 field assistants in each district • SRI was first introduced in Pursat in 1997 but achieved little due to limited budget. Restarted in 2001 with assistance from FAO food security project and in the last 2 years has expanded from 24 villages to 39 • Production of castor oil is being encouraged • 1,900 ha dry season and 84,600 ha wet season rice in Pursat. DAFF wants to expand wet season rice area to 98,000 ha 7/9/06 Field trip to rural Accompanied by Mr Nin Sinat, Chief • The 18km long rural road goes from highway 5 on the edge of Bakan Town northwards toward Tonle road in Boeung of Technical Office, PDRD Pursat Sap. It was originally constructed by WFP in 1993. Bat Kandaol Tel: 012 833184 • The lower reaches flood from time to time in the wet season (about 8km?). Comm, Bakan • The first 6km of the road from highway 5 were rehabilitated in 2003 under WB FERP. This stretch is still Dist, Pursat in reasonably good condition. A maintenance group was formed and trained but is inactive apparently (cannot afford to buy laterite?) • The next 12km from Tram Seh village, which includes 4km repaired by Seila in 2000, is in very poor condition. The road passes through the villages of Ou and Bat Trach and finishes in the Cham village of Russei Taman. Beyond this is a track to the lake which is only used in the dry season. Village populations (from 2005 Seila database) - Tram Seh 870, Ou 881, Bat Trach 684, Ruessei Taman 1012. • The cost of rehabilitation would be about $8,000 to $9,000 per km according to Mr Sinat. One small bridge or concrete drift (ford) would be needed, in addition to two existing small bridges which are in good condition • The road serves a large rice growing area and has houses scattered along its entire length. Where water is available, vegetables and water melons are grown in the dry season. • It is also a main route to the lake for people in Bakan District • Improving the road would make it easier for people to get crops to market and to get to the lake to fish. Local people complained that fish catches are falling and improving the road would inevitably lead to more people going to the lake to exploit resources. 8/9/06 PDRD Kampong Mr Leang Seng, Director • The director said that he could not provide much information on PDRD's activities in Kg Chhnang as he

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING Chhnang Tel: 012 928222 was new and had been in post for only 3 days (he previously worked in the community health Mr Kry Vong Pisidh, Assistant (and department of MRD in PP) translator) Tel: 012 679588 • Kg Chhnang is included in the ADB Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project • TRIP is active in road construction and maintenance in the province • The office is short of engineers and technicians but assistance can be requested from MRD when necessary 11/9/06 ADB Cambodia Alain Goffeau, Project • Commune Council Development Project (CCDP) under the Ministry of the Interior commissioned Resident Implementation Specialist 1:40,000 aerial photos and orthophotos. Contact Mr Ny Kim San, Project Manager, Tel: 011 970565. Mission, PP Tel: 012 976 410 • The proposed ADB Water Resources Management (Sector) Project under Christopher Wensley (Portfolio Mgt) will continue the development of irrigation started under NWISP. The purpose of the project is to rehabilitate small to medium-scale irrigation infrastructure, transfer facilities to farmer water user committees (FWUCs) through participatory irrigation management and development (PIMD), and to improve agricultural extension services in selected provinces of the Tonle Sap Basin. Projects of up to 3,000 ha will be considered, including flood control and recession schemes. • Koreans are preparing a masterplan of water resources in Cambodia. Also implementing a $26m irrigation and hydropower project in Battambang – former Khymer Rouge project with big barrage across river which was rejected by NWISP because of scale of resettlement needs. • We should contact JICA adviser to H.E Veng Sakhon. • NWISP outsources feasibility studies to 2 or 3 companies – we should ask Mr Prum Viratha for the format used for feasibility studies. • NWISP uses a selection process rather than just criteria for prioritizing subprojects – see Appendix 4 of PPTA document. 