Hitting harder and hitting home:
The Kingdom of Cambodia is ranked the 19th most impacted country among 181 countries between 1998-2017. Estimated loss and damage from climate change was USD1.5 billion in 2015 alone. The impacts of El Niño hit the household level harder, with 13 per cent of households reporting taking additional loans averaging at USD1,282 each. Moreover, it is projected that climate change impacts will continue increasing and could victimise 61% of the rural Cambodian population; in particular, it will impact about 7 million smallholder farmers and 25,000 workers in construction industry.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has acknowledged that the rural poor population, of which a majority are women, are the most affected by climate change impacts. Women in this population have livelihoods that predominantly depend on agriculture and natural resources.
The Cambodia Women’s Resilience Index (WRI) identifies areas that need to be strengthened in both policy and practice, and where women can advocate for positive change to build their individual and community resilience at the local level. in It compares women’s and men’s resilience to disaster risks along four pillars of resilience: Economic, Infrastructure, Social, and Institutional. This index builds upon the South Asia Women’s Resilience Index. It also builds upon ActionAid’s Human Rights-Based Approach and Resilience Framework.