Climate Change Poses Major Threat to Cambodia’s Rural Poor
The Cambodian economy faces major problems for its predominantly rural population in the event of more erratic climate shifts, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s 2011 Cambodian Human Development Report. “This is an agrarian economy that depends very much on weather. And we are among the poorest countries in the world,” said Dr Tin Ponlok, deputy director general of the Ministry of Environment’s Climate Change Department, in a press conference, as quoted by the Phnom Penh Post. About 80 percent of Cambodia’s 14 million people live in rural areas, and rely mainly on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. According to some studies, rice production – a key agricultural product – could decline significantly if the temperature rose by just one degree Celsius. “Seasonal practices are now changing and the growing cycle for rice is changing more and more,” said Richard Friend, co-author of the report.”Many farmers lose their seedlings when the rains are delayed,” he said. “The rains appear to be coming later than usual in line with climate change projections for Cambodia and the region.” Dr Ponlok added that the country’s economic structure had made it particularly susceptible to climate change.