12/9/06 MOWRAM, PP Mr Shigemitsu Tsukamoto, Chief • The aim of the project is to improve the technical capacity of MOWRAM staff. The first 5 year phase Technical JICA Advisor / Irrigation finished in January 2006 and the project is now in Phase 2 which is schedule to finish in mid-2009. Three Service Center Tel: 012 222864 pilot areas in Kandal, Pursat (Thlea Maom, 100ha)and Takeo are being implemented alongside training. for Irrigation In Phase 1 some 36 technical manuals for irrigation were produced covering survey, planning, design, System Project construction and water management – most in both English and Khmer. Material comes from a variety Phase 2 - JICA of sources including FAO manuals. Another 20 or so manuals have been produced under Phase 2 – most are either in English or Khmer, but not both languages – and more are planned. Soft copies of manuals are not available – we requested photocopies of several and can collect them on Friday. • Mr Moriyama, JICA advisor to H.E Veng Sakhon, has just gone on leave and will return to Cambodia in late October. He has a responsibility for the inventory of irrigation south of Tonle Sap. We were shown 2 large volumes of a report which has just been produced: Survey on the Irrigation Inventory for the River Basins of Battambang, Dauntri, Pursat, Boribot and remaining part of Prek Thnot – Vol II A & B. This is not generally available yet and we will probably have to await Mr Moriyama's return to obtain a copy. 12/9/06 NWISP, PP Mr Gerard Pontier, Project • It is assumed that small scale irrigation is low tech and cheap to develop, but often the cost per ha is far Management Advisor higher than for large schemes - the same range of expertise is needed for implementation Tel: 012 222730 • We should contact ECOSORN in Siem Reap to find out about their irrigation activities • River basin models developed under NWISP will be made available to everyone • Selection procedures for NWISP subprojects is good but takes a great deal of time because of the number of steps involved • Feasibility studies are contracted out – results are mixed as engineers not interested in social and agricultural aspects

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING • Gerard provided a copy of the NWISP feasibility study format and documents showing project selection criteria and procedures 18/9/06 DOWRAM, Mr Khem Phearum, Deputy Director • DOWRAM Battambang has a total of 75 staff. Staff by section: Battambang Tel: 012 599889 o Admin and human resources - 15 o Irrigation and drainage – 32 o Water cons. and environment - 9 o Water supply and sanitation – 11 o Hydrology and meteorology – 8 • Office has 9 engineers, 11 technicians and 30 supervisors • Also 5 district irrigation offices in Battambang (1 officer), Thma Koul (2 officers), (1 officer), (1 officer) and Sangkae (4 officers) • 5 staff, including the Dep Dir, available to assist TSLSP with studies of potential water management subprojects • FAO is funding a canal in Komping Pouy. ECOSORN and NWISP working in the province – construction yet to start. Koreans and JICA have investigated schemes but have not yet offered assistance. • Suggestion that TSLSP should assist development of a canal from Thma Koul River (water diverted from Mongkol Borey River) in . 5 canals come off the river in area west of highway 5 (Bavel Irrigation System – Bavel & Thma Koul districts?). Canal 1 with a wet season command area of 12,000 ha will be developed under NWISP. Canal 2 with a wet season command of 3,000 ha is being developed by MOWRAM. Assistance is being sought for canals 3, 4 and 5 with wet season command areas of 5,000 ha, 8,000 ha and 4,000 ha respectively. 18/9/06 PDRD, Mr Chhour Sothea, Director • Main assistance for rural infrastructure in BTB comes from NRDP. ECOSORN and TSLIP will start Battambang Tel: 012 937438 implementation soon. Also, Seila funds small village works. World Vision is providing assistance in 5 districts including repair of roads and school buildings. • Yearly inventory of road condition carried out – contractors leave piles of laterite along road and local people do routine maintenance by hand in Sangkae, Thma Koul and Battambang districts – funded by Japan? • Laterite costs $2-$4/m3 in BTB • EU Fund for Microprojects (working with Seila) 2004-2006 has finished. Provided basic access roads, primary education facilities and basic village water supply and sanitation facilities in Kam Rieng, Phnom Proek, Samlot, and Sampov Loun districts 18/9/06 World Vision, Mr Kong San, Area Development • WV started work in BTB in 1992 and works in Battambang, Bavel, , Thma Koul, Rotonak Battambang Programme (ADP) Manager Mondol, and Kuas Krolor districts. Funding comes through the child sponsorship program. Tel: 012 957108 Battambang district ADP, for example, has 2,500 sponsored children and an annual budget of $400,000. ADP intended to last at least 15 years before being phased out. • Supports capacity building of Commune Councils • Assists formal and informal education – literacy, new teaching techniques, primary and secondary school buildings, playground renovation, teaching materials and uniforms for poor children. • WV has been involved in health care since 1992 but activities now declining as more assistance is provided by government and other agencies – e.g. WV provision of medical equipment and drugs has stopped. WV cooperates with Health Centers on primary health care and community health programs. Supports strengthening of HC staff, traditional birth attendants and village health workers. Supports poor people to access Health Centers.

