Cambodia has adopted a national policy to achieve economic development through sustainable utilisation of the environment and natural resources during a cabinet meeting presided over by President Hun Sen.
In recent years, Cambodia has been the beneficiary of tremendous economic growth, with the IMF forecasting the economy to have expanded by 6.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2012. Yet the rapid consumption of natural resources resulting in unsustainable deforestation practices and worries over purported plans to use toxic chemicals in mines has risen greater awareness of the startling environmental impact unchecked growth can have.
The National Green Growth Roadmap 2013-2030 was approved during the weekly meeting of Cambodian governmental ministers on March 1 and proposes several short-, medium- and long-term solutions to obtaining sustainable growth in tune with sustaining natural capital.
The new developmental policy will work to oversee that the public is provided greater access to clean water and sanitation, renewable energy, information and technology, better mobility, finance and investment tools, food security and sustainable land use.
“The strategic plan for green growth 2013-2030 is to promote Cambodian economy towards the green economy, focusing on effective use of natural resources, environmental sustainability, green jobs, green technologies, green finance, green credit, and green investment,” a statement issued to the media said.
Cambodia already operates under several internationally recognised legal instruments for its economic development model, namely the memorandum of understanding on green growth cooperation signed with South Korea’s Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
Officially launched on in March 2010 by former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the GGGI focuses on advising member countries to form sustainable growth models through the conservation of natural resources.
By JUSTIN CALDERON