Japan and ADB Help Tonle Sap Communities Participate in Development
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are helping raise the capability of communities in the most impoverished region in Cambodia to participate in an ongoing development initiative in the area. The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will provide a $1.5 million grant for the Building Community Capacity for Poverty Reduction Initiatives in the Tonle Sap Basin. ADB will manage the funding. The project will support training, demonstration and knowledge sharing with the community leaders, organizations and concerned government staff so that they can participate effectively in the poverty reduction efforts under the Tonle Sap Initiative. The initiative relies heavily on community participation and community-driven development. However, poor communities around the Tonle Sap Lake generally have weak organizations and have little experience in participating in such an initiative. “Building the capacity of the communities through the proposed grant will be crucial to accelerate poverty reduction in the Tonle Sap Basin,” said Urooj Malik, Director of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department. The successful implementation of the project should lead to a community consensus on participation and decision-making on poverty reduction. It should also encourage community organizations to develop and implement poverty reduction action plans. Knowledge of and lessons from poverty reduction interventions should also be properly disseminated to beneficiaries. ADB’s Tonle Sap Initiative, which was launched in 2002, is a partnership of organizations and people working to meet the poverty and environment challenges of the Tonle Sap area. Tonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, covering an area of 2,500-3,000 square kilometers during the dry season. The land, water and biological resources of Tonle Sap directly benefit 40% of the population of the provinces of Kampong Chhang, Kampong Thom and Pursat that adjoin the lake. The resources found in Tonle Sap Lake underpin food security and employment elsewhere and is of global significance for biodiversity conservation. The Tonle Sap Lake is not just a regional resource, but also a national one, as its waters flow between the lake and the Mekong River. Many of the people in the lowland rural communities that surround Tonle Sap depend on agriculture and they are vulnerable to shocks. Accidents and ill health, seasonal shortages of rainfall, water and food heighten the vulnerability of people in the lowlands. Despite the richness of the lake, the Tonle Sap region has the highest poverty rate in the country at 38%. About ADB | 
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