Phnom Penh, 30 April 2012
The Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) has launched its second call for proposals to further build on the efforts by the Royal Government of Cambodia in addressing climate change and disaster risks. Cambodia, considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change, has experienced prolonged floods during the last year. According to the UN estimate, the floods have affected three quarters of the country’s land area with considerable damages to livelihoods, food security and infrastructure of the country which is largely rural with an economy heavily dependent on agricultural outputs.
The new call for proposals under the CCCA will support initiatives that would deliver information and knowledge, and strengthen partnership and capacity building of national institutions, while at the same time enforcing peoples’ well-being and livelihoods, at national, sub-national and community levels, in the following focus sectors articulated in the Cambodia’s National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA): Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Water Resources, Health, Infrastructure and Meteorology.
During the recent Orientation Workshop which took place in Phnom Penh with an objective to brief the interested organisations on the scope of the new call, the key message evolved around the need for local actions and involvement that could directly benefit communities and promote local ownership. H.E. Thuk Kroeun Vutha, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Environment, in his opening remarks, emphasised the importance of integrating climate change responses into national policy and economic development agenda at both national and sub-national levels, while the focus should be placed on strengthening adaptation capacities in prioritized sectors, which are considered as national economic backbone.
CCCA has been responding to the emerging concerns for climate change since its inception in 2010. It has so far provided support to ten climate change adaptation projects through its multi-donor CCCA Trust Fund, by allocating approximately US$7 million to different Government institutions and civil society organisations, to establish the policy and knowledge management frameworks for climate change, as well as to pilot different adaptation measures in the sectors considered highly vulnerable to climate change impacts in search for practice models that are most fitting in the country context. The sectors and themes covered by the existing projects include fisheries, agriculture, community forestry, protected area conservation, urban planning, coastal management and local governance. Mr. Lay Khim, the Assistant Country Director of UNDP Cambodia, remarked during the Workshop that the second call for proposals provides an opportunity for creating new partnerships and increasing visibility on the efforts by Cambodia and donor community to combat climate change risks, building on the existing projects which are expected to impact around 170,000 beneficiaries across the country.
CCCA is a comprehensive and innovative approach to address climate change and disaster risks in Cambodia. It is a multi-donor initiative funded by EU, Sida, Danida and UNDP. It is anchored in the Government’s National Climate Change Committee (NCCC), a mandated Government coordinating and policy support entity for all aspects of climate change.CCCA Trust Fund has been established within CCCA as a unified engagement point for development partners and a multi-donor financial facility to provide resources for climate change capacity building at national and local government level.
Application for the CCCA second call for proposals will close on June 4, 2012. For more information about the call, please visit www.camclimate.org.kh *** Download: ( English / Khmer ) For further information, please contact: CCCA Trust Fund Secretariat Mr. EL Chuon Tel: (855-12) 718 174 Email: elchuon@camclimate.org.kh
