The forests of Cambodia are diverse and comprise a variety of evergreen, deciduous, mixed and mangrove forest types. Current estimates of remaining natural forest cover vary considerably, but the consensus is that about half of Cambodia’s land area has some form of forest cover. Weak governance and unsustainable resource use, shifting cultivation in the upland areas, especially in the northeast of the country, and forest clearing for agriculture are causing rapid deforestation. As a result, Cambodia’s rich natural habitats have been significantly degraded, affecting the quality and quantity of habitat for biodiversity and non-timber forest resources, both important elements of food and livelihood security.
Cambodia’s coastal, marine and freshwater resources are also being degraded by a combination of river and coastal sedimentation (often linked to logging), conversion of mangroves, poorly managed shrimp aquaculture and salt farming and dynamite fishing. Pressures on aquatic resources and on environmentally-significant wetlands are also increasing rapidly, most notably from over-fishing, illegal fishing practices, increasing use of hazardous pesticides, and conversion of flooded forests, as well as swamp drainage for agriculture.
World Bank assistance on natural resource management focuses on forest management, land titling and biodiversity conservation. A Forest Concession Management and Control Pilot Project is helping Cambodia establish an effective logging concession management system and reduce illegal logging. A Land Management and Administration Project is being implemented to improve citizens’ land security and create an efficient land market by providing 1 million families with land titles. Finally, the Biodiversity and Protected Area Project is helping design and build the capacity to operate a well-managed national protected area system.
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Urban Environmental Challenges
As the country grows economically, more and more people gravitate towards urban centers in provinces such as Phnom Penh, Kandal, Prey Veng, and Takeo. The resulting higher quantities of untreated urban domestic sewage, industrial effluent and solid waste are polluting surface and ground water in many of Cambodia’s cities and towns. Throughout the country, sewerage system coverage is limited and/or no longer functioning, resulting in increased health risks to urban and peri-urban populations, including higher incidences of diarrhea and cholera.
In addition, the growth of unplanned settlements outside of Phnom Penh is increasing pressure on the city’s existing wastewater infrastructure and the system of natural drainage, which to date has served as the traditional environmental safeguard against flooding. Many flood protection sleeves have been occupied by migrants, restricting water flows and compounding the sanitation problem.
The disposal of hazardous (mostly industrial) waste is also a growing problem in Phnom Penh. There are no special landfills or other treatment facilities for toxic, hazardous or medical waste, which is often burned at open dumpsites, together with solid waste.
The World Bank’s principal initiative in this area is the Provincial and Peri-Urban Water and Sanitation Project. It is financing water supply systems in provincial towns and districts, public toilets (in schools, markets, and hospitals), household toilets, soak-away pits for septic tank effluent and wastewater disposal. Assistance to prepare a wastewater strategy and master plan for Phnom Penh and a possible follow-up wastewater management project is under discussio
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