Poverty policy and regulation
As a fast-developing nation, Cambodia has always found poverty one of its main challenges. The Rectangular Strategy states that eradicating poverty has long been one of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC’s) highest priorities.1 Since the country’s first major post-civil war election in 1993, Cambodia ...
International relations
Cambodia has strong diplomatic links with many countries. Its warmest relationship with a superpower is with the People's Republic of China. The most important economic ties are with China, the United States of America, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia is a member of the UN, ASEAN, ...
Water resources
Geographically, Cambodia is rich in rivers and water bodies. These water resources play an important role in economic and social development, particularly in agriculture, industry, environmental protection and tourism sectors. ...
Sugarcane
Growth in sugar production in Cambodia has created significant potential for sugarcane-based biofuel production. That potential has not yet been realized, though recent foreign investment may give rise to change. There are several types of sugar crop: sugarcane, sugar palm trees and sugar beets. Sugarcane ...
Agricultural policy and administration
Agriculture in Cambodia accounts for approximately 56% of the labour force. The size of the sector means that policies developed here have a significant impact on the whole country. Agricultural policy and administration is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). There ...
Carbon trading and other Payments for Ecological Services (PES)
Forest view. Photo by Open Development Cambodia, taken on 05 December 2021. Under license CC BY-SA 4.0.Cambodia is covered with forest, accounting for around 13.1 million hectares in 1973, and it is had fallen to 8.7 million hectares in 2014.141 However, based on the Ministry ...
Floods
In October 2020, tropical storms LINFA and NANGKA struck Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The storms resulted in at least 48 fatalities, 15 missing people and more than 830,400 affected citizens, as reported by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (the ...
Oil and gas resources
Oil and gas have been found on Cambodian territory but no commercial extraction has begun. When extraction may begin is uncertain while oil prices are at comparatively low levels. All the petroleum products for local demand are imported, chiefly from Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. Consumption ...
Industrial mining
There is no large industrial-scale extraction of minerals carried out in Cambodia yet, but many exploration licenses have been granted and some mining companies have reported promising finds of minerals such as gold. Today companies from China, Korea, Vietnam, Australia and elsewhere are exploring for ...
Labor
Garment workers waiting in line to get food. Photo by International Labour Organisation, taken on 14 July 2015. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Cambodia has the highest labor force participation rate in the Southeast Asia/Pacific region, with 82.7 percent of the working population aged 16-64 employed ...
Disasters and emergency response
Cambodia flood, 2011. Photo by European Commission, taken on 11 October 2011. Licensed under CC BY 2.0Storms, flooding and lightning strikes are the major causes of death and property damage from natural disasters in Cambodia, while drought causes severe hardship, especially for farmers. In a ...
Agriculture and fishing
Rice farmers working in the field, Kandal province, Cambodia. Photo by ILO/ Khem Sovannara, taken on 12 July 2007. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Agriculture continues to play an important role in Cambodia’s economy, but it provides a livelihood for a smaller proportion of today’s population ...
Civil society
The launch event of a project improving the delivery of public services through ICT in Svay Rieng province, Cambodia. Photo by the ODC team, taken on 28 June 2017. Licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0.Civil society, representing the interests of ordinary citizens, is the part of ...
Procurement
“Stopping corruption may start from us” (Khmer version on Clean Hand poster), in Kratie province, Cambodia. Photo by World Bank Photo Collection, taken on November 22, 2006. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0In Cambodia, the activities of buying goods, construction work, repairs, and services and consultation ...
United Nations
Secretary-General António Guterres (right) meets with Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia in New York. Photo taken from the UN website on 22 September 2022.The United Nations (UN), founded in 1945 and guided by the UN ...
Pollution and waste
The rapid economic and population growth in Cambodia is leading to significant environmental pollution. The economic development activities have generated major environmental consequences, including air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and solid wastes. ...
Ground water
Cambodia relies heavily on its groundwater resources to overcome water shortages during the dry season. More than half of the population depends on it when enough surface water is not available. At a certain depth, the ground is saturated with water, and the upper surface ...
Infrastructure
A national road in Cambodia. Photo by Pat Scullion, taken on 2 April 2010 under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Infrastructure describes the built assets that allow a country to function, such as roads, railways, ports, airports, communication systems, electricity and drinking water distribution networks. The Ministry of ...
Disaster and emergency response funding
Cambodia has begun to integrate disaster and climate resilience goals into its national policies but implementation remains difficult. In the National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction 2014–2018, the government prioritizes the target to: “build a resilient nation and local communities to pursue sustainable development.” ...
Environmental impact assessments
The primary legal requirements for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Cambodia are set out in Content II, Book V of the Environment and Natural Resource Code716, Chapter III of the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management 1996717(EPNRM Law), and the Sub-Decree no. 72 ...