Connecting the dots: toward sustainable groundwater management in Cambodia

The study on Strengthening groundwater governance in rapidly urbanizing areas of the Lower Mekong Region supported through SUMERNET identified that Cambodia lags behind among its neighbors in the Mekong Region in terms of institutional frameworks and capacity for governing its groundwater.

Local authorities are also exploring alternative sources such as rainwater and surface water. In Siem Reap, part of the city water supply is drawn from ancient artificial reservoir - Baray but opting for surface water entails multiple treatment and supply infrastructure as opposed to groundwater. Local water supply authorities believe groundwater to be a cost-effective option. However sinking levels and identifiable instance of land subsidence has made it a no-go alternative now. The local authorities are struggling to govern groundwater sustainably while ensuring water supply for growing population and expanding economic activities. Many groups such as technical experts and water bottling business expressed their concerns about the declining groundwater level in their wells. They often need to relocate and dig deeper wells. Currently, there is no restriction on drilling bore wells.

The challenges are many, but solutions are still being sought. Fortunately, the Cambodian government has recognized the issue as country’s priority and has been taking initiative to address them. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), under the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) has been tasked with overseeing the regulation and management of groundwater. The major challenges have been the absence of comprehensive regulation and policies on groundwater use, lack of enforcement of existing rules and regulations, limited technical capacity and expertise among concerned agencies for groundwater management. The lack of data and fragmented availability of data across different agencies means that nobody is aware of the complete picture of the groundwater situation in Cambodia. Groundwater management is at best understood within institutional silos with limited collaboration, inadequate financial support, and lack of awareness among citizens.

Ways forward

Maximize the use of existing data: One frequent mention during the visit was existing data being scattered across various agencies. This prevents stakeholders from utilizing the data to their full potential. Building a connected, transparent, and accessible data infrastructure would enable stakeholders to maximize the potential value of the existing data. Data should also be made available to researchers and academia, who can help translate these data to meaningful information to benefit the authorities in making sound decisions.

Strengthening inter-ministerial collaborations: As the review undertaken in the GIRA study highlights, currently groundwater management straddles as many as ten departments across various ministries, including agriculture and rural development, industry and mines, and Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS). This calls for establishing a joint working group including representatives of various departments to develop commonly agreed upon rules and regulations for governing the country’s groundwater.

Building capacity: Although the government has a strong will to address this critical issue of groundwater management, the limited capacity of technical and human resources hinders the realization of the plan such as conducting a thorough geohydrological mapping across Cambodia. The first step towards addressing the groundwater challenge will involve understanding the complex geohydrological features of Cambodia and how the resource is distributed. A detailed aquifer mapping along with a network of groundwater monitoring stations based on the aquifer characteristics and status would be a crucial first step to embark upon.

Inclusive approach: While technical aspects that provide scientific evidence are critical to successful policy development, it is imperative that the communities are engaged through the process as they possess local, traditional knowledge that can provide vital clues on how communities have understood and used the resource. To craft a forward-looking framework, groundwater governance calls for an adaptive framework that brings together top-down regulation and governance with the bottom-up participatory process to use and manage the resource. The dimension of gender and social inclusion must be actively incorporated into the policy-making process.

Public awareness: Promoting public awareness is an important element for responsible water consumption. In addition to augmenting supplies, it is critical to focus on demand-side management, educating the public on the efficient and wise use of this finite resource. It is imperative to work with industry (especially the tourism sector and private sector bottling units) to inculcate best practices on wise use, explore options for the use of grey water, and also identify managed recharge potential to ensure maximum recharge of depleted aquifers.

Lessons learned from neighboring countries: Authorities can take advantage of lessons learned in building robust framework through peer-to-peer learning, such as Thailand’s advanced groundwater management policies. However, the solutions adopted should be tailored to the specific context as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Leveraging international support: The financial burden associated with realization of groundwater governance plan is one of the recurring challenges for Cambodian authorities. Collaborating with international partners and organizations can help alleviate this burden and provide necessary resources for effective groundwater management.

As Cambodia seeks to establish a comprehensive and locally responsive groundwater management framework, the support and collaboration of multiple actors will be critical. By addressing challenges to data utilization, inter-ministerial collaborations, capacity building, and public awareness, Cambodia can pave the way toward sustainable groundwater management.

 As an initial step towards developing a robust groundwater management framework, SEI Asia and AIT through the SUMERNET rapid response fund will be supporting DWSS in establishing an indicative groundwater management plan focused on identifying key areas to focus and capacity development of the staff at the department to understand groundwater and learn assessment tools and techniques towards devising strategies for regulating groundwater use.

Note:

This piece is based on a dissemination workshop in Siem Reap on 10 June 2023 to share the findings from this SUMERNET project on groundwater. The workshop provided a platform for diverse stakeholders – government authorities such as Siem Reap Water Supply Authority, Apsara Authority, local civil society organizations (CSOs), media, hotel industry representatives, small private businesses, and community representatives – to discuss and share their opinions on the groundwater issues in the Siem Reap province.

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