Urbanising Disaster Risk

Ben Flower and Matt Fortnam

URBANISING DISASTER RISK

This report has been published by People in Need mission in Cambodia and is part of “Building Disaster Ressilient Communities in Cambodia II“- project funded by Disaster Preparedness Program of Eureopan Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DIPECHO). The project is implemented by a consortium of five international organisations: ActionAid, DanChurchAid/ Christian Aid, Oxfam, People in Need and Save the Children.

Disclaimer

This document covers humanitarian aid activities implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Acknowledgment

People in Need would like to thank all the organisations and individuals which provided Piotr Sasin support and input throughout the research of this report. In particular we want to Country Director thank: National Committee for Disaster Management, Municipality of Phnom Penh, People in Need Municipality of Kampong Cham, Japan International Coopeation Agency, Mekong River Cambodia Commission, Urban Poor Women Development, Community Development Fund and June 2015 Sahmakum Teang Tnaut. Our special thanks go to urban poor dwellers living in disaster prone areas, who provided vital information to PIN research team.

People In Need (PIN) - Cambodia, Address # 33, Street 71, Sangkat Tonle Bassac, Khan Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Rapid urbanisation over the past ters contaminated with sewage can Rapid, unplanned urbanisation has two decades has created new remain for up to 8 months of the increased the vulnerability to of the disaster risks in Cambodia, already year, triggering waterborne disease urban poor, development-induced one of the most disaster prone outbreaks. Climate change is ex- flooding in particular. The growth countries in the world. The urban pected to exacerbate flooding in the of Cambodia’s urban centres has poor tend to inhabit areas most at future. Other urban hazards include occurred in a context of weak insti- risk of hazards, yet little is known landslides, storm damage and fires, tutional oversight and frequently about their disaster vulnerability which spread easily amongst tightly involves the filling and sealing of or resilience. This study seeks built houses. For some urban poor lakes and wetlands by private devel- to address this knowledge gap communities, however, the threat opers. This process deprives urban by assessing the hazards facing of government-sanctioned eviction areas of natural wastewater reser- Cambodia's urban poor populations, was considered to be the most se- voirs and increases surface run-off, their sensitivity to such hazards and vere hazard they faced. which exacerbates flood risk for ur- their capacity to deal with them. It ban poor communities living in the does so by conducting Participatory The socioeconomic attributes of remaining undeveloped, low-lying Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Cambodia’s urban poor settlements, areas. Development-induced flood- Assessments (PHVCAs) of six urban which are linked with high levels of ing is most severe in peri-urban ar- poor settlements in the cities of poverty, result in the impacts of haz- eas where land use change is most Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. ards being severe. Such attributes rapid, urban poor populations are include, high population densities, concentrated, and supporting infra- The urban poor are exposed to a va- the presence of vulnerable groups, structure, such as drainage, has least riety of hazards. Every year, the wet the insecure livelihood strategies of capacity. In addition, peri-urban ar- season results in flooding of low- residents, low WASH coverage and eas lack the flood defences afforded land areas, where the poorest typi- poor quality housing. These factors to more central urban areas. cally reside, which is compounded have important implications for vul- Urban poor communities cope by periodic river flooding – most nerability across and within urban with annual flooding by adopting recently in 2011 and 2013. Floodwa- poor settlements. an array of strategies, from building temporary floating walkways to poor located in lowland areas could • Mainstream community-based temporarily relocating their houses be severely affected. WASH into DRR programmes, so to higher ground. Over time, many Government Disaster Risk Reduction that flood waters are not contami- households have upgraded their (DRR) policies are focused on pre- nated with human waste in areas homes with stilts to raise them venting and responding to specific not serviced by sewerage systems above high water levels. Some of hazards, particularly river flooding, and the communities studied also at- rather than complex and emerging tempted to increase their resilience hazards, such as development-in- • Develop appropriate DRR inter- by building flood defences and duced threats. ventions through participatory raising the level of nearby roads The study proposes a number of processes that recognise the spe- to provide a safe zone to relocate policy options for the Urban Poor cific context of hazards, vulner- houses during floods. The financial Poverty Reduction Working Group abilities and capacities related to costs associated with such strate- (led by Phnom Penh Municipality urban poor settlements. gies have increased household and UNICEF) and Joint Action Group debt with microfinance institutions for DRR to consider: (MFIs), and the resilience of households to hazards is severely con- • Mainstream DRR into urban plan- strained by endemic poverty, with ning so that urban development many households, especially those does not increase the vulnerability headed by women and the elderly, of urban poor populations; unable to adapt to the increasing flood risk. Despite such issues, many • Implement regulations that limit have adapted to the extent that they the negative environmental im- prefer living with floods rather than pacts of rapid urban development, relocating far from their livelihoods. including the rigorous application The findings of this study suggest and enforcement of Environmen- that urban poor settlements are vul- tal Impact Assessments (EIAs); nerable to a potential mega flood disaster. It is thought that even the • Increase the capacity of hard infra- recent 2011 flood was not on the structure, such as piped water cov- scale of a 100-year flood event. If erage and drainage systems, and/ such an event were to occur, low- or rehabilitate ecosystems such as capacity flood protection in peri-ur- wetlands to attenuate flood waters ban areas may be breached and the in peri-urban areas; ACRONYMS

CCDM Capital Committee for Disaster Management CDF Community Development Fund CDRI Cambodia Development Resource Institute DIPECHO The European Commission’s Disaster Preparedness Programme DRR Disaster Risk Reduction EIA Environmental Impact Assessment IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency KCDM Khan Committee for Disaster Management MFI Microfinance Institution NCDM National Committee for Disaster Management NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PHVCA Participatory Hazard Vulnerability and Capacities Assessment PIN People in Need PPM Phnom Penh Municipality PPWSA Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority STT Sahmakum Teang Tnaut SCDM Sangkat Committee for Disaster Management UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction GLOSSARY

ADAPTATION The adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or ex- ploits beneficial opportunities. CAPACITY The combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a community, society or organisation that can be used to achieve agreed goals. DISASTER A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. DISASTER The concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systemat- RISK ic efforts to analyse and manage the causal factors of disasters, includ- REDUCTION ing through reduced exposure to 11 hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. EXPOSURE People, property, systems or other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential losses. HAZARD A dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage. RESILIENCE The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions. SENSITIVITY The physical predisposition of human beings, infrastructure, and environment to be affected by a dangerous phenomenon due to lack of resistance and predisposition of society and ecosystems to suffer harm as a consequence of intrinsic and context conditions. VULNERABILITY The propensity of exposed elements such as human beings, their livelihoods, and assets to suffer adverse effects when impacted by hazard events. Note: Definitions from UNISDR (2009) and IPCC (2012) 01 INTRODUCTION 10 02 METHODOLOGY 11 03 EXPOSURE 14 04 SENSITIVITY 24 05 RESILIENCE 34 06 KEY FINDINGS 46 07 POLICY OPTIONS 48 TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

INTRODUCTION 10

METHODOLOGY 11

PHNOM PENH 12

KAMPONG CHAM 24

EXPOSURE 14

3.1 FLOODING AND STORMS 14

3.2 FIRE 20

3.3 L ANDSLIDES 22

3.4 EVICTION 23

SENSITIVITY 24

4.1 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE URBAN POOR 24

4.2 RAPIDLY CHANGING URBAN ENVIRONMENT 29

RESILIENCE 34

5.1 COMMUNITY-BASED COPING STRATEGIES 34

5.2 COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION STRATEGIES 36

5.3 UNINTENDED IMPACTS OF COPING AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES 40

5.4 STAKEHOLDER ROLES 42

5.5 DRR POLICIES AND PRACTICES 44 KEY FINDINGS 46

POLICY OPTIONS 48

REFERENCES 50

ANNEX 1: URBAN PHVCA IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS 52

ANNEX 2: EXAMPLE OF STAKEHOLDER VENN DIAGRAM (CHAMROUEN) 56 URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 10 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

01 INTRODUCTION

Cambodia is one of the most tifies urban areas as key sites of vul- [are the] least recognised and un- disaster prone countries in the world, nerability to disasters, such as floods, derstood future risk [facing Cambo- ranked 8th in the United Nations typhoons, fires and industrial acci- dia]’ (RGC, 2014: 15). To address this University’s most recent World Risk dents (RGC, 2014). Climate change is information deficit, People in Need Index (UNU-EHS, 2013: 46 ) and 1st in expected to exacerbate hazard vul- (PIN) commissioned research to as- Standard and Poor’s index of coun- nerability in the future (Ibid). sess the vulnerability of Cambodia’s tries vulnerable to the impacts of cli- Poor urban dwellers are particularly urban poor population to disasters mate change (S&P 2014: 6). It is also a vulnerable because they often live in as part of the European Commission country that is rapidly urbanising. For peripheral, hazard prone areas. Re- (DIPECHO) funded ‘Building Disaster the period 1990-2013, the country’s cent studies of Phnom Penh found Resilient Communities in Cambodia rate of urbanisation was amongst that 42% of urban poor residents 2’ project. The research explores: the highest in the region, averaging were affected by flooding from pol- around 3.5% per year (WDI, 2015). luted bodies of water (STT 2014: 31), • Exposure to hazards – the main haz- Among Cambodia’s neighbours, only and 23% lived on the banks of rivers ards that affect urban poor popula- Lao PDR experienced faster urban (PPM 2012: 10). Poor quality housing, tions (e.g. river floods, rain floods, fires, population growth during this pe- a lack of sanitation facilities and high storms); riod. rates of poverty are also characteris- Rapid urbanisation over the past two tics of urban poor areas that increase • Sensitivity to hazards – the attributes decades has brought new disaster their vulnerability to disasters (PIN, of the urban poor that make them vul- risks to Cambodia’s population and 2014). Officials estimate that about nerable to hazards (e.g. poverty, inse- presents new challenges for Disaster 250,000 urban poor people live in cure tenure); and Risk Reduction (DRR) programmes. Phnom Penh alone (PPM, 2012: 5); The severity of these risks is increas- outside of the capital little reliable • Resilience to hazards – how vulner- ingly recognised by government of- data exists. able communities cope with hazards ficials and civil society. The govern- Despite the significant risks facing ur- and reduce their risk (e.g. strengthen- ment’s recent National Action Plan ban poor populations, the NAP-DRR ing their houses to withstand floods), 2014-2018 for DRR (NAP-DRR) iden- acknowledges that ‘urban disasters and how government, civil society and other stakeholders support them. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 11

