Cambodia: Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development - Agriculture research and application - Agro-industry, marketing, and trade - Fishery - Water-based natural resources management

The project invests in increasing the climate resilience and sustainability of coastal and marine fisheries in Cambodia, targeting the four coastal provinces of Cambodia - Kampot, Kep, Koh Kong, and Preah Sihanouk to reverse the sharp decline in fisheries, promote sustainable mariculture, and enhance fish landing sites to improve seafood safety. It is expected that about 40% of the nearshore fishery will be regenerated into a more productive and sustainable fishery. It will make significant contributions to enhance adaptation to climate change. The project will also promote private sector development by enabling coastal communities and small businesses to diversify their livelihoods, adopt sustainable practices, and scale up into viable enterprises. It will support women's economic empowerment by scaling up women's engagement in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project will benefit 25 community fisheries (CFi) organizations and members of 15 community protected areas (CPAs), comprising nearly 20,000 households, and a wider coastal community of about 200,000.

The project is aligned with the following impact: coastal and marine fisheries resources made sustainable and resilient. The project will have the following outcome: coastal and marine fish stocks recovered, and diversified climate-resilient income generated. To achieve this outcome, the project has 3 key outputs. Output 1 will support enhancement of adaptive coastal and marine fisheries, which targets changes in the use and management of priority ecosystems and fisheries to reduce the likelihood of their continued decline and build their resilience to underlying climate change threats. Output 2 will support investments in climate-resilient and gender inclusive coastal infrastructure for fisheries management including nature-based infrastructure solutions for coastal erosion, climate risk reduction, and fishery productivity. Output 3 will support incubation and commercialization of sustainable and inclusive marine businesses.

Marine fisheries accounts for 13% of the fishery subsector. By 2018, fish stocks in the Gulf of Thailand (GOT) declined to 10% of the 1970 levels. Further, the value of the landed catch per kilogram has declined along with a substantial increase in the proportion of juvenile and trash fish. The decline in fish stocks is impacting coastal communities and businesses. Increasing competition for declining supplies of fish landed has increased domestic prices. Post-harvest enterprises and small businesses face high costs of raw materials and are extremely vulnerable to external shocks, and many marine fisheries enterprises are failing and closing. Key issues resulting in the decline of marine fisheries and its post-harvest value chain include (i) overfishing and coastal ecosystem degradation, (ii) climate change impacts on fisheries and poor-quality post-harvest infrastructure, (iii) lack of effective regulatory framework for marine fisheries and inadequate management capacity, (iv) inadequate area-based marine fisheries management and co-management, and (v) limited diversification options from reliance on wild capture fisheries.

The project responds to several key government strategies, including (i) the Rectangular Strategy Phase IV; (ii) the Strategic Framework and Programs for Economic Recovery in the Context of Living with COVID-19 in a New Normal 2021-2023; (iii) the Agriculture Sector Strategic Development Plan, 2019-2023 for fisheries management; and (iv) the Strategic Planning Framework for Fisheries 20152024 to make coastal and marine fisheries sustainable and resilient. In 2018, the government issued Cambodia's Marine Fisheries Management Key Principles to incorporate more stringent measures to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in and outside Cambodia's exclusive economic zone. The project will also support the implementation of Cambodia's Updated Nationally Determined Contribution, which identifies climate resilience for capture fisheries and ecological restoration of coastal areas as national adaptation priorities. The project supports ADB's Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies, and pillar 3 on fostering green, inclusive, and sustainable growth under ADB's country partnership strategy for Cambodia, 2019-2023.

Coastal and marine fisheries resources made sustainable and resilient

Coastal and marine fish stocks recovered, and diversified climate-resilient income generated

Adaptive coastal and marine fisheries enhanced

Climate-resilient coastal infrastructure developed

Sustainable and inclusive marine businesses incubated and commercialized