Background
The Ministry of Environment, through its General Directorate of Protected Areas, is implementing the CamAdapt project to strengthen climate resilience in coastal zones in partnership with relevant line agencies and development partners. The CamAdapt project is implemented by the General Directorate of Protected Areas at the Ministry of Environment and the General Directorate of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with funding from the Global Environment Facility through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
A targeted training on climate change and gender mainstreaming for sub-national authorities and coastal communities took place in Kampot province on 28 May 2026, convening seventy participants from Kampot and Preah Sihanouk provinces. The project emphasizes integration of gender-responsive measures into established sub-national planning instruments such as Community Protected Area Management Plans (CPAMP), fisheries community (CFi) plans, Commune/Sangkat Development Plans (CDP) and Commune/Sangkat Investment Plans (CIP) as concrete governance mechanisms for local adaptation.
Key Developments
The Kampot session was organised under the CamAdapt project and presided by H.E. Srei Sunleang, Director of the Protected Areas regional office, with participation from Meung Kongka, the provincial deputy governor and CamAdapt project director. Attendees included Ministry of Environment technical staff, local authorities, specialized provincial departments, CPA governance committees and coastal fishery communities from Kampot and Preah Sihanouk.
Institutional Role
The Ministry of Environment leads implementation in protected area territories while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries supports fisheries-relevant components through its General Directorate of Fisheries. International funding and technical support are provided through FAO and the Global Environment Facility, linking national directorates to sub-national administrations for program delivery.
Operational Implications
The training reinforces three operational priorities identified by project leadership: strengthening technical capacity and awareness of climate impacts on coastal ecosystems and livelihoods; embedding gender-responsive adaptation actions into sub-national and community-level planning instruments; and building exchange networks between Community Protected Areas (CPA) and community fisheries (CFi) to support peer learning. These priorities target improved planning clarity at commune, district and provincial levels to enable practical implementation of adaptation and gender mainstreaming measures.
