Climate Change Action Plan for Rural Development Sector 2014-2018.

This Climate Change Action Plan for Rural Development Sector 2014-2018 is a sectoral policy document.
Many aspects of the climate change adaption are linked with the reduction of poverty, and therefore several strategies and actions included in the Policy impact the rural poverty reduction. The key indicators proposed in the Policy include: 1.20% of current poor families that accessed to existing loan, will be improved their living incomes better off after access to this soft loan for biogas application. 2. 30% of whole rural population, in the target to most climate change vulnerability areas, will be trained and educated on climate change, climate resilience, and infrastructure planning for rural public assets.
The policy document considers that climate change (including natural disaster) is key threat to rural infrastructure and people wellbeing in both rural areas and urban periphery in Cambodia. In order to address the climate change adaptation, four major strategies developed: 1. Develop climate change resilient policies for rural infrastructure and to build resilient in rural infrastructure development to climate change; 2. Support for adaptation to climate change through creating local business opportunities; 3. Support for adaptation to climate change through increasing rural awareness to all vulnerable areas; 4. Capacity development on climate change to village development committee (primary health care, and water sanitation). To response to stated strategies, 10 key actions that are highly relevant to the climate change adaptation are proposed, which include: 1 Mapping rural vulnerable infrastructure (road, water supply facilities) in provinces with high risk of climate change. 2 Developing adaptation options and guidelines to improve climate change resilience of rural infrastructure 3 Build awareness and capacity at national and sub-national level for mainstreaming climate change into rural development planning processes. 4 Scale up microfinance to support GHG mitigation and reduce climate change impact in vulnerable areas (currently 3 provinces) 5 Carry out risk assessment and management for the improvement of water supply and sanitation (WATSAN) in the Tonle Sap Great Lake provinces. 6 Build capacity on climate proofing rural infrastructure design, construction and maintenance for civil engineers (250) at national and sub-national level 7 Raising awareness of climate change for Village Development Committees (VDCs) 8 Pilot community based climate change adaptation for VDCs in the Cambodia Mekong Delta (Takeo, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng). 9 Climate proofing Mekong river islands' connectivity (roads and jetties). 10 Climate-Proof tertiary-community Irrigation Development to enhance agricultural production of paddy field in four communes of Mekong Delta Province. The key targets proposed in the Policy include: 50 % of entire technical staffs will be trained during the first 2-year project implementation, and 100% will be trained during these five years period; 5% of the current total water wells, 5% of current rural roads and irrigation schemes will be constructed by using proposed technical guideline resilient to climate change; 75% of households in vulnerable areas1 with year round access to water supply (agricultural); Length (120 Km) of climate proofed rural roads will be improved and constructed resilient to climate change.