This paper discusses the role of local governments as powerful, but often over-looked, actors in locally led adaptation. Local governments represent key stakeholders that have largely untapped potential to lead local adaptation action, mediate between local actors and national authorities, and manage climate finance to address local needs. This paper …
This paper discusses the role of local governments as powerful, but often over-looked, actors in locally led adaptation. Local governments represent key stakeholders that have largely untapped potential to lead local adaptation action, mediate between local actors and national authorities, and manage climate finance to address local needs. This paper …
Cooling links to numerous national and international sustainable development objectives and targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the NDCs under the Paris Agreement. Cooling’s influence on power systems, the energy transition, climate efforts and resilience is large. Yet, cooling does not receive adequate attention within national policy frameworks of …
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent enforcement of mobility restrictions have created bottlenecks in the agri-food system. When the food supply chain is disrupted, economic loss occurs, putting rural households, already in poverty, into severe food insecurity. A survey was conducted to assess the impacts of restrictions brought by COVID-19 …
Producers trading in informal agricultural markets in low- and middle-income countries make daily choices concerning their livelihood and marketing strategies. Different contexts present varying degrees of market power and knowledge asymmetries across value chains and trading relations. In general, however, producers face the greatest risks and downstream players reap the …
As the COVID-19 pandemic forces lockdowns, most countries and municipalities are pursuing digital government strategies, many with innovative initiatives – but vast numbers of people still do not have access to online services, according to the 2020 edition of the United Nations E‑Government Survey, released today. The 2020 ranking of …
This report sheds light on one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world - ASEAN. ASEAN is expected to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and the third most populous by 20230. Countries within ASEAN are in themselves diverse, with economic, political, and cultural nuances. Over the next years, the …
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are key to the economies of various countries. Their numbers and contribution towards employment is well documented and there is acceptance amongst policy makers that these enterprises are critical for economic development. Increasingly, access to finance has been recognised as a major hurdle in …
The COVID-19 virus that triggered a supply shock in China has now caused a global shock. Developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), recovering from a trade war and struggling with a viral disease, now face the prospect of a global financial shock and recession. Significant economic pain …
Cambodia has made great strides towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 but needs to do more to achieve zero hunger by 2030. The Government’s mid-term and strategic review (MTSR)13 of the National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (NSFSN) for 2014–201814 resulted in recommendations for the NSFSN for 2019–2023 and …
Given the growing international pressure to mitigate climate change and increasing fears around climate impacts, expectations of continued investment in fossil fuels in Southeast Asia’s power sector appear puzzling. This paper explores how power sector investors perceive climate-related risks and how they factor these risks into investment decision-making.
This publication presents the outcomes of initiatives promoting climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal. It emphasizes learnings from a technical assistance project that aimed to (i) identify constraints on and support for scaling up water-saving mechanized technologies; (ii) demonstrate agricultural practices that can improve crop productivity, …
This volume brings together a new set of multi-country empirical case studies that contribute to the understanding the complexities of development and resource governance in the context of climate change in the Mekong Region. In the countries of the Mekong Region: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, environmental sustainability …
South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts – striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well as degrading land and increasing the prospects of violent conflict. There will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by …
South-East Asia is regularly hit by droughts. Ready for the Dry Years offers a clear analysis of this subject, assessing prospects for the decades ahead and highlighting the principal risks. Though starting slowly, droughts can have devastating cumulative impacts – striking hardest at the poor and heightening inequality, as well …
A study by the University of Southampton shows that several low-and middle-income countries, especially in Africa, need more effective child vaccination strategies to eliminate the threat from vaccine-preventable diseases. Geographers from the University's WorldPop group found diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (pertussis) vaccination levels in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the …
The purpose of this report is to help Cambodia’s policy makers and stakeholders prepare for future El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s poverty, economic, and agricultural impacts in Cambodia and outlining ways forward. The report finds that ENSO’s impacts vary from region to …
Built atop the bones of the dead, Trapaing Thmar reservoir is largest irrigation project built by the Khmer Rouge regime. Today, it is running dry amid one of the worst droughts to hit Cambodia in living memory. In northwestern Cambodia, more than 400 kilometers from Phnom Penh, the vast protected …
Based on a literature review, this brief presents key findings and recommendations to understand the current state of scientific knowledge on the policies and practices for water management in times of scarcity in the Mekong Region. Managing water resources in an equitable and sustainable manner in the context of climate …
This paper develops a conceptual framework with an indicator-based approach to assess Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) and applies it to case study sites in Lao PDR (Ekxang CSV), Cambodia (Rohal Suong CSV), and Vietnam (Tra Hat CSV) in Southeast Asia. The intensification, extensification, diversification, commercialization, alteration of practices, use of common …
This study assesses the current state of knowledge and perceptions of arsenic contamination in rice among different stakeholders in Cambodia and identifies major knowledge gaps and possible policy responses to the issue. The paper explores two research questions: How do different stakeholders understand and perceive the issue of arsenic in …
