KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT NATIONAL GREEN GROWTH Prepared by:

1. KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT NATIONAL GREEN GROWTH Prepared by: Cambodian Delegation Guangxi, China 20-24 October 2011

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE • Introduction • Greening of Economic Development • Environmental Pressures • Paths to Greening Economic Development • Future Implementation of Green Growth Roadmap • Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION Cambodia is an agricultural country. Currently, 80.25% of Cambodians live in rural areas with agriculture as their primarily livelihood, including farming, fishing, raising livestock, harvesting forest and non‐forest products (RGC, 2008). Cambodia has achieved remarkable progress over the past decades in the number of important areas to social development and ecological conservation such as: education and health care, poverty reduction, and environmental protection, to meet Cambodian Millen- nium Development Goals (CMDGs).

4. The rapid economic and population growth coupled with overall climate change impacts has had massive negative effects on both environment and human health. It is now necessary to mainstream green growth policies into the national development strategy together with enhancing knowledge and skills of policy and decision makers to successfully mainstream important policy measures and tools for enhancing the quality of growth in Cambodia. The Ministry of Environment has developed the Green Growth Roadmap to integrate ideas and projects on green growth into national strategic development.

5. Rectangular Strategy

6. GREENING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Cambodia’s economics bases upon agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector, around 31.4% of GDP; to the industrial sector, around 27% of GDP (MoP, 2008). The services sector (with significant increases in tourism, real estate and other services) is one of the largest sectors in the economic development about 36% of GDP (CDRI, 2008). Green Growth initiatives can foster sustainability of economic growth by enhancing sustainable consum ption and production, and to ensure equal access to resources for both women and men.

7. Cambodia: GDP per Capita (1960-2009)

8. Cambodian Green Growth aims to unify development and environment objectives by means of implemen- ting policies to address the needs including the most disadvantages, to create jobs, to increase the resil- ience of the environment and of the population to adverse impacts, thus sustaining economic growth and human and environmental well‐being in the long term. National Green Growth have been concentrated on seven “A” as following: • Access to clean water and sanitation • Access to renewable energy • Access to information and knowledge

9. Access to means for better mobility • Access to finance and investment • Access to food security and non chemical products • Access to sustainable land and water use planning RGC recognizes that a continuing high growth rate of population creates serious difficulties in the imple- mentation of its program for poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development. A large population means larger requirements in terms of food and public services such as education and health care.

10. ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES Cambodia’s forests were disappearing at the rapid rate, forest cover having fallen from 73% in 1965 to less than 52% in recent years The loss of forest not only results in the loss of habitats for many species of animals and plants, but the loss of carbon sinks contributes indirectly to growing CO2 emissions (CDRI, 2008) Another environmental pressures are the solid waste disposal and discharge of wastewater. It is a major environmental problem, especially in urban areas as well as in rural communities.

11. PATHS TO GREENING ECONOMIC DEVEL. In order to set the stage for successful implementation of Green Growth in the short term, medium and long term, the following interventions are the high priority: • Create National Ministerial Green Growth Council; • Establish national public awareness and consultation process, amongst others by disseminating “Greening workplace” and “Greening Home” educational mate- rials and information posters; • Integrate the eco‐village/eco‐city initiatives into Nati- onal Strategic Development Plan;

12. Initiate the national strategy for Greening industries: based on resource efficiency and 3R strategies; • Develop stimulus measures for promotion of sust- ainable agriculture including index‐based insurance schemes and/or micro‐financing to increase resilience in rural communities; • Start scheme for innovative investments • Develop measures to strengthen the national environ- mental industry sector.

13. FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN GROWTH The Policy, Planning and Implementation Framework (PPIF) could assist planning and scoping of projects and programs, and track progress of proposed inter- ventions on a web‐based platform. Further, the framework would clarify the linkages to the National Strategic Development Plan 2006‐2010 and 2009‐2013, the Rectangular Strategy (RS), National Green Growth Roadmap, the 7 Accesses of the Roadmap and existing initiatives, and track progress and outcomes.

14. CONCLUSION Green Growth presented has 3 broad objectives. In the short term (2‐5 years), it will make a major contribu- tion to stimulate the economy, saving and creating jobs, and protecting vulnerable groups and ensuring the environmental sustainability; while in the medium term (5‐10 years), it will further promote sustainable and inclusive growth and the achievement of the CMDGs for economic development, social and envi- ronmental stability; and long‐term (10‐20 years) will contribute to the reduction of Cambodia’s carbon dependency and ecosystem degradation.

15. T H A N K Y O U F O R Y O U R A T T E N T I O N !