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING • Food security is assisted through improvements to community roads and irrigation canals. Drilled wells are provided for drinking water and for gardens. • Technical training is provided e.g. mushroom production, sewing. • Working with Provincial Veterinary Dept to establish a vet worker in every village to assist training programs and to provide animal vaccinations etc. • Credit now provided by Vision Fund. Provides both individual and group credit. Also a cow bank – 2 cows given to a community group – no repayment to Vision Fund. • In Battambang district main issues are HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. In rural areas poor infrastructure is the main problem. • Other NGOs working in BTB include Banteay Srey (food security), CRS, CWS and Orphanage Assoc. 18/9/06 Field trip to Accompanied by Mr Khem Phearum, • Turned off highway 5 at Chrey and traveled some 20km though flat rice land in Banan district to Kamping Kamping Puoy DOWRAM Puoy reservoir– many canals, some of which have been rehabilitated in recent years (FAO?) – roads in Reservoir, Bavel very poor condition and Thma Koul • Kamping Puoy reservoir, on edge of hilly area, has a 6km long earth dam built in Pol Pot era. 10 gate structure at SE end of dam wall and 8 gate structure at NW end of dam. Total reservoir area 4,500 m3 but mostly very shallow – max depth 9m but much of area marshy with no free water. Said to have 110 million m3 storage. Potential command area estimated to be up to 30,000 ha. • From reservoir drove along Link Canal which carries water from Mongkol Borey River to the reservoir (only a trickle of water in it) • Through Bavel town to Mongol Borey river where French barrage, constructed in 1963, raises water level to supply Bavel / Thma Koul irrigation system. • Returned to Thma Koul along road running parallel to Thma Koul river which carries water diverted from Mongkol Borey to Bavel/Thma Kuol irrigation system. Very flat rice area, falling between 20m and 10m contours, with large paddies. DOWRAM wants TSLSP to consider developing a canal from this river. Population is mostly concentrated along the road. 19/9/06 DOWRAM, Mr But Pov, Deputy Director • Mr Yin Bun Rom, Director of DOWRAM, was unavailable. Banteay Administration Tel: 012 529849 • Mr Ly Vuthy, Deputy Director, was also unavailable. He is also head of a trading company. (Mr Lar Meanchey Vannthay, the former Deputy Director, retired in 2004). • DOWRAM Banteay Meanchey has a total of 31 staff. Staff by section: o Admin and human resources - 5 o Irrigation and drainage – 4 o Water cons. and environment - 3 o Water supply and sanitation – 5 o Hydrology and meteorology – 3 • Office has 3 engineers, 2 technicians, 4 supervisors and 2 economists • Also 3 district irrigation offices with total of 12 officers • Minor repair on one scheme recently but has no funds for any further work at present. • Seeking funds for Kork Baliang Reservoir in Monkol Borey Dist, O Po System in Srash Reing, Mongkol Borey Dist and Kombor Sresh Flood Protection in Preah Netr Preah Dist. • No outside assistance for irrigation works in BM apart from NWISP and ECOSORN which have not yet started implementation. 19/9/06 PDRD / Mr Mao So, Director of PDRD & • ECOSORN covers same areas as NRDP – starting to work together Northwestern NRDP (Tel: 012 336177) • No big NGOs in BM – OCANDEN Int. and Agrisud have some small projects

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING Rural Dev • Little road rehabilitation outside NRDP areas apart from Seila funded works Project (NRDP), • Road maintenance groups at commune level only in 4 NRDP districts. Commune groups considered Banteay better than district level. Funding a major problem – road tolls collected in some places. Meanchey • Japanese govt. assists road maintenance in other districts ($2.2m from Japan & $2.8m from RGC?) • Laterite costs $2-$3/m3 if transported less than 10km, $4-$5/m3 for greater distances • Main handicaps to agricultural dev are inadequate roads, markets and irrigation. • Products produced in BM sold locally as they cannot compete on quality or cost with Thai products (exception is cows and buffalo). NRDP PMU Mr Philip Warren, Project • There are no longer people who are desperately poor in Cambodia. 5 years ago not so much land was Management Specialist / Team cleared and production was low. Now production everywhere – farmers are using pedestrian tractors, Leader Tel: 012 513708 plenty of cows and buffalo around. Input supply is adequate but agricultural production knowledge is limited. Also, indigenous seed stock was lost in Pol Pot time. Too many credit schemes – people are playing one off against another. • Agricultural techniques and water management need to improve. • In Siem Reap ADRA establishes mutual interest groups at village level and links them to VDC/CDC structure. Not a coop but a mutual interest society. Techniques such as farmer field schools used. • Too many training courses and workshops held. Better to mobilize people to help themselves. • NRDP is working in 14 districts in 4 provinces – Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Battambang and Siem Reap. Each province has 43 or 44 focus villages. A series of workshops were held to select poorest and neediest villages, which were then