METHODOLOGY 02

This research uses a multi- The primary methodology used in For this study, the research team level approach – from local to na- this research was the Participatory modified the PHVCA model imple- tional – to assess vulnerability, but Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacities mented in rural Cambodia to fit the is primarily centred on a communi- Assessment (PHVCA). The PHVCA is urban context. PHVCAs were con- ty-level analysis using data from six a widely used methodological tool- ducted with focus groups of ten urban poor communities located in kit in DRR programming. Its goal is community members, including in- the cities of Phnom Penh and Kam- to facilitate a ‘participatory analysis dividuals belonging to vulnerable pong Cham. of past patterns of hazards and pre- population sub-groups, such as the It was beyond the scope of this sent threats at the community level disabled, elderly and youth (Figure study to provide a quantitative as- (hazard assessment), combined with 1). The team adopted an analytical sessment of nation- and city-wide an understanding of the underly- framework informed by both DRR trends of hazard vulnerability. In- ing causes of why hazards become and climate change adaptation defi- stead, the research team relied on disasters (vulnerability assessment) nitions of vulnerability. This was in qualitative data, such as secondary and of the available resources an af- recognition of the long-term, grow- sources and interviews with key infected community uses to cope with ing stresses faced by the study com- formants from government and civil the adverse effects (capacity assess- munities (such as perennial flood- society, to identify the key hazards ment)’ (ADPC 2015). water levels) in addition to disaster and vulnerabilities of Cambodia’s PHVCAs have been an integral events (such as flash floods). Details urban poor at the national and city part of DRR programming in rural of the PHVCA methods used, steps levels. Against this background, the Cambodia as part of the DIPECHO of implementation and issues cov- study used a participatory approach funded ‘Building Disasters Resilient ered during focus group discussions to provide detailed case studies of Communities in Cambodia 2’ and are detailed in Annex 1. hazard vulnerabilities and capaci- related projects. Development part- ties at the community level. In do- ners have tailored the PHVCA to the ing so, this report provides the first Cambodian context so that studies in-depth review of key urban DRR is- have methodological consistency sues at the local-level in Cambodia. and generate comparable data. ZDJĘCIA PODPISY

URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 12 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Figure 1: Urban PHVCA fieldwork

Phnom Penh was selected as a sur- selected in partnership with local municipal district of Chbar Ampov. vey city as Cambodia’s capital and NGOs, Urban Poor Women’s Devel- The settlement was established largest urban area with a population opment (UPWD) in Phnom Penh in 1979 and included 231 house- estimated at 1.6 million in 2012, in- and Community Development Fund holds. The majority of residents cluding many urban poor. The city, (CDF) in Kampong Cham, which work as informal rubbish collec- at the confluence of the rivers Tonle have extensive experience working tors. Sap, Bassac and Mekong, is vulnera- with urban poor communities in the ble to flooding and has experienced respective cities. • Vealsbov – located in the district of many significant flood events in its Chbar Ampov, established in 1996 history. Kampong Cham was se- Phnom Penh and home to 57 households. Like lected because it is the largest city in Selected communities in Phnom Chamrouen, the majority of resi- one of Cambodia’s most flood prone Penh were all located in the outer or dents work as informal rubbish col- provinces, and to address an almost peri-urban districts of the city. UPWD, lectors. Out of the 57 households, complete lack of data relating to other informants and secondary 32 had been relocated from Cham- disaster vulnerability and/or urban sources suggested that urban poor rouen community in 2009. poor communities in the city. populations in peri-urban areas of Three disaster prone communities the city were the most vulnerable to • Borei Doemsrol – located on the were identified in each of the sur- hazards. In dialogue with UPWD, the banks of the Tonle Sap River in the vey cities to represent the breadth following sites were selected: outer municipal district of Russei of hazards affecting urban poor Keo, established in 1979 and home communities (Figure 2). Sites were • Chamrouen – Located in the outer to 74 households. The majority of URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 13

city. Like 42 Knong, most residents • Roka Thom – a peri-urban settle- residents are employed in factories work as market porters, factory ment on the riverbank opposite or as civil servants. workers, hawkers and in other me- Kampong Cham town and home nial jobs. to 225 households. The majority of Kampong Cham households work as labourers or as Establishing city-wide trends of haz- farmers. ard vulnerability and survey site se- lection in Kampong Cham were ham- Figure 2: Location of survey sites (A-Phnom Penh, B-Kampong Cham) pered by the lack of data on urban poor communities there. A total of four communities were identified in A the vicinity of the city, two of which were relocation sites for settlements formerly located in central urban areas. Out of the four poor communities identified, three were selected for study in consultation with CDF:

• 42 Knong – located in a peri-urban area of Kampong Siem district and home to 42 households. The community was established in 2006 after being relocated from the riverfront area in central Kampong Cham. Residents work as market B porters, factory workers and hawkers, amongst other jobs.

• Niengkong Hing – located on a filled in lake in Kampong Cham town and home to 153 households. The community was established in 2010 and comprises of various urban poor and landless communities

relocated from other areas of the Source: Google Earth URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 14 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

03 EXPOSURE

Exposure refers to the nature season from May to November ac- soils to support rice production, and and degree to which societies or a counting for 75-85% of annual rain- maintain biodiverse and productive system experiences hazards (Adger, fall (EM-DAT, 2006 in ACAPS, 2011). freshwater ecosystems that sustain 2006). This section explores expo- The torrential monsoonal rains and the livelihoods and sustenance of sure at the national, city and com- tropical storms cause the Mekong millions of poor fisherfolk (Davies et munity level, focusing on floods River and Tonle Sap Lake to flood al., 2014). hazards and their synergies with their vast plains in the Lower Me- The flooding regime of the Mekong other hazards, such as forced evic- kong Basin south of Kratie (Keskinen is predictable with the flood season tion, disease epidemics and indus- et al., 2010). The floodwaters supply deviating by only 2 weeks from its trial pollution. nutrients and water to agricultural average start date (ADB, 2014), but

3.1 FLOODING AND STORMS

Cambodian flooding: national con- Figure 3: : Map of the Cambodian section of the Mekong River Basin. text The Mekong, the 10th largest river in the world, enters Cambodia from Laos and flows via Kampong Cham before joining with the Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers at Phnom Penh. It then flows towards Vietnam and the Mekong Delta where it discharges into the South China Sea. As much as 85% of Cambodia’s land area re- sides within the Lower Mekong Ba- sin (Sovann, 2006); The climate of Cambodia is tropical

monsoon, with the southwest wet Source: Open Development Cambodia URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 15

inter-annual rainfall is highly varia- curred approximately every 5 years, fected. Typhoons tracking from the ble, ranging from 1,100 mm to 4,000 whereas since then floods classified South China Sea exacerbate flood mm a year (EM-DAT, 2006 in ACAPS, as disasters were recorded in 1991, risk. Typhoon Ketsana crossed Cam- 2011).. In addition to river floods, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, bodia from 29th September to 5th monsoon thunderstorms can also 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. October 2009, resulting in 43 fatali- cause localised flash floods. The floods of 2000 had the largest ties, the disruption of the livelihoods Although flooding is vital for eco- impact in 70 years – 22 provinces of approximately 180,000 people, systems and rural economies, dis- and over 3.4 million people were and about USD $132 million of dam- astrous floods are reported to be affected. The flooding in 2011 was ages (ADB, 2014). Figure 4 shows a increasing in frequency and severity. also especially devastating, with 18 timeline of flood, drought and ty- Until the 1990s, major flooding oc- provinces and 1.6 million people af- phoon events.

Figure 4: : Disasters in Cambodia (1996-2014)

Jul-Sept floods Aug floods, affected 21 affected 1.8 Sept floods provinces & 3 million people in Central million people in 20 provinces, and Southern 168 dead provinces Aug floods affected Aug floods, Aug-Sept provinces along affected 1.2 floods affected the Mekong Sept Typhoon million people, 5 provinces in Ketsana affected 46,000 displaced, South, East and 11 provinces & 250 dead West Cambodia kiled 43 people

1996 1999 2000 2001 2002 2005 2006 2009 2010 2011 2013

Drought Drought Drought affected 8 affected affected 8 provinces 600,000 provinces people

Sources: ACAPS, 2011, Royal Government of Cambodia, 2014 URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 16 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Flooding in Phnom Penh and Kam- NCDM officials, peri-urban areas, increased exposure to flooding in pong Cham and the poor located there, are the peri-urban communities is also re- Located on the flood plains of the most vulnerable to flooding. Sec- flected in a forthcoming PIN study, Mekong, Phnom Penh and Kam- ondary data from NGO reports sup- which included PHVCAs with of- pong Cham both experience sea- ports this assertion. An STT (2009) ficials and other stakeholders from sonal flooding and flash floods, yet survey of representatives from over all of Phnom Penh’s 98 Sangkats studies of flooding in Cambodia 400 urban poor communities in (commune). The survey found that have predominantly focused on ru- Phnom Penh found that 66% of sur- across the city’s Sangkats flooding ral areas. A lack of data on and map- vey sites in peri-urban areas experi- was the most severe hazard, gain- ping of flood risk, especially of the ence flooding compared to 27% in ing a hazard score of 258 from the urban and peri-urban poor, presents urban areas (Figure 5). Importantly, 98 PHVCAs (almost double that of a major obstacle to fully under- flood duration in peri-urban areas fire, the second most severe hazard). standing exposure at the city-scale, vastly exceeds that of urban areas, Out of the 258 points attributed to particularly outside of Phnom Penh. with over a third of peri-urban poor floods, 249 (97%) were reported in Secondary sources, community sur- communities experiencing flood- Phnom Penh’s peri-urban districts vey data and interviews with public ing for over 3 months every year. In (PIN, forthcoming). officials point to variable flood risk contrast, 80% of flooding in urban across urban spaces. According to areas lasts for less than a day. The

Figure 5: Flooding duration in Phnom Penh's Sangkats

Urban Peri-urban

Source: data from STT, 2009 URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 17

In Kampong Cham there is a severe 100-year flood, i.e. without any con- exposure to floods and droughts; lack of data or understanding of sideration of impending changes, sensitivity through reliance on agri- flood risk at the city-scale. Neverthe- the potential for more serious future culture and lack of adaptive capacity less, research participants and NGO flooding exists’. Climate change is through a combination of low levels partners painted a similar picture expected to increase the intensity of income, skill and infrastructure’ to that in Phnom Penh. During the and duration of these flood events, (Fee et al., 2012: 3). Although over 2011 floods, rainfall was 24% higher which is likely to exacerbate the im- 20% of Cambodia's population is ur- than the September average, and pact of flooding on urban areas in ban (UN Statistics, 2014), studies of by October the Mekong and Tonle Cambodia in the future. climate change have only focused on its rural implications (Fee et al., Table 1: Flood affected households in Phnom Penh 2012). Year Affected/ Affected Country level assessments project damaged houses households that total annual rainfall will increase

