Cambodia’s water resources are increasingly under pressure from climate change, rapid socio-economic development, land-use change, and growing competition between water users. In the Tonle Sap River Basin Group, seasonal floods and dry-season water scarcity already affect agriculture, livelihoods, ecosystems, and infrastructure. At the same time, river basin planning in Cambodia remains fragmented, with existing plans often differing in methods, time horizons, and links to national investment planning.

FutureWater is partnering with Alluvium to support the Asian Development Bank and Cambodia’s Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) to prepare the Cambodia Resilient River Basin Masterplan (CRRBM). The first phase focuses on the Tonle Sap River Basin Group (RBG) and develops river basin management and investment plans for 11 river basins. These plans assess current and future water availability, sectoral water demand, flood and drought risks, climate change impacts, ecosystem conditions, and priority investment needs. FutureWater leads key technical components related to hydrology, water resources modelling, climate risk assessment, remote sensing, and water accounting.

A field trip was organized over the past week as an initial exploration of critical issues related to water resources, agriculture and environment across the Tonle Sap RBG and engage in active discussions with stakeholders at provincial, basin and national levels. During the inception workshop attended by MOWRAM Minister H.E. Thor Chetha and ADB Country Director Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi, the CRRBM project was officially launched. Marking the end of the inception mission implemented by the consultant team including multiple FutureWater representatives, the event successfully marked the start of this year-long project that will build on state-of-the-art technical data and tools as well as elaborate stakeholder engagement to achieve the ambitious project objectives.