cross-checked with other projects to avoid duplication. • Under NRDP Commune Councils now have their own bank accounts for small scale village infrastructure – prolonged discussions with central govt. to get concept up and running. Budget is about $200,000 / province / year distributed in 3 tranches. Goes to 12 communes in each province (apart from OM where only 10). Amount provided to each commune depends on the number of focus villages and village populations. $15,000 - $120,000 / commune will be provided over life of NRDP. PLA held in focus villages establishes infrastructure needs(conducted by contracted NGOs – NGO facilitator in each commune). These are consolidated and prioritized at commune level. NRDP provides small amount of extra funding for non-focus villages. Within 3 months some communes had used their NRDP funds and requested 2nd tranche. This is having a considerable impact as communes consider the money to be theirs and appear to be spending it effectively. Funds have mostly gone on domestic and agricultural water supplies (repair of dams, canals, ponds, wells), community meeting halls, and village tracks to make everyday life easier. In Svay Lieu springs in the mountains are being piped. The standard of work has been adequate. Some communes now want to update their long lists with longer term vision. However, less than 1 year experience to date. • Experience of NRDP is that CDCs and VDCs are better run than they are often given credit for. In Oddar Meanchey commune funds are operating with little assistance from NGO. • Procurement process and designs have been conducted through Seila but this is expensive and often not needed. Local artisans can manage repair, or design and build simple structures. NGOs check designs. • Land tenure is still a problem. Cadastral surveys are being done under Land Administration Dept, Min of Interior, but painfully slow. Donors have put together protocol for cadastral surveys but not much happening on the ground. • IRAP considered unsuccessful by NRDP (but not by ECOSORN – see below). Considered too top down and no real ownership at local level. IRAP outputs not user friendly. ILO contract finishes in October and

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING MRD has already started to disband the team. • Labor Based Appropriate Technology (LBAT) for road construction was a handicap – some targets set too high. Bids were evaluated on basis of social content. In practice contractors often falsified labor documents. Use of LBAT slowed work down. Other work opportunities now exist so no longer a need to create jobs. • Road maintenance not being done as RGC is not providing its contribution to cost. RGC contribution was to have been on a sliding scale with NRDP initially providing 100% of maintenance cost but RGC contribution increasing each year. No RGC contribution last year, or so far this year. • There is a chronic shortage of good quality laterite in BM, SR and BTB. Soil stabilization techniques could be an answer for road surfacing. A 19km soil stabilization trial has been proposed for Preah Netr Preah but it is opposed by some in MRD. • NRDP has found that 100 civil works contracts per year are manageable. $9million will be disbursed for civil works this year – biggest program in the country. • The biggest problem NRDP has is interference from PP. A liaison office in PP was needed at the start but should then have been decentralized to become the PMU. 20/9/06 DOWRAM, Siem Mr Sorn Kim Sear, Director • DOWRAM Siem Reap has a total of 33 staff. Staff by section: Reap Tel: 012 592800 o Admin and human resources - 10 o Irrigation and drainage – 11 o Water cons. and environment - 3 o Water supply and sanitation – 6 o Hydrology and meteorology – 3 • Office has 2 engineers, 2 technicians, 3 supervisors, 3 agriculturalists and 4 economists • Also 6 district irrigation offices in Kralanh (2 staff), Puok, Siem Reap, Prasat , Soutr Nikom and Chikraeng each with 1 officer. • Ongoing irrigation works include: o Stung Chi Kraeng dam repairs and canal rehabilitation (ADB? MOWRAM?) – potential for extending project beyond present plans o Irrigation from W. Barai being funded by India – construction underway • NWISP and ECOSORN have only implemented studies to date. • ADRA has recently constructed a spillway in Srei Snam. • Successful FWUC in W Barai area with 40 WUGs. Raised R7m for repairs which were done with DOWRAM assistance. Now has a fund of R20m in ACLEDA bank which was raised in 4 communes and will be used to fund a 5km canal. 20/9/06 PDRD, Siem Mr Ros Sar, Director • WB Provincial Rural Infrastructure Project (PRIP) was halted 6 months ago and no indication when, or if, Reap Tel: 012 535303 it will restart. • Under PRIP rehabilitation of road from highway 6 to Kg Kleang in Soutr Nikom district was started • PDRD does not work closely with ECOSORN • Under JICA, a water treatment facility for Siem Reap city has been constructed with grant aid from Japan • GTZ has discussed a possible project centering on Siem Reap dist and the area adjoining it?– would cover agriculture and infrastructure, including domestic water supplies • Budget from MRD for road maintenance very small – for 1year covers only 10-20km routine maintenance • Considers IRAP district Accessibility Action Plans good – all departments and NGOs use them.