2001 2051 2051 in the Lower Mekong Basin by an average of 162 mm by 2050, but in 2003 145 150 peak years this figure could be as 2006 5109 5119 much as 933 mm (ADB, 2014). This 2011 14570 17150 increase is expected to be concentrated in the wet season with more 2013 7460 2700 intense rainfall events, while the dry Source: PPM (PIN, Forthcoming) season is predicted to have lower Sap rivers were in flood (ACAPS, Climate change and hydropower de- rainfall than today (Fee et al., 2012). velopment influences 2011). Kampong Cham was one of Thus, climate change is likely to in- the worst affected provinces, with The hydrological regime of the Me- crease the magnitude and volume 33,436 households affected (9%) kong river basin is undergoing sub- of flooding during the August and and 47 causalities. In Phnom Penh, stantial change. In a Climate Change September pulse and increase the most of the city avoided flooding Vulnerability Index, Cambodia is duration of the floods in the Lower but 10,000 families were evacu- ranked eighth out of 193 countries, Mekong Basin (Figure 6) (ADB, 2014; ated, before 14,570 homes and 22 which considers exposure, sensi- Keskinen et al., 2010). school buildings were inundated tivity and adaptive capacity (Ma- (ACAPS, 2011). According to Mur- plecroft, 2014). Other mapping stud- phy et al. (2013) ‘It is quite possible ies ranks it as the most vulnerable in that neither the 2000 nor the 2011 Southeast Asia, alongside the Philip- floods were the scale of a potential pines, to climate change due to ‘its URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 18 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

An understanding of the potential Figure 6: Predicted annual and monthly precipitation change (%) in Cam- impacts of climate change is com- bodia. Data based on an intermediate climate scenario (A1B scenario). Source: (McSweeny et al., 2010) plicated by large-scale hydropower development in the Mekong Basin. As many as 126 hydropower projects with a capacity of 107.8 trillion cubic metres are under consideration by the five nations sharing the Mekong Basin (ADB, 2014). In addition to climate change, this development will be a major driver of changes in the hydrological cycle of the Mekong Basin (Keskinen et al., 2010), potentially altering flooding patterns. Moreover, the effects of large scale de-forestation and conversion into

agricultural land is reducing the wa- Source: McSweeny et al., 2010 ter retention capacity of ecosystems and increasing run-off into rivers. government released flood over- days, leaving little time for residents flow waters. The type of flood the to prepare. Chamrouen was previ- communities face depends on their ously susceptible to river flooding Community-level exposure to flood- location, local topography and sur- but the construction of dykes has ing and storms rounding land use. prevented recent river flooding. The community level analysis re- Flash river floods were predomi- Vealsbov and Chamrouen (Phnom vealed significant local-level risk of nantly a concern for Borei Doemsrol Penh) are situated in lowland, rap- and impact from flooding. All the (Phnom Penh) and Roka Thom (Kam- idly urbanising peri-urban areas. assessed communities, except one, pong Cham), which are both located Nearby development is contribut- identified flooding as likely or very on the riverbanks of the Bassac and ing to their flood exposure due to likely, and as having severe to critical Mekong, respectively. In the former, increased run-off from hard surfaces impacts. Three types of flood were the worst river flooding occurred in and the loss of local green space, reported by the communities in 1984 and 2000 when water levels such as marshland, and its associ- Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham: were up to twice as high as the av- ated flood attenuation capacity (see river flash floods; slow onset rain erage season high waterline. The Section 4, Sensitivity). Consequently, and run-off related flooding; and floods occur rapidly, over a matter of rainwater collects in poorly drained URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 19

lowland areas where the urban poor ber. In Kampong Cham the floodwa- Borei Doemsrol; in 2001, five hous- reside. So while Chamrouen is less ters recede before December which, es were damaged by a storm in exposed to river floods as a conse- speculatively, may reflect the less Chamrouen; and in 2013 and 2014, quence of the dyke, rain and run-off urbanised context (less run-off), the storms destroyed 14 and 23 hous- related flooding remains a major dominance of river flooding, and es each year, respectively, in Veals- concern. better natural drainage compared bov. Storms were also considered In Niengkong Hing and Vealsbov, with areas assessed in Phnom Penh. a likely and severe hazard risk to flooding is controlled by a system of Storm and typhoon events, which Roka Thom. The community re- dykes. However, during peak flows, track across Cambodia every year, membered how three houses had water is released from the Mekong compound flooding and cause wind been destroyed in 1998, and how and the Bassac, respectively, into damage to houses. In 2004, a storm one house collapsed following a nearby overflow channels, and com- caused a large ship to break anchor storm in 2013. bines with run-off from nearby de- before damaging three houses in velopments to inflict localised flooding. In Vealsbov, the overflow water Figure 7: Participant seasonal calendar of perceived flood severity in fills a nearby lake by 10-20 cm a day Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. Scores (0-3) represent average of the to eventually inundate the com- study communities in each city where flooding was reported. munity. Controlling water levels for downstream communities thus occurs at the expense of informal settlements near the banks of the rivers. Figure 7 presents the flood seasons for Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham, as perceived by the study communities. The duration of the flood season appears to be longer in Phnom Penh, where that floodwaters take between 4 and 8 months to recede as a consequence of poor drainage. Thus, while the flood events typically occur during the monsoon season between July and October, the impacts of flooding extends beyond this time to Decem- Source: Focus Group Discussions URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 20 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Flooding and disease ing flash floods and slow-onset tlements to be infested with snakes Nationally, flooding hazards are rain flooding eventually exceeds which bite residents. known to affect the prevalence of their capacities, resulting in in- 3.2 FIRE water-borne diseases, especially di- creased rates of open defecation Fire is a constant risk for poor urban arrhoeal diseases such as viral and and disease. Stagnant water pro- residents. Between 2001 and 2009, bacterial gastroenteritis, dysentery vides breeding ground for dengue an estimated 5,270 urban families and cholera (Davies et al., 2014). Ac- infected mosquitoes which carry lost their homes because of fires (according to WaterAid (2015), an esti- dengue; in Chamrouen, for example, cording to Phnom Penh municipal mated 10,000 children die each year dengue fever affects 20-30 children authorities; in PIN, forthcoming). from diarrhoea in Cambodia, and a each month during the raining rea- Housing constructed from tempo- study by Davies et al. (2014) found son, and killed 5 children between rary, fire prone materials (Sotharith, ‘incidence and risk of water-borne 2010 and 2015. When the floodwa- 2006) combined with unsafe, poorly diseases appears to increase with ters recede they leave residues that maintained electrical equipment flooding, particularly in the most the participants believed were the and open flame cooking (Figure 8), flood-affected provinces’. Likely fac- cause of conjunctivitis. Inundation provide the triggers for fire events tors for these increases include the by flood waters also causes the set- in informal settlements (PIN, forth- inaccessibility of health services, the disruption of power supply for boil- Figure 8: Cooking with an open flame (Chamrouen, Phnom Penh) ing or treating water, and the contamination of water resources during floods. The link between flooding and disease is likely to be less acute in urban areas because of access to better sanitation, sewage and drainage infrastructure. Nevertheless, participants in the study communities, where such public services are lack- ing, reported that the flood season brought increased incidences of disease, including dengue fever, skin diseases, eye infections, chest infections and typhoid. Sewage systems frequently fail dur- URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 21

coming). Rooftop settlements, com- water supply, sanitation or drainage The perception of fire risk is attrib- prised of wooden huts built on top (Sotharith, 2006). Later, many resi- uted to the inaccessibility of the vil- of existing buildings, provide well- dents returned to the Tonle Bassac lage by public fire services (see Sec- ventilated and light accommodation area. tion 4, Sensitivity). but are highly vulnerable to fires Phnom Penh. In Kampong Cham, there is little since fire hoses are unable to reach Fire was identified as very unlikely available data on fire hazards. For them (Khemro and Payne, 2004). but as having critical impacts in Roka Thom, fire was not reported Past major fires have devastated Borei Doemsrol (Phnom Penh). The as a hazard, but in Niengkong Hing whole communities. In 2001, two of community lost seven houses to a it was considered to be a likely and Phnom Penh’s largest informal set- fire in 2000 that was caused by an critical hazard risk since when it oc- tlements were destroyed by a fire electrical failure in a wooden house. curs it ‘destroys everything’. Here, outbreak. In the Tonle Bassac area, Although a fire in 2011 destroyed open flame cooking causes fires the fire left 1,853 families homeless three houses, fires were considered that spread easily amongst tightly (Sotharith, 2006; URC, 2002). Fires as, again, very unlikely and as hav- built wooden housing. Similarly, in are often followed by the eviction ing minor impacts in Chamrouen. In 42 Knong, fires were regarded as and resettlement of residents. The contrast, participants from Vealsbov very likely and as having severe con- fire disasters of 2001, for instance, re- perceived fire to be a likely hazard sequences, even though fires have sulted in the Municipality of Phnom with the potential to have critical so far not affected the community. Penh relocating fire victims to new impacts. A bush fire in 2013, caused Bush fires used to clear land and fer- undeveloped resettlement sites, by the use of smoke to collect honey tilise soils for small-scale crop pro- which lacked basic services such as from hives, destroyed four houses. duction, and children playing with fire, were perceived as potential Figure 9: Participant seasonal calendar of perceived fire risk in Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham. Scores (0-3) represent average perceived risk causes of fire events. from the 3 study communities in each city. In Phnom Penh, fires tend to occur towards the end of the hottest months of March-June when tem- peratures average between 28 and 35oC, but can easily reach over 40oC in April. In Kampong Cham, where fire is perceived to be a less significant risk, January and February were regarded as the most likely months to experience fire (Figure 9).

Source: Focus Group Discussions URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 22 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

3.3 LANDSLIDES forthcoming). Landslides have also collapsing in 1998/1999. During the In Phnom Penh a landslide in 2008 occurred in Kampong Cham along 2011 floods, a 320m x 37m plot of damaged the properties of 61 fami- the riverbanks of the Mekong (Fig- land by the river was washed into lies in Russei Keo, and a landslide ure 10). In Roka Thom, erosion of the the river, taking with it 28 dwell- affected four families in 2009. DRR riverbanks occurs during the flood ings and a section of road. In total, agencies estimate that about one season and again when the flooding 79 out of 225 households have been thousand properties situated near subsides and leaves water-logged made landless by the landslides and to the Mekong riverbanks in Phnom soils. Landslides associated with forced to resettle in a nearby conser- Penh are at risk of landslides (PIN, this erosion resulted in two houses vation area or rent. The community

Figure 10: Road destroyed by landslide in Roka Thom, Kampong Cham, being rebuilt by local authorities. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 23

estimate that they have lost 2.5 km2 creased the rate of riverbank ero- 2011). Since 2001, the government’s of land between 1988 and 2015 due sion. Dredging rivers for sand to be systematic land titling programme to landslides, based on possession used in the construction industry has aimed to reduce tenure inse- documents issued at that time; only is widespread in Cambodia, and curity across urban areas. However, 7 plots remain in their original loca- has been blamed for landslides poor communities have often been tion. that have resulted in loss of life and excluded from titling and remain In Roka Thom, residents associated property (RFA, 2015). Because of the vulnerable to evictions (Grimsditch landslides with the dredging of the adverse impacts of the practice, the and Henderson, 2009). Mekong, which, they believed, in- government recently stopped issu- Eviction was considered to be a haz- ing new licences to sand dredging ard by Borei Doemsrol and Veals- companies while the social and en- bov communities because of the vironmental effects of dredging are potential negative consequences of investigated. However, it is thought relocation on their livelihood oppor- that many dredging companies op- tunities and access to social support erate illegally and may therefore not networks. In Borei Doemsrol, tenure be affected by the licensing morato- insecurity was viewed as the biggest rium (Ibid). hazard the community faced – big- ger even than flooding from the 3.4. EVICTIONS Tonle Sap River. The community had Tenure insecurity and evictions of been told by authorities that their urban poor communities are en- land possession was illegal because demic in Cambodia. As the urban they inhabit land classed as river- economy has grown, property pric- bank which belongs to the state. es have increased and competition They believed that eviction was a for urban land has become intense. strong possibility and, in the words In this context, the urban poor have of one participant, we ‘live with fear frequently been evicted from cen- in our hearts every day’. tral urban areas to make way for redevelopment projects (Khemro and Payne, 2004). Although there are no definitive figures, it is estimated that tens of thousands of urban poor families have been evicted over the past two decades (URC, 2002; STT, URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 24 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

