Mondulkiri: on 10-11 September 2020, the Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development (GSSD) conducted a Launching Workshop for Cambodia's 1st BUR under the UNFCCC, which presided over by H.E. Tin Ponlok, 2nd Deputy Chairman of the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) and Secretary of State, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) honored representative of H.E. Say Samal, Chairman of the NCSD and the Minister of the MoE. The workshop was participated by H.E. Chea Sam Ang, Secretary of State of the MoE, H.E. Hean Vanhorn, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), H.E. Chhim Kan, Deputy Governor of Mondulkiri, H.E. Bun Narith, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, H.E. Roth Vireak, Under Secretary of State of MoE, H.E. Chan Somaly, Under Secretary of State of MoE, and participants of NCSD members and staff, representatives from Climate Change Technical Working Group (CCTWG), universities, relevant provincial departments in Mondulkiri, UNDP, REDD+ secretariate and private sectors, in totally 70 participants. The workshop aimed to launch Cambodia's 1st BUR under the UNFCCC and disseminate the report's results to the relevant stakeholders.
During the opening remarks, H.E. Tin Ponlok expressed his appreciation for the leaders’ and staff of MoE’s, national and international experts’, relevant line ministries’, and stakeholders’ efforts to prepared this important report. The report shows Cambodia’s effort as a member of the UNFCCC to contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He added that Cambodia is among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and the country needs to put more efforts into capacity development in the key sectors such as agriculture, water resources, coastal areas, and sustainable social-economic development. Also, the GHGs reduction is important through clean development mechanisms and the REDD+ project. Climate change is an inter-sectoral issue that requires cooperation between stakeholders in order to ensure sustainable socio-economic development and livelihoods. Cambodia submitted its first BUR to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) after it had been reviewed by Cambodian experts and stakeholders, and the quality of the report has been praised. The BUR Report was formally finalized in May 2020 and successfully submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat on 13th August 2020.
H.E. Chea Sam Ang highlighted the sections of the report such as the national greenhouse gas inventory, GHG reduction measures, effectiveness of the REDD + and the Technical Annex of the BUR including measurements, reporting, and national verification. He also pointed out the importance of the report for Cambodia in order to respond to the challenges of climate change. He stressed that the first BUR is Cambodia's pride as a member of the UNFCCC, reflecting its contribution to the global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He added that this report contributes significantly to the development of the national REDD + programme and climate change related policies and plans, which require participation of all stakeholders, including the national, sub-national levels, and the private sector.
H.E. Chhim Kan emphasized that the Mondulkiri province is vulnerable to the effects of climate change and frequently faces various disasters such as floods, droughts and storms. As a highland province, it is dominated by an ethnic minority population, most of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihood and have a low adaptation capacity to the impacts of climate change, making the province even more vulnerable. In the recent years, the Mondulkiri province has been affected by natural disasters that have destroyed infrastructure and threatened people's livelihoods, species, and ecosystems. Therefore, mainstreaming climate change into development and investment plans from the national level to the grassroots level is essential, requires efforts and involvement of all stakeholders.
The two-day launching workshop included presentations from national and international experts on the structure of BUR, policy framework and institutional context, national GHG inventory, mitigation actions, and their effects, measurement, reporting and verification, and information on support, constraints, gaps, and needs.
BUR Report (NCSD website): http://ncsd.moe.gov.kh/resources/document/cambodia’s-1st-BUR
BUR Report (UNFCC website): https://unfccc.int/documents/232019
Photo album: http://ncsd.moe.gov.kh/resources/album/launching-1st-BUR