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING 20/9/06 ECOSORN, Mr Manfred Staab, Team Leader and • ECOSORN started in Dec 2005 and finishes Dec 2010 – based in PDAFF Siem Reap Rural Dev. Advisor Tel: 092 993310 / • The objective of the project is to contribute to poverty reduction through increased household income, 011 771423 particularly through increased agricultural productivity, and increased local community empowerment in the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Battambang & Siem Reap. • Project has some 60 staff based in the 3 provinces, 30 of whom are administrators. Staff are organized in 5 Project Implementation Groups o PMIS = Programme Management and Institutional Support o ALF = Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries o RIS = Rural Infrastructure (Roads, Irrigation, Social Infrastructure) o CGR = Community, Gender, Rural Development o FPA = Finance, Procurement, Administration • The project area includes: o Bavel, Moung Ruessei, Rotonak Mondol, districts in Battambang o Phnom Srok, Preah Netr Preah, Svay Chek, districts in Banteay Meanchey o Angkor Thum, Chi Kraeng, Kralanh, Soutr Nikom, Srei Snam districts in Siem Reap • All implementation (services, works, supplies) will be sub-contracted to government service provider, NGOs or the private sector. All interventions must be identified in 2006/07 and contracts must be signed by Nov 2007. ECOSORN staff will, in effect, simply be contract managers and local staff lack experience in this. • Under new EC rules, the EC delegation in Phnom Penh must evaluate all bids over $5,000 and award contracts. As staff capacity is limited, EC wants a few large contracts rather than many small ones. This means that each contract will have many lots and will be complex. Also because of the value of the contracts some will have to go to international tender. Staff worry that there may be little interest in some contracts. • Awarding contracts for activities which may take 3 years to complete takes authority away from ECOSORN staff and the executing agency - if the contractor performs poorly the only option may be to refuse payment, but then the funds may be lost to the project. Mr Uch Chan Vuthy, Rural Engineer • Potential infrastructure subprojects have been identified - in particular roads and irrigation schemes. List Tel: 012 630281 provided to JB and MS. Mr Ab Koster, Civil Engineer Advisor • Extensive use was made of NRDP/ILO Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) district reports to Tel: 012 499673 identify potential infrastructure subprojects (other than irrigation). ECOSORN satisfied that the IRAP process was participatory, thorough, and fully supported by local government - good guide to infrastructure priorities although not always 100% correct. • Tenders for survey and design are now being launched. Surveys and designs must be complete in time for works to be tendered by November 2007. • Consideration should be given to providing hard tops for roads. Good quality laterite is scarce and rain and heavy traffic soon lead to road damage. Maintenance is generally beyond the capacity of communities and MRD is allocating minimal funds to repairs and maintenance. • ILO and NRDP have experimented with different road surfacing options, but MRD has not taken them up as generally at least doubles the cost of road rehabilitation. ECOSORN has identified 260km of possible road rehabilitation and will consider alternatives where good quality laterite is not available, or where traffic is heavy, particularly in urban areas. • Identifying small irrigation projects (<200ha) is difficult as schemes tend to be large. Most communities farm parts of large schemes. Reservoir projects tend to be too large and have too many conflicts. Secondary and tertiary canal systems underdeveloped or non-existent. ECOSORN is working closely with NWISP and is concentrating on secondary and tertiary systems, water management, O&M & farmer