04 SENSITIVITY

Sensitivity refers to the so- were observed in the survey commu- CDRI estimated the urban poor pop- cial and environmental attributes nities. It should be noted that – in ulation of Phnom Penh in 2001 as of urban poor communities and contrast to Phnom Penh – there is no around 175,000 (So et al. 2001:47); by settlements that increase their vul- available secondary data on the so- 2012, Phnom Penh Municipality put nerability to hazards. This section, cioeconomic characteristics of urban the figure at 250,000 (PPM 2012: 5) first, highlights the socioeconomic poor communities in Kampong Cham. – an increase of 75,000 in a decade.

characteristics of urban poor com- Increases in population density in- Most of this growth has occurred in munities that result in the impacts of creases vulnerability peri-urban areas. STT (2014: 8) es- disasters being severe; and second, In Phnom Penh the available infor- timates that the number of urban assesses how the rapidly changing mation suggests increases in urban poor communities doubled in peri- urban environment renders the ur- poor populations could be signifi- urban Phnom Penh between 1997 ban poor increasingly hazard-prone. cant, particularly in peri-urban areas. and 2015. Though little urban poor

Figure 11: Number of households in study settlements in Phnom Penh. 4.1. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHAR- Compares original settler with current number of households. ACTERISTICS OF THE URBAN POOR At the city-level, there are various social and economic factors that contribute to urban poor vulnerability, which are rooted in the poverty that many low-income communities suffer. Such factors include high population density, the distribution of vulnerable groups within communities, insecure livelihood strategies, low WASH coverage, and housing and tenure issues. The city-wide patterns of urban poor vulnerability Source: Focus group discussions URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 25

data exists for Kampong Cham, the in open space close to dwellings. typically after falling from an elevat- city’s low rate of urbanisation sug- During times of flood, pit latrines ed walk way into flood waters. In all gests that the growth of the city’s overflow and mix with other rubbish three Phnom Penh survey sites and urban poor population has been far and faeces. Contact with the con- one Kampong Cham site children less rapid than in Phnom Penh. taminated water causes diarrhoea, had drowned in this way. The elderly The nation-wide trend of rapid ur- skin diseases and other ailments. were viewed as a vulnerable demo- banisation has been represented in Increases in population also graphic, particularly in relation to population increases in the Phnom changed the dynamics of vulner- flooding, because they are unable to Penh survey sites (Figure 11). Popu- ability within settlements. In Borei swim. Similarly, those with disabili- lation increase in Chamrouen has Doemsrol, original residents had ties, ailments and pregnantwoman been especially steep, from seven sub-divided their plots to sell to in- are more vulnerable because they households establishing the com- coming migrants. Migrants tended are less able to cope with difficult munity in 1983 to 231 in 2015. Urban to be better off than original resi- living conditions. In Vealsbov, for growth has not yet affected Kam- dents and purchased land further example, pregnant women found it pong Cham, where the population away from the river that is less ex- hard to reach the hospital because of the survey sites changed little posed to floods. After repeated sub- of flooding, and some gave birth en over time. divisions, many original residents route. One pregnant woman mis- Spatial constraints result in urban lived in very small plots on the riv- carried when she fell while wading population growth increasing pop- erbank, which are vulnerable to river through flood waters. ulation density. Rapid increases in flooding and suffer high tenure inse- Capacity to cope with hazards was population density can increase curity because riverbank land is con- also related to variations in poverty vulnerability by putting additional sidered property of the state. suffered by residents. The poorest pressures on the environment and Vulnerable groups within the commu- tend to live in dwellings made of infrastructure of urban poor com- nity are most at risk low quality material, usually wood, munities. In Chamrouen, rapid Focus group discussions revealed which are less able to withstand population growth occurred in the that communities included many floods, fires and storms. Poverty was context of low capacity sanitation sub-groups that were especially associated with certain groups, in- systems. Around 70% of households vulnerable to hazards. Children, the cluding female-headed households, used latrines while others simply elderly and disabled residents are and the elderly and disabled with- defecated in plastic bags, which considered the most at risk because out family support networks. These were then tossed into open space. they are unable to ensure their own groups often lived in the poorest In addition, with no rubbish collec- personal safety. The majority of quality housing because they could tion serving the community, other flood-related deaths in the survey not afford durable construction household waste was also discarded areas related to drowned children, materials. The cumulative effects of URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 26 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

poverty and reduced mobility were formal workers account for a signifi- recyclables, including plastic bot- particularly acute for residents in cant proportion of the urban poor tles, cans and other material. They flood prone areas which necessi- workforce. A recent survey found then sell this material to recycling tated the moving of their homes to that around 20% of all surveyed in- companies, who pay echai work- safe areas each year (see Section 5 come generating household mem- ers by the kilo of material collected. Resilience) bers worked as informal motorbike During flood periods, echai work-

Those in informal employment are taxi drivers, and over 7% derived a ers could not access roads to collect most at risk of income shocks living from informal recycling (PIN, recyclables. The resultant loss of in- A large proportion of urban poor 2014: 29). come coincided with periods of high residents live precariously as self- At the community level, it was found flood-related expenditure, such as employed informal workers. This that the urban poor who relied on healthcare costscausing significant demographic does not have a guar- informal livelihood strategies were economic hardship. anteed income and their income is particularly vulnerable to income Households whose members were liable to seasonal fluctuations. The loss during times of disaster. In in wage-labour did not suffer in- on-set of disasters can adversely af- Chamrouen and Vealsbov, these come shocks to the same extent as fect informal livelihood strategies effects were particularly acute be- those reliant on casual labour, but because work is often street-based, cause the majority of households still reported some issues. Factory home-based and/or reliant on assets are very low income echai collec- workers and civil servants were able that may be damaged by disasters, tors. Echai workers trawl the streets to work during floods, but reported such as food carts or motorbikes. In- with a push- or motor-cart collecting losing income due to higher transport costs and not being able to Figure 12: Contrasting livelihood strategies in two sites work over-time because of longer commuting times. Informal and formal workers were unevenly distributed across settlements (Figure 12). Settlements with a high proportion of informal workers, like Vealsbov, suffered the greatest hazard-induced income shocks.

Source: Focus group discussions URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 27

Households that derived income WASH trends at the city-wide level sulting from the consumption of un- from home-based economic activi- were broadly represented at the safe water. In Vealsbov, while some ties were also sensitive to hazards. community level. However, complex better off residents had a piped In most sites, few residents derived intra-community dynamics meant water connection, most bought income from on-site economic ac- that access to WASH infrastructure water at a cost of 500 riel (US$ 0.13) tivities. In the semi-rural location varied markedly across and within for 3 buckets of water, equating to of Roka Thom, however, most resi- communities. around 6,500 riel (US$ 1.63) per cu- dents’ primary economic activity In Phnom Penh many residents bic metre. High water costs in Roka was farming their own land. Flood- could access piped, good qual- Thom meant that only 50% pur- ing events meant that their crops ity water provided by Phnom Penh chased drinking water; those who were destroyed yearly, and land- Water Supply Authority (PPWSA). In could not afford treated water drank slides meant that many lost farm Chamrouen and Borei Doemsrol, be- straight from the river. Of the 50% land, resulting in lost income and tween 85% and 90% households are that drink river water, only about assets. connected to piped water directly half boil water prior to consumption.

Low WASH coverage contributes to from PPWSA. The quality of piped Drinking river water was identified health problems water in Phnom Penh was high, and as a major cause of diarrhoea. Access to Water, Sanitation and it was not considered dangerous to The only community to rely on well Hygiene (WASH) varies across ur- drink in times of need. Residents in water, 42 Knong in Kampong Cham, ban poor communities. At the city both sites, therefore, could access suffer water shortages in times of level, WASH coverage varies widely safe drinking water during times drought. The wells in the commu- in Phnom Penh between peri-ur- of flood. In Kampong Cham, 90% nity are only 30 metres deep – ef- ban and urban areas. In peri-urban of households in Niengkong Hing fective wells in the area are usually Phnom Penh, STT (2014: 28) found could also access piped water. How- 70 metres – and often run dry. Even that 58% of surveyed settlements ever, piped water in Kampong Cham when available, residents claim that did not have sewage systems for hu- was not safe to drink and diarrhoea well water is not safe to drink and man waste; in comparison, only 6% was a common occurrence from can only be used for washing. In of settlements in urban areas had consumption. In each of the three addition, the wells do not provide no system. Regarding access to wa- sites with piped water connections, enough water for the community ter, 30% of peri-urban settlements the minority who were not con- – two out of the three wells in the did not have access to a piped wa- nected purchased water from their settlement are non-functioning. ter source, as opposed to 10% of neighbours. Residents are forced to buy water urban settlements. Rubbish collec- In the remaining three communi- from a neighbouring well owner at tions were also much less frequent ties, the absence of piped water was an inflated cost. The high price of in peri-urban area. linked to negative health effects re- water constituts a major expenditure URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 28 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

for residents, particularly in times of water-line and so are inaccessible or other light materials (Figure 13). At drought. during floods – residents deposit hu- the community level, housing qual- Low capacity sanitation infrastruc- man waste directly into flood waters. ity was considered by residents as ture is a feature of the majority of Pit latrines frequently leak during one of the most important fdetermi- the survey sites, contributing to a floods. The pollution is most severe nants of vulnerability. The poorest variety of health issues in communi- in areas where water is stagnant and live in low-quality structures made ties, particularly during floods. As remains for months. of light materials with living spaces noted earlier, the issue is particularly In addition, surveyed communi- at ground level. Such structures are severe in Chamrouen because of ties (except Borei Doemsrol) do not highly susceptible to flood and storm the high population density and in- have rubbish collections because damage. As noted in Section 3, resi- adequate sanitation systems. Of all their sites are inaccessible to rubbish dents in Vealsbov reported that 37 the survey sites, only Borei Doem- trucks. In the absence of rubbish col- low-quality dwellings were com- srol residents have piped sewage. In lections, residents either burnt their pletely destroyed by strong winds in Niengkong Hing, authorities plan to rubbish or deposit it on open land. In 2013-2014. Houses made from wood install drainage, though this has not times of flood, waters are further con- are particularly vulnerable to fires – in yet occurred. The lowest capacity taminated by this household waste. Borei Doemsrol, eight wooden hous-

sanitation systems are in Vealsbov, 42 Poor quality housing increases sever- es burnt down with the loss of all Knong and Roka Thom. Only 7 out of ity of disaster impact property. Better off families adapted 57 households have access to latrines Housing quality in urban poor ar- their property to better withstand in Vealsbov community and 10 out of eas is low. According to Phnom Penh hazards (see Section 5, Resilience). 33 in 42 Knong. In both communities, Municipality only 15% of urban poor those without latrines go into scrub- dwellers live in concrete or brick land to defecate – a practice that re- dwellings; the majority live in lower- portedly put residents at risk of snake quality structures made from wood bites. In Roka Thom there are no improved sanitation facilities. However, Figure 13: Housing structures in Phnom Penh’s urban poor communities given the semi-rural, low density environment, unimproved sanitation was not reported to lead to adverse health impacts. Floods compromise sanitation systems in all affected communities. Even in Roka Thom, toilets connect-

ed to sewers are located below the Source: Adapted from PPM 2012: 11 URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 29

