The second meeting of the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) was held at the Ministry of Environment on 03 October 2017 under chairmanship of H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment and NCSD chairman. This meeting brought together senior government representatives at the central and provincial to review the progress made supporting development efforts, including collection inputs and principally approved on key strategic documents such as draft of Environment​ and Natural Resources Code, draft of National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) and REDD+ strategic plan.

H.E. Say Samal, Minister of Environment and NCSD chairman, underlined that NCSD which is consolidated competencies previously held by four bodies now extinct, namely the National Council of Green Growth and its Secretariat, the National Climate Change Committee and its Secretariat, the National Biosafety Secretariat and the National Biodiversity Steering Committee to promote sustainable development ensuring the balance between economy, environment, society and culture of the kingdom.

He further noted the significant efforts made by NCSD during 2017 such as green economy, climate change response, biodiversity, and science and technology. Related to REDD+ and carbon sale in Mondul Kiri, the Ministry of Environment tends to decentralize the budget to province for self-financing, thus the stakeholders can work with the province directly.

Council members were engaged in very productive discussions​ on key agenda items lay the foundations for the way NCSD will operate in the future. Some results of this 2^nd meeting included:

- Review the progress that the NCSD has achieved significantly in 2017:

• • • • Green economy: 1) preparation of the draft Strategic Plan for Green City, including 48 investment projects and green urban strategic plan, phase 2, for 7 urban areas, and 2) the draft of policy-oriented programme to integrate green development strategy in the next rectangle strategy and the National Strategic Development Plan 2019-2023;
      • Climate change response: 1) the ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to the UNFCCC, 2) cooperate with Ministry of Economy and Finance to mainstream climate change into Budget Strategic Plan circulation 2017, and support 4 ministries (Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Environment) to integrate climate change into their own budget submission;
      • Biodiversity: 1) Protected areas and biodiversity conservation corridors have been established and expanded on an area of ​​more than 7 million hectares (equivalent to 41% of the country’s total areas which higher than biodiversity target of 17%), 2) began to study the genetic resources of Cambodia, primarily focusing on pests and plants with market value under the Nagoya Protocol
      • Science and Technology: Signed to cooperate with nuclear power for peace purposes.

- Consider on strategic agricultural plants studyfor economic land concession company

- Provincial Department of Environment will act further as a provincial sustainable development office

- Take out “Rosatom” terminology from nuclear energy to broaden the cooperation

- Study and provide strategic recommendation on domestic varieties and use of Genetic Modified Organism (GMO)

- Principally approved the priority actions for 2018 include sustainable cities, sustainable energy, climate change responses, biodiversity conservation, science and green technology

- Discussed, input and principally approved on the Environment and Natural Resources Code, and NESAP as well as request for collection inputs from the council members within 4 weeks.

- Discussed and approved the final draft of the REDD+ National Strategic Plan, 2017-2026 aimed at improving the functionality and institutional capacity at the national and sub-national level for the implementation of policies, laws and regulations effectively, which will contribute to improving the management of natural forests and biodiversity.

- Review and accept the progress of the ASEAN environmental work that we participated, contributing to Asian Environmental work.

It’s noted that the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCDD) convened its first meeting on August 31, 2017, an important milestone in strengthening the foundation for the government's reform implementation to promote good governance and sustainable development.