The Ministry of Environment (MoE) of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has released its Fourth State of Environment Report on 23 September 2021, which was developed under the leadership of the General Directorate of Environmental Knowledge and Information (GDEKI), of MoE, and with technical support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Rapid economic development and urbanization, population growth, higher demands for food, energy, materials and transport have placed enormous strains on the environment, further exacerbated by unsustainable agricultural practices, poor natural resource management and climate change.

In Cambodia, in particular, changes in land use and cover, deforestation, agricultural intensification and mismanagement of both urban and agriculture wastes, are affecting the availability and the quality of water, soil and ecosystem services.

The Fourth Sate of Environment outlines the current status and trends of the environment in Cambodia, its sets a new baseline to support the development of a robust national institutional and policy framework to effectively implement the Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals (CSDGs).

The report highlights key challenges, reviews what policies and environmental objectives exist today, and considers whether current knowledge, data and policy can achieve these objectives. The Report is solutions-oriented, providing key recommendations for future policy, data and research priorities by addressing seven thematic areas in depth: air quality, climate change, water, land use, biodiversity, waste, and environment and food safety. FAO contributed to the development of three critical chapters, including inland water, land resource and soil quality, as well as environment and food safety.

Mr Antonio Schiavone, Representative a.i. of FAO Cambodia congratulated Cambodia for successfully developing and releasing this pivotal report. He added that, “the data, information and analysis on the status and trends of land, soil and water resources as well as the food safety issues in this report will provide a basis for prioritizing and developing programmes and financing to enhance sustainable management of land, soil and water resources in Cambodia, enhance access to safe and nutritious food, which are key to achieving CSDGs.”

H.E. Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State of MoE, highlighted that, “the Fourth State of Environment Report is very important and necessary for Cambodia. It was scientifically documented with timely and quality data. This report provides a better understanding of environmental trends, environmental and social impacts with suggested possible and effective responses to pressures and challenges, along with robust recommendations. These valuable pieces of information will benefit government bodies, policy makers, researchers, community planners, investors, national and international organizations for their different use especially for environmental education, decision-making, development of plan of action to achieve sustainable development in line with national priority programmes.”