Figure 14: A lake in Kampong Cham city in 2003 (top) filled with sand for 4.2 RAPIDLY CHANGING URBAN development by 2013 (bottom) ENVIRONMENT Rapid urbanisation is changing Cambodian cities. The location of urban populations in relation to areas of rapid land use change and hazard risks render them increasingly vulnerable to disasters. The severity of natural hazards threatening urban poor communities has been exacerbated by environmental changes resulting from rapid urban development. Of particular concern, in both Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham, is the rapid pace at which developers are filling in urban lakes and wetlands to create land to build on. In Kampong Cham, for example, a large lake in the vicinity of the city has been filled (Figure 14), while in Phnom Penh swathes of wetlands surrounding the city have been reclaimed for residential, commercial and industrial developments. This pattern of urban development brings new sources of flood risk by depriving cities of their natural waste water reservoirs, increasing surface run-off and overwhelming underdeveloped drainage systems.

source: Google Earth URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 30 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Fast-paced land use change has oc- Box 1: Urban planning and hazards in Cambodia curred in a context of weak regula- tion that has failed to prevent de- Increased urban hazards at the city-wide level have resulted from rapid urban transi- tion in a context of low-capacity urban planning mechanisms. There is currently no velopment that degrades urban implemented Phnom Penh master plan or zoning regulations coordinating urban ecosystems (Box 1). Urban poor com- land use and infrastructure development. Instead, urban growth is private sector-led and uncoordinated. The primary regulatory framework to assess the environmental munities, who often live in wetland impacts of development projects is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). How- areas or close to filled in lakes, bear ever, companies contracted by developers conduct the assessments, raising questions over their veracity. The EIAs are then approved by the Ministry of Environment who the brunt of the flooding that such will, if applicable, monitor the project to ensure guidelines are followed. It is feared land use changes cause. A report that EIA companies contracted by developers may lack objectivity and suffer conflicts of interests in their assessments. Further, there are concerns that government institu- examining the flooding impacts of tions tasked with monitoring and enforcing EIAs do not have the required capacity to a Phnom Penh redevelopment pro- do so effectively. In the case of the Boeung Kak lake reclamation, for example, an EIA provided by the ject, found that those living close to developer claimed that the project would not result in increased flooding in the sur- the filled-in Boeung Kak lake began rounding project area. A local NGO then commissioned its own EIA, which rejected the scientific rigour of the first, and found that localised flooding would increase as a result to suffer severe wet season flooding of the project. events during and after the comple- To address deficiencies in the EIA process, the government is currently consulting key tion of lake filling (BABSEA 2011). stakeholders for a draft EIA law. It is hoped that this law will streamline EIA procedures and strengthen the capacity of implementing institutions. Urban poor in peri-urban areas are most vulnerable Land use changes associated with Figure 15: Population growth in urban and peri-urban Phnom Penh dis- urban growth have been most pro- tricts nounced in peri-urban areas. In Phnom Penh, it has been in peri- urban areas where most of the city’s urban growth has taken place over the past two decades. Accord- ing to the most recent census data, between 1998 and 2008, the total peri-urban population grew by more than 300,000, whereas the population of urban areas grew by just 1,000 (Figure 15). Absorbing this growth, wetlands and lakes have been reclaimed both to facilitate large residential developments and Source: Cambodia census data 1998 and 2008 (RGC 1998; 2008) URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 31

factories and small-scale private de- ties experiencing floods with great- are no flood defences on the river- velopment. er frequency and severity than their bank to prevent river flooding. The Despite rapid population growth, urban counterparts (see Section 3, community reported being inundat- there has been a lack of supporting Exposure). ed most recently in 2011; five kilome- hard infrastructure development Peri-urban areas are especially haz- tres downstream in central Phnom in peri-urban areas. The most sig- ard prone because, increasingly, Penh, the flood defences were not nificant flood control and drainage they are sites associated with pov- breached. Unprotected river-banks project in the country, which is sup- erty. In Phnom Penh alone, it is also present the risk of landslides in ported by the Japanese government estimated that 30,000 poor house- Roka Thom in Kampong Cham (See agency, JICA, mainly targets the in- holds (approximately 150,000 peo- Section 3 Exposure). ner, urban districts. In contrast, peri- ple) were removed from urban dis- Rapid land use change in the lo- urban areas lack flood controls, such tricts and relocated to peri-urban cales of survey sites has been asso- as effective dykes, drainage systems, sites in the period 1990-2011 (STT, ciated with emerging flood hazards, and riverbank defences. 2011). Further population increases and even, in some survey sites, a In the absence of urban planning have been driven by recent urban shift in hazard from river flooding mechanisms and adequate drain- migrants, who settle in peri-urban to development-induced flooding. age infrastructure, developers have localities to avoid the strict enforce- Three communities – Chamrouen focused on protecting their own ment of laws on legal land posses- and Vealsbov in Phnom Penh, and land from floods by increasing the sion in urban areas. Niengkong Hing in Kampong Cham elevation of the ground and build- Changing urban environments in- – are located in wetlands areas ing dykes. Unintentionally, this pro- crease hazard risk at the local level where landfilling for redevelopment cess increases the severity of flood- The city-wide trend of increasing is taking place. Chamrouen provides ing of nearby lowlands. As more vulnerability of urban poor in peri- a clear example of the changing land is filled in, waste water and sur- urban areas is mirrored in commu- threat of flood hazards. The commu- face run-off is concentrated in ever nity level PHVCAs. The location of nity’s location in a lowland area next diminishing lowland areas. It is in five of the six survey communities to a small river meant residents had such remaining lowland areas that rendered them vulnerable to flood- historically been vulnerable to flash the poorest, who cannot afford to ing and, in the case of one commu- river flooding. Such floods occurred build up their land above the flood nity, the associated risk of riverbank in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2010, and 2011. waters, are located. The cumulative collapse. As the area urbanised, the govern- effect of low capacity flood protec- Surveyed riverside communities do ment built a dyke to block the flow tion infrastructure and rapid, un- not have the flood defences often of the river, which removed this risk planned urban development results afforded to urban populations. In from 2012 onwards. However, while in many peri-urban poor communi- Borei Doemsrol, for example, there the natural flood hazards have been URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 32 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

reduced, rapid urban development 2005. By 2015, much of this land has increased surface runoff and flood- and filling of marshland has meant been or is in the process of being de- ing. The only remaining wetland that development-induced flooding veloped. The most significant land area, marked as ‘B’, is currently for has increased. use change in the area is the loss of sale – a ‘for sale’ sign and phone Development-induced flooding in marshland just to the north of the number is visible in the photograph. Chamrouen has been the result of community, marked as ‘A’, which has It is expected that, once sold, this significant land use change close to been filled with sand and elevated wetland area too will be filled. the community. Figure 16 shows the to a higher aspect. This topographi- The reclaiming of wetlands for de- community surrounded by marsh- cal change of the landscape was velopment has caused the severity land and green space on all sides in identified by residents as a cause of of floods to increase in affected -ur

Figure 16: Map on the left shows Chamrouen in 2005 and right 2015;

B A

A B

Source: Maps from Google Earth; Pictures by authors. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 33

ban poor areas. Vealsbov residents, area worse, increasing the time they The issue of water quality was linked for example, regarded the progres- would have to stay in temporary ac- to industrial development by resi- sive filling of nearby marsh for a commodation in the safe area. dents in Vealsbov. They asserted that large residential development as the Residents in all three sites affected the quality of the water has become source of their flood hazard. Since by urban redevelopments noted progressively worse over the years filling began, flooding in their com- that the quality of development- because of an increase in the num- munity has become progressively induced floodwaters were worse ber of nearby factories. Community more severe each wet-season. Resi- than river flood-waters. A key rea- members believe that wastewater dents noted that flooding during son for this is the underdeveloped from these factories ends up in their the 2014 wet season was the worst or non-existent sewage systems area and describe the water as being they had experienced. The on-set of in peri-urban sites. As one partici- different colours: ‘red, green, blue’. the disaster was much quicker than pant in Chamrouen noted ‘when we Development-induced flooding in previous years. Typically flood wa- were flooded by the river, the water combines with the other types of ters would rise slowly over a period was clean. Now water comes from flood (see Section 3, Exposure) to of days or weeks, but in 2014 dwell- the higher land built up all around, result in more severe flood events ings were flooded over the course and also from the ground. The wa- in affected communities. Figure 17 of one night and residents had to ter from the ground is brown and shows the cumulative flood risks evacuate in darkness, losing their warm, I think it is the waste tanks present in the Vealsbov area. possessions to the waters. from all the surrounding develop- The 2014 flood-waters also re- ments overflowing.’ mained in the area for far longer than previous years. The commu- Figure 17: Flooding in Vealsbov nity would normally evacuate themselves and their dwellings to a safe area in July or August and return when the flood-waters receded in November or December. After the 2014 floods, residents only began to return in January 2015. Many were still living in the safe area when the survey team visited the site in Feb- ruary 2015. Residents expressed concern that planned new developments would make flooding in the source: Google Earth URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 34 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

