Foreword This Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) Report is the first of its kind to be written for Cambodia. The report is an attempt to present an overall picture of the progress made in reaching the goals of sustainable development and environmental health. It covers six concerns: forest resources, threat to biodiversity, management of fishery resources, utilization of water resources, agricultural land degradation, and climate change. To address or mitigate future environmental problems, it is important for Cambodia to be aware of its progress and environmental performance over the past few decades. With this report, gaps in policy can be filled where the country is currently struggling. Achieving development in tandem with good environmental practice is not easy. This EPA report is an initial step for Cambodia toward better understanding of its progress in achieving national sustainable development goals. The report intends to: (i) provide better understanding of environmental conditions, trends, and impacts to facilitate informed decision-making; (ii) help improve environmental program management and public accountability; (iii) and highlight principal trends and performance assessments under environmental issues of national and global importance. The report and its findings will also facilitate the analysis of development assistance in the environment domain, and enhance local capacity in carrying out performance assessments. The second Strategic Environmental Framework has helped the country carry out the process of assessment, identification, and recommendations for its environmental concerns with guidance provided by the teams from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The EPA method has been continually evolved with internal capacity building to allow the first assessment to be carried out with multistakeholder contribution. The report is written in four parts. Part I introduces the standpoint of the paper, Part II assesses performance under each of the priority concerns selected. This assessment is based on a Pressure- State-Response model that logically links the sources of environmental pressure factors to the resulting state, and the policy and institutional responses intended to stimulate policy review. Part III discusses crosscutting development issues. Part IV draws overall conclusions and recommendations. An Annex gives statistical data supporting parts II, III and IV. In addition to national significance in Cambodia, the report also carries great connotations and use for future planning and improvement of environment management in Cambodia. Senior Minister, Minister of Environment H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth i Acknowledgment The completion of the Cambodia National Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) Report would not have been possible without the valuable inputs and assistance of many individuals. A core team of international and national consultants prepared the initial and final draft of the report under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment (the national implementing agency of the project) led by H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Senior Minister and Minister of Environment and Chuon Chanrithy, Director, Department of Natural Resources Assessment and Environmental Data Management. We wish to thank international consultants Ivan Ruzicka, Kumar Mohit, and Mike Comeau and national consultants Mak Sithirith and Touch Vina for their very significant work on the report. Acknowledgement is also given to the many people and institutions who participated in the various consultations and workshops organized during the preparation of the report and provided feedback. This includes an EPA technical review team consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Forestry Administration and Department of Fisheries); Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology; Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy; Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction; and Ministry of Planning. The project was made possible through financial and technical support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES) of Japan, and the National Institute for Environmental Strategies (NIES) of Japan. A note of thanks is given to Masami Tsuji and Herath Gutanilake, both ADB staffs, who provided valuable insight and support throughout the process of preparing this report. Finally, kudos to the team from UNEP who ably coordinated the management of the entire project on Strategic Environmental Framework for the Greater Mekong Subregion (SEF II): Surendra Shrestha, Yuwaree In-na and Tin Aung Moe. ii iii Table of Contents FoREWoRD i AckNoWLEDgMENt ii EXECUTIVE Summary v ACRONYMS AND CAMBODIAN TERMS vii I. INTRODUCTION 1 thE AssEssMENt MEthoD UsED: thE P-s-R MoDEL 2 II. MANAGEMENT OF PRIORITY CONCERNS IN CAMBODIA 9 1. FOREST RESOurces 9 1.1. THE CONTEXT 9 1.2. ThE stAtE 10 1.3. THE PRESSURE 11 1.4. ThE REsPoNsE 12 1.5. CoNclusIoNs 13 2. ThREAt to BIoDIvERsIty 15 2.1. ThE coNtExt 15 2.2. ThE stAtE 15 2.3. ThE PREssURE 16 