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DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING training. Essential to examine entire system and visit every village to ensure irrigation makes sense – sometimes curing one problem creates another. • Too much emphasis on well drilling for domestic water. Agencies generally subcontract local well drillers but inadequate supervision leads to low quality designs, low yielding and poor quality wells, poor quality pumps and poor community training. This leads to a high failure rate. Also, people often dislike the taste of water from drilled wells because of high mineral content. Well water sometimes blamed for health problems – e.g. high calcium content of water blamed for kidney stones. • Hydrogeologist will be arriving next week to investigate groundwater availability for drinking water. • Project wants to encouraging roof water harvesting and large concrete storage jars. Poor people could be provided with subsidies to replace thatch roofs with CI. Local entrepreneurs could be trained to make the large jars. The project would conduct awareness campaigns to ensure demand and perhaps give each new jar maker an initial contract for 500 jars. Also, there is high demand for latrines – jar makers could produce latrine slabs. • Health and hygiene education will be provided and the use of water filters will be promoted. • Little technical capacity exists in DOWRAM and PDRD offices. DOWRAM particularly weak in Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and Battambang. • Regional workshop on household water treatment and safe storage will be held in Siem Reap 10-12 Oct 06. • Contact Jan Willem Rosenboom, Water and Sanitation Project (WSP), World Bank Office, Norodom Blvd. Tel: 012 464360 – for water and sanitation, water filters etc. 27/9/06 DOWRAM, Mr Hak Puthy, Acting Director • Mr Chea Sivatha, former DOWRAM Director for Kg Thom, has transferred to MOWRAM, PP Kampong Thom Tel: 012 834286 • DOWRAM Kg THom has a total of 34 staff. Staff by section: Mr Pou Sam Ath, Deputy Director o Admin and human resources - 6 Tel: 012 832647 o Irrigation and drainage – 6 o Water cons. and environment - 3 o Water supply and sanitation – 5 o Hydrology and meteorology – 5 • Office has 2 engineers and 5 technicians • There are also 8 district offices, each with 1 or 2 staff. • 6 DOWRAM staff are involved with the development of Stung Chinit irrigation scheme. • DOWRAM started work on Stoung Reservoir scheme in Preah Damrei Commune, Stoung District – reservoir now finished but no funds available for developing the command area. • WFP provided food-for-work for some work last year and will provide some next year also – none available this year • IFAD was funding some work – project finishes next year but budget has all been used • 2 officers from DOWRAM Kg Thom, including the former director, have attended a short irrigation training course under the JICA Technical Service Center for Irrigation System Project Phase 2. The DOWRAM office has none of the irrigation manuals produced under the JICA project. • DOWRAM has a long list of 74 irrigation schemes in the TSBR of Kg Thom 27/9/06 PDRD, Kampong Mr Meas Kimyan, Deputy Director • Mr Choup Setha, former PDRD Director for Kg Thom, will transfer to PDRD Battambang in early Thom Tel: 012 1794095 October. A new director from MRD will be appointed. • TRIP is carrying out studies at present, no construction • Funding under PRIP has stopped, apart from construction of 2 bridges which is ongoing.

Tonle Sap Lowland Stabilization Project Cambodia - TA 4756-CAM 36

DATE INSTITUTION CONTACTS KEY POINTS ARISING • UNICEF does main water supply and sanitation work in the province. Also, the ADB Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is just starting. • Government supplies a very small budget for rural road maintenance. Quality of local laterite is poor. 27/9/06 CRDRP / GTZ Mr Nuom Sethy, Office Manager • Christiano Calcagno (012 642456) is now director of the GTZ project (He was formerly GTZ Adviser to Tel: 012 708185 Excom) – absent in Phnom Penh on day of our visit • 18 Cambodian staff and 1 international adviser now. Office in PDRD compound. • Project concentrates on community training, community maintenance, very small scale infrastructure and agriculture. 5 components – Technical Support to Seila, Community Development, Support to EXCOM, Agriculture and Natural Resource Management • IFAD funds some activities • Project will finish in 2007

Tonle Sap Lowland Stabilization Project Cambodia - TA 4756-CAM 37 Page 13: [1] Deleted Jill Browning 11/8/2000 12:17:00 AM Provinc District Population Education Communes with e Primary Prima Seconda Seconda No No classes ry ry ry pupils electricity telephon pupils classes e Quang Tuyen 76,239 417 12,64 241 10,102 0 n/a Binh Hoa 4 Minh 41225 322 7,280 143 5,679 0 n/a Hoa Quang Dak 28,800 217 4,574 30 989 3 8 Tri Rong Huong 46,370 323 8,665 88 3,267 3 13 Hoa TT Hue Nam 21,000 143 7,310 50 3,973 0 0 Dong A Luoi 35,000 244 7,310 92 3,973 0 0 Kon Dak Glei 29,594 220 6,559 49 1,548 3 8 Tum Dak To 43,652 418 10,00 103 3,660 8 6 8 Ngoc Hoi 24,963 212 4,571 45 1,554 0 0 Kon 31,692 288 6,223 37 1,215 8 10 Plong