05 RESILIENCE

Resilience refers to ‘the ca- ing constraints. Along with Lao PDR, protecting their living spaces from pacity of individuals, communities, Cambodia is considered to have the snake infestation by spreading a institutions, businesses, and systems lowest adaptive capacity in South- lime mixture. Some households also within a city to survive, adapt, and east Asia (Yusuf and Francisco, 2010). use mosquito nets to prevent de- grow no matter what kinds of chron- Moreover, responses by the commu- bris from entering living rooms. In ic stresses and acute shocks they ex- nities and external actors can pro- Niengkong Hing (Kampong Cham), perience’ (100 Resilient Cities, 2015). duce secondary effects that can po- the community fill in depressions in To understand this capacity in our tentially increase rather than reduce the land that collect still water in or- study communities, we review their vulnerability to flooding and other der to minimise mosquito breeding coping responses and the adapta- hazards – for example, by increasing and thus dengue fever during the tions they have made over the years household debt. rainy season. to reduce disaster risk. We set these We explore the coping and adaptive In all communities, livelihoods can responses within their city-wide and capacity of Phnom Penh and Kam- be severely disrupted during floods national DRR policy context, and pong Cham at the household, com- due to reduced transportation and reveal what actors do what when munity and institutional (city-wide or damage to agricultural areas (in responding to hazards, with a par- and national) levels. some peri-urban sites in Kampong

ticular focus on building resilience 5.1. COMMUNITY-BASED Cham). One strategy for coping with to flooding. COPING STRATEGIES loss of income during the rainy sea- The communities have demon- Household coping strategies son is to borrow money from mon- strated a remarkable ability to learn The study communities in Phnom eylenders to purchase food and pay to live with hazards by adopting Penh and Kampong Cham adopted for school fees. In Roka Thom, agri- many small-scale innovations, such a variety of strategies to cope with cultural workers cope by travelling as makeshift ferries, raised gang- seasonal and flash flooding. House- further afield to cassava farms unaf- ways and even temporarily relocat- holds prepare for the flood season fected by the floods. During severe ing their settlements during floods. by stockpiling food, purchasing floods (e.g. 1996 and 2001), however, However, their capacity to cope wood and bamboo to build protec- the Roka Thom community is evacu- and adapt faces several challeng- tive fences around their houses, and ated to a district 9 km away for up to URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 35

3 months. Here, 90% are unable to a cost of 500 riel per trip, and wash Kampong Cham, the residents of 42 work, with the rest seeking employ- basins transport babies and infants Knong, before resettlement, moved ment as labourers locally or fishing over the flood-waters. In this way, their houses to a nearby road during for sustenance. Conversely, the resi- the residents remain mobile during the flooding season and remained dents of 42 Knong recalled how, be- the flood season. Furthermore, sand there for 3 months. They said that fore resettlement, when they lived bags, provided by the Sangkat, are this was made possible because in a flood prone area, their incomes placed on the road to prevent flood- their houses were small and wood- were actually higher during the waters entering houses further from en and thus easy to transport. They floods because they took advantage the river, thus limiting the number also recalled the importance of their of passing boats by selling them of households affected by flooding. social support network during the products or finding employment as In Chamrouen and Vealsbov, the floods. Everyone helped each other crew. communities are forced to resort move the houses to the safe zone, Community coping strategies to more radical responses to flood- and shared food during times of At the community level, temporary, ing. Households without stilts move shortage. Likewise, in Chamrouen, floating wooden walkways are con- their houses to, or build temporary families with better capacity to deal structed between buildings using accommodation on, higher ground, with the floods often shelter the oil drums for buoyancy in Borei Do- such as roads, in order to escape the worst affected community mem- emsrol, inner tubes ferry adults, at floodwaters (Figure 17). Similarly in bers.

Figure 18: Temporary housing in safe area during flood season (Vealsbov, Phnom Penh) URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 36 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

5.2. COMMUNITY-BASED Figure 19: Earth/mud foundations in Chamrouen. Sediments on structure ADAPTATION STRATEGIES mark flood-water levels Household adaptation Households have made several adaptations to lessen the impact of flooding. In all the study communities, many households have rebuilt their houses damaged by floods or fires to better resist seasonal flash and rain floods. Adaptations to houses have included raising the height of homes above the high water-line with stilts. The height and material (wood or concrete) of the stilts varies according to the wealth of the households with some still not suffi- ciently high enough to escape inundation (Figures 18 and 19; Table 2). In Vealsbov, it was the older residents Figure 20: Strengthening of houses with concrete foundations and building materials in Borei Doemsrol that had installed stilts, whereas the homes of recent migrants to the area (since 2009) were still without stilts because of financial constraints and high levels of insecure land tenure. Further household adaptations have included the reinforcement of houses with concrete foundations, and the construction of platforms in living areas and/or structures on rooftops to escape flood levels. In Borei Doemsrol, water pipes were extended to reach the new rooftop structures, and electricity lines were raised above the highest flood-water levels. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 37

Community-level adaptation ing the level of the road, floodwa- rouen has or is being upgraded in Community-level adaptations have ters in the improved road areas were this way. As one women said ‘peo- focused on engineered solutions. only ankle deep in 2014, compared ple used to say, why do you live here The Sangkat of Chamrouen, for ex- to several metres' deep before, re- when it floods every year and it’s so ample, constructed a dyke to protect ducing the threat of drowning. Sec- dangerous? However, the road up- the community against river flash ond, the floods no longer damage grading and the installation of the floods (Figure 20). To date, this has the road, which used to create large dyke has made the area safer and prevented further flash floods, al- submerged holes that people, espe- now we think that it is worth making though rain flooding still remains an cially children, would fall into dur- more permanent investments here’. issue. In 2014, the Sangkat authori- ing the rainy season. Third, the in- In Vealsbov (Phnom Penh) and Roka ties, in partnership with local NGOs vestment by the Sangkat has given Thom (Kampong Cham) new and and the community, also raised the wealthier households the impetus strengthened roads above flood height of the road and surrounding to invest in building up their land levels are also planned with the in- ground by 1.7 metres so it would be with concrete foundations to the tention that families can build tem- less susceptible to floods. This has same height of the road (by 1.7m). porary dwellings there during the had several effects. First, by increas- Around 50% of housing in Cham- flood season.

Figure 21: Dyke built by Sangkat in Chamrouen, Phnom Penh URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 38 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Small-scale community engineering Figure 22: Replacing temporary elevated wooden walkways with concrete elevated walkways (Borei Doemsrol, Phnom Penh) solutions have involved the building of concrete raised walkways in Borei Doemsrol to address the issue of dangerous temporary wooden walkways, which children frequently fall from and injure themselves (Fig- ure 21). Given the synergies between flooding and diarrhoeal disease incidences (see Section 3, Exposure), WASH related initiatives should be considered as DRR interventions (Box 2). In Vealsbov, for example, 40 latrines are being installed by PIN and Wet- lands Work! that are designed to digest sewage and filter water using Before: wooden raised walkways plants. The aim of the project is to improve water quality and reduce diarrhoeal diseases during the flood season. In addition to these hard and soft- engineered solutions, community organisations play a key role in reducing disaster risk by providing education to residents on hygiene and disease. In Chamrouen, community education projects have reduced the number of dengue deaths as mothers now know the warning signs and take their children to hospital. The organisation has also increased awareness of sewage and

latrine use – coverage has increased Today: concrete walkways URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 39

from 0% in 2004 to 70% of all house- Box 2: Mainstreaming WASH into DRR holds in 2015 (the 30% who do not The effects of flooding are exacerbated by low WASH coverage in urban poor com- use latrines are renters whose land- munities, because of the prevalence of in water contaminated with human waste. Pol- luted flood waters contribute to the spread of disease, including diarrhoea, skin infec- lords have not allowed them to be tions and other afflictions, which can have a debilitating effect on residents, especially installed). children. In response, NGOs have pursued a dual-pronged strategy of mainstreaming community-based WASH solutions into DRR programmes and policies. Community organisations also play First, NGOs have integrated community-based WASH into their own DRR programmes, a key role in accessing resources drawing on the technology and resources of private sector partnerships to upgrade from the government, the private community WASH facilities. Vealsbov is the beneficiary of one such WASH DRR programme implemented by PIN and the social enterprise Wetlands Work! The pro- sector and civil society. For example, gramme will deliver flood-proof latrines to reduce water contamination. The latrines in Borei Doemsrol, PPWSA initially use microbial communities and aquatic plants to digest human waste and remove harmful pollutants. In other areas that lack sewerage systems, appropriate, communi- refused to extend piped water con- ty-based WASH interventions are an effective means of reducing water-related disease. nections to the community because Second, NGOs have advocated for WASH mainstreaming in government DRR regulations, policies and programmes. The consortium of NGOs implementing the DIPECHO they believed residents were soon programme have submitted position papers to the government that have pushed for to be evicted. After residents, sup- community-based WASH upgrading to be considered in future government DRR initiatives. ported by an NGO, organised as a community, they were in a stronger

Figure 23: New house built with loan from CDF in 42 Knong, Kampong Cham. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 40 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

position to negotiate with PPWSA, the government forced the reset- in the study communities. Another which eventually led to the compa- tlement in order to ‘beautify’ the respondent in Vealsbov said that her ny agreeing to provide water to the central riverfront area. A common monthly repayments amounted to area. In 42 Knong community, mem- wish of the study communities is to US$25 – a substantial amount given bers of a savings group were able to live with the flooding rather than the low incomes of residents. The benefit from housing loans provid- be resettled to potentially safer lo- study found that typically 80-100% ed by CDF, which were not available cations. As one participant in Borei of households in the communities to members of the community not Doemsrol (Phnom Penh) remarked, had MFI debt, with interest accumu- in the group. As a result, members of ‘floods are natural events – of course lating at about 1.5-3% per month. It the savings group often lived in far we can live with it’. The threat of is common for MFI debt to be ser- better accommodation than non- eviction was regarded as the most viced with additional loans from savings group members (Figure 22). severe and likely hazard for the com- other MFIs, further entrenching their In many communities, government munity, above flood risk. indebtedness. sponsored infrastructure projects Participants from Chamrouen said 5.3 UNINTENDED IMPACTS OF were partly funded by community COPING AND ADAPTATION the MFIs usually approached them STRATEGIES savings groups. If community sav- following floods to offer loans to Microfinance Institution (MFI) debt ings groups could fund some of help rebuild their homes or make the construction, the government Household adaptations have pre- enhancements. The community rec- provided match-funding and organ- dominantly been funded with ognised that without a social safety ised the construction projects. This loans from MFIs. While raising the net, the MFIs were a key source of process of infrastructure upgrading height of houses on stilts has cer- capital in times of hardship, but in occurred in Chamrouen, where the tainly increased the robustness of the long-term they became stuck in Sangkat part-funded and construct- the houses to flood events, loans to a cycle of debt. ed the previously mentioned road, make these improvements have sig- Flooding is only one cause of the ac- supported with funds from the com- nificantly increased household debt. cumulating debt, but is significant. munity savings group. Health costs and the constant repair Loans are also used to finance busi- The most radical, transformative ad- of houses following flood events ness set-up or expansion, private aptation reported by the communi- and storms increases this debt fur- transportation (e.g. motorbike), ex- ties was resettlement to less flood ther. In Chamrouen, a respondent isting debt repayments, pay bribes, prone areas. In Kampong Cham, said that she had rebuilt her house cover health costs and buy food. MFI the community of 42 Knong were three times in the past 20 years. As debt is a fairly recent phenomenon, resettled from the banks of the Me- a consequence, debt repayment beginning in the early 2000s in most kong in 2006. While the new area now accounts for a significant proof the communities. is indeed not affected by flooding, portion of household expenditure Without access to MFIs, however, URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 41

