Drought in Cambodia Stimulates Government Officials to Budget for Climate Change

9-11 May 2016, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - As Cambodia reels from the impacts of heavy drought, 26 public sector officials attended an applied training on how to integrate climate risks into the national budget process. The 3-day event was jointly delivered by UNITAR and the Economics and Finance Institute (EFI), the training arm of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with support from UNDP and the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA). In response to new provisions in the national budget circular, the training focused on hands-on support for analyzing sectoral Budget Strategic Plans (BSPs) of two line Ministries - the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) -  from a climate change perspective.

The timing was just right, in the wake of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s request that all Ministries develop climate change budgets to respond to the increasing risk of droughts, floods and heat waves. Over the past years, the Government of Cambodia has put climate change high on its agenda, including the launch of a national Climate Change Strategic Plan in 2013 and the development of sectoral action plans by 14 Ministries. In 2014, the Government developed a Climate Change Financing Framework, providing guidance on how to best mobilize and manage climate finance, both from domestic and international sources.

The workshop is part of a training series which aims to gradually increase public officials’ understanding of climate change impacts in Cambodia and equip them with the knowledge and skills to climate-prove sectoral investments. It builds on a curriculum developed under the regional UNDP project ‘Strengthening the Governance of Climate Change Finance to Benefit the Poor and Vulnerable in Asia and the Pacific’. As next steps, on-the-job coaching will be provided to MAFF and MPWT to further support the preparation of their budget submissions. In October 2016, a second basic-level training will be organized targeting Ministries that have not yet received skills development support in the area of climate policy and public finance.

The agenda included five sessions spread over three days. Session 1 served to recall key climate risks to the country and illustrate implications for sectoral budgeting. It also piloted a new interactive e-tutorial developed by UNITAR in Khmer language to familiarize participants with climate-responsive budgeting.

Session 2 presented three distinct policy appraisal techniques to inform planning and decision-making, i.e. cost-benefit-analysis, multi-criteria analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Participants practiced and compared the techniques through a number of group exercises.

Session 3 focused in more detail on quantitative analysis tools using case examples from the Budget Strategic Plans of MAFF and MPWT. 

Session 4 featured a guest presentation by Mr. Lay Sokkheang, Deputy Director of the Department of Budget Formulation at MEF. After sharing his long-standing experience on national-level budget negotiations, Mr. Sokkheang responded to participants’ questions on technical and political aspects of integrating climate change considerations into the budget process.

Session 5 engaged participants in a role play to simulate budget negotiations and test newly acquired arguments based on quantitative and qualitative evidence derived from the analysis prepared during the previous days. 

Photo 1: Participants developed quantitative and qualitative arguments for budget negotiations.

Photo 2: Dr. In Em, Director of the Economics and Finance Institute, emphasized the need for mutual understanding of the climate change concept and its implications for public finance among different Ministries.

Photo 3: Participants listen to the instructions of the e-tutorial on climate responsive budgeting in Khmer language.

Photo 4: Group exercise on applying quantitative analysis frameworks.

Photo 5: Calculating the most cost-efficient option to reduce greenhouse gases.

Photo 6: Mr. Lay Sokkheang presenting tips for budget negotiations.