Background

The Cardamom Mountains-Tonle Sap (CMTS) landscape, covering about 20% of Cambodia’s territory, includes one of the most productive freshwater fisheries in the world and the largest protected forest in Indochina. However, the natural assets in this and other landscapes have been under growing pressure in the context of Cambodia’s rapid economic growth and a transition to a market-oriented economy.

The Government of Cambodia has been undertaking environmental governance reforms to address these challenges, protect these iconic landscapes and generate opportunities for its people. As a result, 41% of the land of the country (including a significant proportion of the CMTS landscape) is now managed as Protected Areas. To support these efforts, the World Bank is providing a IDA concessional loan to the Government for the implementation of the Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project (CSLEP). 

Project Summary

Being implemented by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Rural Development until 2025, CSLEP aims to improve Protected Areas management, and promote ecotourism opportunities and Non-Timber Forest Product value chains in the CMTS landscape.

UNDP has been engaged to provide technical assistance to the government for the implementation of CSLEP in environmental data management, sustainable financing, M&E and project management.

Expected Outputs

The project aims to attain three main outputs:

1. Technical input and advice for the development of a robust Information Systems and Decision Support as a part of the Cambodian Environmental Management Information System (CEMIS);

2. Technical input and advice for the design of sustainable financing mechanisms for protected areas;

3. Technical input and advice for effective Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of project activities.