debt is even more burdensome. given deficiencies in national early avoid the floods, the residents also Landless families in Roka Thom warning systems. In Roka Thom, the preferred their riverbank location as (Kampong Cham) cannot access MFI floods of 1996 were particularly se- they could earn a living from fishing loans because they have no land re- vere, with water levels rising by 3 m. and selling products to passing river ceipts to use as collateral and in 42 Because of the sudden onset of the traffic. Because the population of Knong, the village chief has refused floodwaters, people had insufficient the new settlement is comprised of to sign off MFI loans for residents. time to move their homes and pos- people from different slums, partici- Instead, households turn to mon- sessions to the safe area, resulting pants said social cohesion is weaker, eylenders for loans, which demand in widespread damage to and loss with more gangsters and drug deal- higher interests rates than MFIs (10% of property. The government evacu- ers, although they felt the situation per month) and require possession ated the community to another dis- was improving. of the borrower’s land title as col- trict 9 km away, where they resided lateral. About 33 families have given for 3 months in tents provided by The capacity of dykes can be exceeded their land title to informal money- the Red Cross. This response had The source of flooding in Vealsbov is lenders in 42 Knong, and 7 house- several impacts on their livelihoods from the release of floodwaters from holds have had their property re- (discussed below). This suggests a nearby overflow canal. The cana- possessed due to defaulting on their that in severe floods, this coping lisation of the river, including the loan repayments. strategy may-be in sufficient. construction of dykes and overflow canals, means that, to protect down- Impacts of temporary settlement Impacts of resettlement stream urban areas, water is required strategy The communities highlighted a to be released from overflow pipes Moving houses to safe areas before number of implications of resettle- during peak floods at the expense floods has a number of limitations. It ment. The new settlements are typi- of the community of Vealsbov. This incurs costs as a result of damage to cally further from workplaces, thus indicates the risk of relying on hard materials during transportation and, incurring increased travel costs and engineered structures – when their in Vealsbov, some families have to reducing the length of their work- capacity is exceeded water needs to pay to rent the land in the safe area ing day. 42 Knong residents also be released, in this case into a popu- at a cost of 30,000 riel per month. preferred their previous central lo- lated area. With predicted increases Furthermore, elderly and female- cation as it was closer to markets, in the intensity of flash floods due headed households in Roka Thom health services and schools, and to climate change, these canals are have to hire boats to move their women could hawk on the street likely to be under further stress. homes, at a cost of 1 million riel. The for additional income. In Nieng- strategy can also fail during an un- kong Hing, despite now not having expected flash flood, which is likely to move their houses annually to URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 42 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Dangerous walkways Figure 24: Insecure walkway, 2-3 m above ground. In Chamrouen, the walkways constructed above the flood waters became a health hazard during the dry season with children often falling 3-4 metres from them resulting in serious injury or even death (Figure 23).

5.4 STAKEHOLDER ROLES The four types of stakeholder ac- tive in the communities were government institutions, civil society organisations, private companies and religious organisations. As the Table 2 shows, the different actors supported community resilience to disasters by engaging in a wide variety of activities, ranging from relief measures during and after floods to strengthening roads to make them more robust to flooding. To assess the relative importance of stakeholder DRR roles, the research team conducted PHVCA stakeholder Venn diagrams with focus group participants (Annex 2). Participants across all sites identified three roles of stakeholders that were important from a DRR perspective: (i) government/NGO upgrading of hard infrastructure; (ii) microfinance lending; and (iii) NGO support for community organisations. URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 43

Table 2: Stakeholder DRR activities in communities

Religious Government Civil society Private company organisations

Built-up road XXXXX X

Elevated walkways X X X

Dyke XX

Provide land XX X X

Built houses X

Land titles X

Loans X XXXXX

Community saving scheme XXXXXX

Latrines XX

Installed sewage systems X X

Provided safe area XX

Piped water XXXXX

Healthcare XX X

Well X

Water treatment/storage facilities XXX X

Building materials X X Food XXXX XX Clothes and other emergency supplies XXXXX X XX

Fire extinguisher X

Sand bags X

Legal tenure advice XX

Mosquito nets X

Note: X represents one community, e.g. government upgraded road infrastructure in five out of the six communities Source: Focus Group Discussions

The importance of each stakeholder ample, because of a history of river ability of residents to flooding. In group differed amongst the com- flooding, the building of a dyke in Roka Thom, the government had munities, depending on the context Chamrouen by the government was found a safe area where the com- of the community and the nature considered to be a very significant munity could live during floods of the hazards they faced. For ex- intervention in reducing the vulner- and installed temporary toilets. The URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 44 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

community valued these measures from the national to local level. The to address gaps in the law as more because they had increased their SCDM is primarily responsible for detailed knowledge of urban DRR is- perception of security and wellbe- allocating DRR resources locally, sues becomes available. ing during floods. In Borei Doemsrol which was demonstrated by the The crucial issue of urban planning on the other hand, NGOs provided PHVCAs conducted as part of this is also gaining traction within the legal advice about how to resist project. Cambodian government because of government relocation plans, which Officials regard thecurrent laws and the growing importance of the ur- reduced the threat of government guidelines as inadequate for dealing ban economy. The government’s re- implemented evictions. with the complexity of the hazards cent Industrial Development Policy facing urban communities. Impor- framework highlighted sustainable tantly, disasters are too narrowly urban planning as a critical aspect of 5.5 DRR POLICIES AND PRAC- TICES defined, limited to major natural sustainable industrial development. Currently, the DRR policy framework hazards, such as river flooding, fire Moreover, issues arising from rapid, in Cambodia is based on prevention, or storms. This focus is out of step unplanned, urban development, in- mitigation, planning and response with the emerging issues facing ur- cluding heightened flood risk, were to large-scale disasters, particularly ban poor communities in a rapidly highlighted at the launch of the floods and fires. The National Com- changing urban landscape – princi- 2015 Industrial Development Policy, mittee for Disaster Management pally, development-induced flood- presided over by Prime Minister Hun (NCDM) headed by the Prime Min- ing. Sen (CDRI 2015). Mainstreaming DRR ister is responsible for coordinating To address this issue, the NCDM’s into future urban planning regula- disaster planning and response at 2013-2018 NAP-DRR has identified tions is key to addressing the vulner- the national level. Below the NCDM urban areas as facing specific DRR ability of urban poor communities. are disaster committees based at issues, which, by implication, require the municipality (CCDM), the dis- tailored urban DRR regulations. The trict/Khan (KCDM), and the Sangkat/ NCDM draft law on disaster man- commune (SCDM) levels. agement, once ratified, will provide The basic roles and responsibili- a broader set of regulatory tools ties of the relevant committees are with which the government can ad- summarised in Figure 24. The gov- dress urban specific disasters. How- ernance structure of DRR involves ever, officials are concerned that the the transfer of information from draft law in its current form does not the local level (SCDM) up the chain target urban DRR issues in a holis- of committees, and resources and tic, targeted manner. Future sub- guidelines being transferred down decrees will have to be promulgated URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 45

Figure 25: DRR mechanisms in Cambodia

NCDM (National Committee for Disaster Management) • Prevention, mitigation and planning: Draft DRR laws, regulations, formulate guidelines and determine and coordinate overall national DRR strategies; allocate DRR resources, • Response: Coordinate relevant agencies to respond to disaster at the national level

RESOURCE ALLOCATION DRR DATA/INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

C/PCDM (Capital/Provincial Committee for Disaster Management) • Prevention, mitigation and planning: Implement NCDM laws and guidelines; collect data and devise DRR strategy at the municipal level (EPRP); allocate resources for DRR, • Response: Coordinate relevant agencies to respond to disaster at the municipal level

RESOURCE ALLOCATION DRR DATA/INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

KCDM (Kha n Committee for Disaster Management) • Prevention, mitigation and planning: Implement relevant laws and guidelines; collect data and devise DRR strategy at Khan level (EPRP); allocate resources for DRR, • Response: Work with relevant agencies to respond to disaster at district level

RESOURCE ALLOCATION DRR DATA/INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

SCDM (Sangkat Committee for Disaster Management) • Prevention, mitigation and planning: Implement relevant laws and guidelines; collect DRR data; implement resources for DRR, • Response: Work with relevant agencies to respond to disaster at the district level URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 46 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

06 KEY FINDINGS

This vulnerability assessment threats to hazard prone communi- Despite extreme hazard exposure, revealed a number of concerns that ties because waters are often pollut- especially to floods, the communi- require further study and policy ated with human and industrial waste. ties preferred remaining in their tention. settlements than being resettled Peri-urban areas are the most vulner- to safer areas. They did not want able to hazards Unplanned urban development is in- to move in fear of losing livelihood creasing flood risk for the urban poor Peri-urban areas are home to rap- opportunities, incurring increased Rapid urban development has oc- idly growing poor populations that costs (such as travel), and having curred in the absence of effective are highly vulnerable to a range fewer public services and poorer in- regulatory frameworks to manage of hazards. City-wide studies have frastructure. A common sentiment urban growth in an environmentally revealed a dramatic growth in the was that they had always lived with sustainable manner. As a result, ur- number of peri-urban poor com- flooding and would continue to do ban development has been private munities over time, resulting from so. The study revealed a multitude sector led and often includes land migration and state-sanctioned re- of strategies employed by house- filling and sealing of lakes and wet- location of poor communities from holds and communities to cope lands. This change in the land use central urban areas. Rapid rural to with flooding, ranging from an inner and topography of urban areas has urban land use changes have in- tube ferry service to moving entire increased flooding of urban poor creased run-off and thus flooding in settlements to higher ground such communities, which often reside low-lying peri-urban areas. In addi- as roads during the flood season. in the remaining undeveloped and tion, peri-urban areas are more vul- low-lying areas where water col- nerable to river floods because they Microfinance loans may increase re- lects. Flood risk has been exacerbat- have not been afforded the flood silience but potentially at the risk of ed by the absence of appropriate in- protection and drainage infrastruc- long-term vulnerability frastructure, such as flood defences ture found in urban areas. Loans from microfinance institu- and drainage systems. The emerg- tions (MFI) have enabled house- ing trend of development-induced Communities prefer living with floods holds to make adaptations to their flooding brings increased health than relocating far from their livelihoods homes (e.g. stilts and concrete foun- URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 47

dations) and often provide cash dur- the urban poor, many of whom in- engineered flood defences can in- ing periods of hardship in the flood habit areas flooded for between crease vulnerability to flood events season. While this has increased 3 and 8 months of the year. Major that exceed their thresholds, since the robustness of many homes and flood events exacerbate seasonal the sense of security provided by helped households to meet short- flooding and frequently exceed the the defences increases human set- term needs, this study found a trend coping capacities of poor urban tlement of otherwise exposed areas. of mounting household debt. The communities in Cambodia, with burden of debt repayment may in- households turning to humanitar- hibit future coping and adaptation ian organisations and MFIs for relief strategies, with the potential to in- and finance to sustain themselves. crease their vulnerability. Recent major flooding in 2011 and 2013 caused widespread damage Government DRR policies have had to property and the displacement some success in dealing with threats of the urban poor, but neither is from natural hazards, but are failing likely to have been on the scale of a to deal with emerging development- 100-year flood event. Furthermore, induced threats significant increases in precipita- The government's current DRR tion during the rainy season are pre- structure has facilitated the iden- dicted as a consequence of climate tification of sources of community change. The potential for an unprec- vulnerability to natural hazards and edented mega-flood event in the fu- implemented projects to increase ture is therefore high. resilience, including the building Vulnerability to a mega-flood has of raised, flood-proof roads and been further exacerbated by the dykes. However, current regulations loss of wetlands, which provide lack engagement with the multiple valuable flood attenuation services, and complex sources of urban haz- and the rapid growth of urban poor ards and vulnerabilities, particularly populations in lowland areas. The flooding caused by unplanned ur- dominant response to flooding has ban development. been the construction of dykes, particularly in Phnom Penh. Experi- The urban poor are highly vulnerable ences in other cities across the world to a mega-flood disaster (e.g. New Orleans) have demonstrat- Perennial flooding already impacts ed that too much dependence on URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 48 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

