Resiliency through Integrated Water Management

Improving irrigation infrastructure is central to the Kingdom of Cambodia’s rural development. Its government has long prioritized this concern, as reflected in several of its strategic plans: Rectangular Strategy on Growth, Employment, Equity, and Efficiency (Phase 2, 2008); the National Strategic Development Plan (2006–2013); and the Strategy for Agriculture and Water Resources (2009–2013).

Doing this, however, is not easy. Many of the country’s irrigation infrastructure need rehabilitation. Cambodia has over 2,500 irrigation schemes, and 1,926 (roughly 77%) need repair. Approximately 60% of these irrigation schemes are in the Mekong Delta River Basin Group (RBG) and 35% in the Tonle Sap RBG. These irrigation schemes cover around 1 million hectares (ha), and the annual irrigated area is around 1.5 million ha (i.e., 1 million ha wet season cropping and 0.5 million ha dry season cropping). Irrigation only covers 22% of all arable land (4.5 million ha) in Cambodia, and is currently underperforming by around 50% (i.e. double cropping is not occurring in at least 50% of schemes).

Without bigger investments in Cambodia’s irrigation infrastructure, agriculture production will remain low, food insecurity will expand, and the livelihoods of millions of rural residents will be affected.

Pushing for an Integrated Approach

This concern needed an integrated approach—one that not only looks at irrigation per se but also at its connection with rural poverty, water resources management, policies, and the capacity of all stakeholders involved. That is why in 2010, ADB, in partnership with the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Government of Australia, and the Nordic Development Fund, introduced the Water Resources Management Sector Development Program. This program aimed to strengthen Cambodia’s national water sector policy, improve integrated water resources management (IWRM) in two of Cambodia’s river basins, and improve irrigation services.

The program featured three distinct components: a program to address national water resources management and irrigation policy in Cambodia; a project focused on helping the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) rehabilitate small- to medium-scale irrigation systems and deliver irrigation services within the Tonle Sap Basin; and a capacity development technical assistance that will support both program and project.

Enhanced Capacity for Sustainable Water Resources Management

The program assisted Cambodia in setting up a stronger legal framework for IWRM. IWRM is a process that pushes for the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources with an eye toward equitability and sustainability. In pursuit of IWRM, the program supported the government’s strategy, policy, and legal framework; improved the coordination and cooperation framework; and developed human resources capacity.

To ensure better policies for IWRM, the program supported the government in implementing the 2007 Law on Water Resources Management (Water Law) and adopting a National Water Resource Plan. These policies aimed to effectively and sustainably manage Cambodia’s water resources. They developed farmer water user communities (FWUCs), enhanced river basin management, improved water licensing, and water quality monitoring.

To improve IWRM coordination, the program helped install mechanisms at the national, regional, and river basin levels. It assisted in establishing a ministerial-level committee to oversee national water resources issues. Regionally, it helped develop and implement a strategic plan for the Tonle Sap Authority. At the river basin level, it formed a coordinating committee. These mechanisms harmonized IWRM activities in the country.

To develop human resources capacity for IWRM, the program also supported the development of technical skills at the tertiary level. It helped provide specialist bachelor and post-graduate degree courses in water resources management at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC).

Strengthening MOWRAM

MOWRAM is Cambodia’s lead for water resource management and is headed by the Minister for Water Resources. One of its main responsibilities is delivering irrigation services. To boost MOWRAM’s capacity, the program enhanced its administrative, financial, and organizational management at the national, provincial, and community levels.

At the national level, the program supported MOWRAM in improving its planning and public financial management systems as well as its information management systems. It also supported technical skills development in water resources management at the tertiary level to address the ministry’s shortage in technical workforce. These improvements enabled MOWRAM to better support the Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology (PDWRAM), its arm in the provinces and districts, and to establish FWUCs at the grassroots level. MOWRAM assisted the PDWRAMs, the district offices, and FWUCs in implementing their human resources development plans and provided them with timely vocational and on-the-job training. These included training on on-farm water management and irrigation practices, maintenance of major and minor irrigation works, FWUC management, program planning, and gender.

Rehabilitating Irrigation Schemes

The investment project component of this program rehabilitated and developed about 15,000 ha of small- and medium-scale irrigation schemes in the Tonle Sap Basin in the provinces of Kompong Thom, Banteay Meanchey, and Siem Reap. To ensure the sustainability of these upgraded facilities, the FWUCs were provided training on irrigation land management and system operations. The establishment and upskilling of the user communities ensured that beneficiaries could better manage their local water resources and take ownership and responsibility for enhanced irrigation facilities.

Seeing the Results

The project’s impact can be felt in the country’s poverty and food security situation and its growing preparedness to meet future climate change challenges.

Improved Capacity for IWRM

Through the capacity development component of the project, the ITC provided scholarships and other expenses for 120 students enrolled in four batches during 2011–2015. The training provided to the FWUCs has also borne fruit—many are practicing improved rice cultivation practices, and many still want more training on rice cropping and cultivation of vegetables, chicken, fish, and frogs.

Poverty Reduction

The enhancements the program implemented regionally, nationally, and in communities have improved water security for Cambodia’s agriculture sector. With adequate water supply, agricultural productivity increased. Incomes in the project area also increased. During the baseline survey in 2013, 49% of households reported an income of less than $1 a day per person. In the endline survey in 2018, only 21% of households reported this income level. The average annual household income increased by 39%, from $1,389 per year to $1,934 per year.

Food Security

Food security was the top concern of farmers in the area. About 60% of the population live off agriculture, and with insufficiently irrigated farmlands, yields have been consistently low. The upgrading of the irrigation facilities and the improved implementation of the country’s Water Law helped increase wet and dry season yield. Average rice yields in the wet season increased from 1.16 tons per hectare (t/ha) to 2.0 t/ha; in the dry season, from 2.36 t/ha to 4.12 t/ha. The changes made by the program helped reduce the number of households with insufficient rice. The number of respondents who experienced rice shortage for home consumption dropped from 43% to 24%, or a reduction of about 44%.

Resilience

With the improved capacities of related water agencies and the user communities, Cambodia is not just ready to better manage its water resources; it is also better prepared to face climate change and respond to natural disasters such as droughts and floods. The plans developed, the coordination mechanisms established, and the updated irrigation facilities make MOWRAM, the PDWRAM, and the user communities more resilient, rendering them less vulnerable to shocks and crop losses.