2.4. ThE REsPoNsE 18 2.5. CoNclusIoNs 19 3. FIsh REsoURcEs 21 3.1. ThE coNtExt 21 3.2. ThE stAtE 21 3.3. ThE PREssURE 23 3.4. ThE REsPoNsE 24 3.5. ThE coNclusIoNs 26 4. WAtER REsoURcEs 28 4.1. DRINkINg WAtER 28 4.1.1. ThE coNtExt 28 4.1.2. ThE stAtE 28 4.1.3. ThE PREssURE 29 4.1.4. ThE REsPoNsE 30 4.1.5. CoNclusIoNs 32 4.2. WAtER FoR AgRIcULtURE 32 4.2.1. ThE coNtExt 32 4.2.2. ThE stAtE 32 4.2.3. ThE PREssURE 34 4.2.4. ThE REsPoNsE 34 4.2.5. CoNclusIoNs 35 5. AgRIcULtURAL LAND ManagEMENt (LAND DEgradatIoN) 36 5.1. ThE coNtExt 36 ii iii 5.2. ThE stAtE 37 5.3. ThE PREssURE 37 5.4. THE RESPONSE 39 5.5. CoNclusIoNs 40 6. ClimatE chANgE 42 6.1. ThE coNtExt 42 6.2. ThE stAtE 42 6.3. ThE PREssURE 43 6.4. ThE REsPoNsE 43 6.5. CoNclusIoNs 44 III. CROSSCUTTING ISSUES IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 45 1. INtEgRAtIoN oF ENvIRoNMENtAL coNcERNs IN EcoNoMIc DEcIsIoNs 45 1.1. PoLIcy AND INstItUtIonal INtEgRAtIoN 46 1.2. ENvIRoNMENtAL ExPENDItURE AND FinancINg 49 2. IMPLEMENtAtIoN IssUEs 51 2.1. REgULAtoRy AND EcoNoMIc INstruments 51 2.2. ENFoRcEMENt 52 3. ENvIRoNMENt AND cIvIL socIEty 53 3.1. ENvIRoNMENt, hEALth AND sAFEty 54 3.2. AccEss to INFoRMAtIoN AND PUBLIc AccoUNtABILIty 54 3.3. ENvIRoNMENtAL Awareness AND EDUcAtIoN 55 IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 56 1. FoREstRy REsoURcEs 56 2. ThREAt to BIoDIvERsIty 57 3. FIshERIEs REsoURcEs 58 4 WAtER REsoURcEs 58 5. ManagEMENt oF AgRIcULtURAL LAND 59 6. ClimatE chANgE 59 APPENDIX 1. FAct shEEt tEMPLAtE AND gUIDELINEs 2. FoREst REsoURcEs FAct shEEts 3. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY FACT SHEETS 4. FISH RESOURCES FACT SHEETS 5. WAtER REsoURcEs FAct shEEts 6. AgRIcULtURAL LAND MANAgEMENt FAct shEEts 7. CLIMAtE chANgE FAct shEEts iv v Executive Summary Sustainable management of the country’s natural other GMS countries. Since 1993, the government resources and healthy environments for its has been building up a system of protected areas. population are important strategic priorities for By now a relatively high total of 32% of Cambodia, as they are for the other countries of Cambodia’s territory has some form of protection the Greater Mekong Subregion. The challenges to status. It remains to be seen how effective the Cambodian authorities and other national protection has been in the face of continued and stakeholders in pursuing these priorities are many widespread pressures. not least because of Cambodia’s immature market economy and young regulatory Fish accounts for three quarters of the animal frameworks. This report, a national environmental protein intake of Cambodia’s 13 million people performance assessment of EPA, is an attempt to and inland fisheries are essential for local present an overall picture of the progress made in livelihoods. Fish production has grown in recent reaching the goals of sustainable development years due mainly to greater production by small- and environmental health. The report addresses scale and rice-field fisheries. The production by six key environmental concerns, viz., forest Tonle Sap appears not to have changed degradation, biodiversity loss, suboptimal significantly in volume terms but there is evidence utilization of water resources, depletion of fish of changes in the composition of the catch resources, agricultural land degradation and towards smaller size fish, raising concerns about climate change (as a global environmental issue). sustainability. Destructive fishing practices are widely used throughout Cambodia. The responses Cambodia remains a predominantly agricultural have featured support for community-based country. Agriculture and forestry contribute nearly fisheries and reduction of commercial fishing lots 40% of the country’s gross domestic product in favor of community-based management. The (GDP). The country’s forest cover (under change of policy direction is too recent to say cambodian definition) declined from 73% in 1965 whether it has resulted in a more sustainable to approximately 60% in 1997. A gradual reversal management of the fish resource. is observed from 1997 onward. the Rgc cancelled a large number of forest concessions As the country grows economically and in that brought the area under concession population size, the demand for safe drinking management down from 6.5 million ha in 1998 to water increases also. Access to safe water has 3.8 million ha in 2003 and reduced the pressure improved in both urban and rural areas of on the forest. Nonetheless, illegal logging has not Cambodia during the past decade but from an been eliminated both in and outside the cancelled extremely low base. Cambodia has by far the concessions, and shifting cultivation and lowest overall percentage of access to safe agricultural expansion remain significant pressure drinking water among the GMS countries. The factors. As a principal line of defense, the growth of rural population has increased also the Government further increased the area of demand for irrigation water. RGC’s policy for the protected forest to a comparatively high 23.5% of rural sector rests significantly on further the total land area by 2002.