07 POLICY OPTIONS

Mainstream DRR into holistic urban Group for DRR provide solid plat- during the construction phase of planning strategies forms to ensure DRR is a key part of projects. Currently, the municipal A comprehensive, cross-cutting and the urban policy agenda, and to en- authorities have the power to enter coordinated approach is needed courage the development of work- construction sites and check that by government to urban planning, able master plans for Cambodia’s cit- works are being completed accord- which includes DRR as part of holis- ies that include DRR considerations. ing to regulations. A dedicated unit tic urban planning strategies. As the to ensure that the environmental government has recently refocused aspects of projects are adhered to Effective implementation of laws that on Cambodia’s cities as engines of protect communities against develop- could be effective in ensuring stand- future industrial development and ment-induced flooding ards are met. These issues should be GDP growth, now is an opportune To protect communities from the addressed in the new EIA law. moment for civil society to stress negative environmental impacts the economic and social benefits of of development, it is essential that including DRR provisions in future transparent EIAs are implemented Protecting and expanding wetlands and other green spaces urban planning laws. One of the big- across the board in a standardised gest current DRR challenges is un- manner. Currently, the process of The value of urban ecosystems such planned urban development, which conducting EIAs is private sector as wetlands in soaking up floodwa- is placing ever greater numbers of ur- led and poorly regulated, leading ters is poorly understood or recog- ban poor at risk to hazards, particu- to doubts among civil society about nised in Cambodia, yet this study larly floods. It is crucial that compre- their veracity. The power to conduct suggests it is significant, especially hensive, DRR-orientated planning EIAs could be vested in a state en- for the urban poor. Better valua- regulations, including zoning and tity, potentially Municipal or Khan tion of these wetland services and building codes, are integrated into Authorities, which would facilitate the consideration of which in urban urban master plans – and that these a greater level of transparency in planning decision-making may en- master plans are then implemented. the process. In addition to conduct- sure that the capacity of urban eco- The Urban Poor Poverty Reduction ing EIAs, their rigorous monitoring systems to provide natural drainage Working Group and the Joint Action and enforcement is also necessary and attenuate floods is not dimin- URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 49

ished further. Incorporation of green more severe by low WASH coverage to identifying hazards, their impacts space in urban development could in urban poor settlements. In areas and, importantly, how the resilience also be considered in future urban where sewage systems are not avail- of communities can best be built. To planning reforms, and may provide able, community-based WASH solu- achieve this, PHVCAs should be con- a cost-effective alternative to invest- tions offer an appropriate solution ducted in all urban poor settlements ments in hard engineered flood de- to the issue of human waste man- by Sangkat authorities and devel- fences. agement. oped into community-specific DRR plans, with the support of civil soci- Extend drainage and flood protection Strengthen mechanisms for commu- ety organisations and development infrastructure to peri-urban areas nity-based DRR partners. DRR responses should be Peri-urban areas have low capac- Cambodia’s DRR frameworks are budgeted and implemented as part ity hard infrastructure to protect well designed to identify DRR issues of Commune Development Plans against hazards. A particular prob- at the local level, which are then fed and the Commune Investment Plans lem is inadequate drainage infra- up the chain all the way to the NCDM. to ensure they are coordinated with structure, which leaves poor peri- Currently, however, the information infrastructure upgrading and other urban communities vulnerable to obtained by officials at the local lev- initiatives. development-induced flooding.el is based on a narrow set of indica- However, current infrastructure pro- tors because of a narrow conception grammes currently focus on central of what/how hazards affect the ur- urban areas. A policy option for gov- ban poor. For example, officials view ernment, donors and civil society river floods as the most significant is to upgrade drainage and other hazard affecting the urban poor, core infrastructure, such as paved, and so have collected information raised roads, piped water and flood at the local level about safe sites and defences in peri-urban areas. Infra- other measures to respond to such structure development could be flood events. While this approach integrated into Commune Develop- has yielded important information, ment Plans and coordinated with this study has shown that hazards other land use changes in the local- affect the urban poor in a wide vari- ity. ety of context-dependent ways. For DRR interventions to be effective, Mainstream community-based WASH the breadth of DRR data should be solutions into DRR programmes broadened by taking a participa- The impact of flooding is made tory, community-based approach URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 50 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

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ANNEX 1: URBAN PHVCA IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

STEP TOOL TOOL DESCRIPTION ISSUES COVERED

• Introduce PHVCA tools Explain to the partici- Introductory • Make plan for the day 1 pants PHVCA objective Presentation Answer questions from participants about process and objec- and steps • tives

Demographic characteristics of community • How many households in settlement • Female-headed households • Disabled people • Old people

History of the community • How long have community lived in area • Where residents lived before coming to area • Why people moved to area

Access to Jobs, health, education services • Livelihood strategies of people in community • The different roles in community men and women have (e.g. Socio-econom- Produce chart covering work in house for women) 2 ic background key socioeconomic char- • Distance of people’s job from community (km) flipchart acteristics of settlement • Major expenses (e.g. debt; health; food; travel; education etc.) • Distance of school, hospital, market from settlement

WASH • Main sources of water • % of houses connected to water supply network (estimate) • % of houses with access to sewage system (estimate) • % covered by garbage collection service (estimate)

Housing and tenure security • Description of housing in area • Reasons why people do/do not make their houses more strongly • What documents residents have for their land • Proportion of residents that are owners and renters URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 53

Organisations in the community • NGOs working in the community • Savings group • Religious groups (church/pagoda) providing help to the community • Government (Sangkat etc) • Private sector company (e.g. microfinance)

What kind of help do stakeholders give? • Provide health care Produce Venn diagram • Provide loans showing roles of key Stakeholder 3 stakeholders in the • Provide help to build housing, pave roads, upgrade sanitation Venn diagram community ranked by • Provide legal service (e.g. protect land rights). importance What benefits does the community get from help? • How successful is assistance increasing household income? • How successful in improving healthcare, sanitation? • Does assistance have effect on how bad impact of disasters? • Do groups provide assistance post-disaster? • Are there negative effects (e.g. loans cause debt)?

Which is the most important organization and why? • Rank the rest of individuals, groups and organizations involved in the community.

Matrix identifying various hazards facing com- • What are the hazards affecting the community? Hazard Assess- munity, with likelihood 4 • How likely is hazard to occur? ment Matrix of hazard occurring on What % of community would be affected by disaster? one axis and severity of • hazard on the other axis

On bottom of timeline

Hazard Timeline of key disasters • What was hazard? Historical to affect the community 5 • How has hazard changed (e.g. intensity, duration)? Timeline and key changes in the • Warning signs environment. • How long is the time before warning signs to danger? • How long does it last? URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 54 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

Impact of hazard • Did hazard damage housing? • Did hazard damage water supply, roads, electricity supply? • How has hazard affected different social groups (women, old)? • How have impacts changed over time (better/worse)? and why? (e.g. New construction near area) • How did you cope with the hazard? On top of timeline

Changes in settlement and environment • New construction and/or change in way land is used (e.g. filled in lake; river dredging; new highway; new big building) • Housing quality changes over time (e.g. wood houses changed to concrete house) • Other changes that community have made to lessen impact of disasters (e.g. building up land to prevent flooding; social responses) • Changes other stakeholders (NGOS, government etc.) have made to lessen disaster • Identify resources in the community that are vulnerable to dis- Walk with community aster (e.g. wells; businesses; homes) members around their • Identify what community have done to make disaster effects settlement to identify key less bad Community sites of hazards, vulner- 6 • Identify things in community that could make disasters effects Walk abilities, and capacities. worse (garbage, sewage; land use change, construction etc.) Take pictures of key sites and make note of • Identify assets that are used when responding and recovering significance. from a hazard event (e.g. forests to rebuild houses, water supply, shelters such as schools, transportation) • What are the hazards that put the community at risk? • What places/areas in the community are at risk? What areas are normally most affected? • What are the most important places for community and are Community members they at risk? (important for money, health etc.) identify on map or draw Hazard and • What have the community or others (NGOs etc) done to pro- 7 map key sites of hazards, Capacities Map tect important places in community? vulnerabilities, and capacities. • What are the most important assets in the community when a hazard strikes? (e.g. forests to rebuild houses, water supply, shelters such as schools, transportation) • Who are the people that are most exposed to risk and will likely need assistance? (e.g. women, young old) URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 55

• What are the different seasons in a year? • What are the hazards/disasters that occur in the community? • What time of year do they happen?

Fill in matrix with month • How long to they last? Seasonal cal- on one axis and hazards, • Are there food supply/income/other shortages at some times 8 endar vulnerabilities and ca- of year? pacities on another axis. • What times of year is expenditure greatest? • Do families have less money at some times of year? Why? (e.g. pay more for weddings; less income from work) • Are more people ill at some times of year? URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN 56 POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS

ANNEX 2: EXAMPLE OF STAKEHOLDER VENN DIAGRAM (CHAMROUEN)

Marinol – provides HIV medication Khor San – education on but only marginal impact health, sanitation and HIV

Student associations – provide Transform – provide education basic medical assistance kits and school uniform during the flooding period MFI - provide loans to flood affected households; often used to pay other loans; interest 2-3% per month MPI provides water filters during flooding periods

PSE - provides free education and transport for children

Christian groups provide rice COMMUNITY

Friends - provides medication for HIV positive people; education Pagoda – used to provide on sex trafficking and drugs shelter during flood but stopped during 2006 UPWD - organized and supports community since STT - provides credit for latrines 2004, environmental health Sangkat built dyke in 2014, and house upgrading and sanitation; food security finds safe area during flood support, emergency relief after floods, training on land law

CRC – distribute food during Starfish- education centre. flood – but a small amount Children from the community of people got this aid can get education there.

Colour code key: grey=NGO; red=private company; yellow=religious organisation; green=government URBANISING DISASTER RISK: VULNERABILITY OF THE URBAN POOR IN CAMBODIA TO FLOODING AND OTHER HAZARDS 57 READ ALSO:

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