The Ministry of Environment is working with the CamAdapt Project to strengthen climate adaptation and diversify livelihoods in more than 82,000 hectares of ecosystems and 16 community protected areas (CPAs) along the Kingdom’s coast.
The “Strengthening CPA Networks and Review Community Conservation Progress” workshop was held on March 12-13, in Kampot province.
It was attended by representatives from the provincial Department of Environment and CPAs from Kampot and Koh Kong provinces, with the goal of strengthening cooperation and enhancing management plans.
A March 14 statement from the environment ministry noted that following the meeting, all 16 CPAs revised their management plans to address gaps in climate adaptation, ecosystem management, community engagement and gender inclusion. They are building capacity to tackle climate challenges and ensure inclusive participation in conservation and community development, it added.
The CamAdapt project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the environment ministry, the Fisheries Administration and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Cambodia. The project, with more than $4.35 million in funding, is helping improve coastal fishing communities and ecosystems in Kep, Kampot, Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong provinces.
The initiative also seeks to enhance marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
On March 9, the environment ministry’s General Department of Local Communities and partners organised a regional network meeting of natural resource conservation communities in the eastern Mekong region under the theme “Working Together to Implement Green Practices toward Carbon-Neutral Communities”.
Community representatives gained a better understanding of existing challenges and explored appropriate solutions for conserving natural resources.
They also discussed alternative livelihoods that do not place pressure on forest resources and learned about the concept of carbon-neutral communities, which the ministry is currently preparing to implement in the Koh Sralao Natural Protected Area Community in Koh Kong province.
