Cambodia is one of the emerging economies in south-east Asia, with an ambitious aim of becoming a middle-income country by 2030. Despite the Covid 19 and the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, Cambodia's economy still increased by 5.1% in 2022. Cambodia's population also reached approximately 16.5 million people in 2019. Even though the majority of people still live in the rural or in the provinces, urbanization in Cambodia has increased significantly. Despite its growth, Cambodia continues to be one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change's impacts.The backbone of its economy still heavily relies on natural resources, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, as well as water resources.
Cambodia requires a comprehensive strategic and collaborative effort from all stakeholders to address a wide range of climate change problems in order to save the livelihood of the people, economy, and mother nature. It advocates for Cambodia to prioritize a circular economy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to clean energy, and creating a civilization that is carbon neutral.
Sustainability is one of the five objectives at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Cambodia Office. KAS and partner organizations are working on a range of projects in this objective, such as publishing materials to address environmental issues, building capacity by teaching young people about Clean Energy, and continuing to develop Waste Summit, a sustainable platform for discussion of waste management in Cambodia. Through knowledge transfer, exchange, and discussions, this seeks to raise awareness of serious challenges in the sustainability field as well as the immediate consequences of climate change.
Projects
Waste Summit Cambodia
Waste Summit is an annual event discussing waste and the range of climate change issues. This event is designed to bring all stakeholder and actors in the waste management system, to create a sustainable dialogue and to create a platform to enable future partnerships between problem-solver, investors, start-ups and other relevant actors.
Website: wastesummitcambodia.com
Clean Energy Fellowship
The Clean Energy Fellowship is a four months program designed to train young Cambodian professionals across different sectors to be active and knowledgeable ambassadors for clean energy in Cambodia.
Mekong Connect Publication
Mekong Connect is a magazine publication that aims to recognize the importance of knowledge and evidence-based analyses in a wide range of issues in the Mekong region, including climate change, trade, food security, poverty, and sustainable development.
Patner:
The "Promoting Environmental Education and Waste Management" project aims to empower a sustainable partnership at the provincial level and improve municipal waste management at the local level. This project will train local stakeholders, provide composting knowledge and facilities, and create a mentoring dialogue network.