2009-10-19
(Posted by CAAI News Media)
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- At the first national forum held in Cambodia on climate change, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that poor countries are the most affected by the change of the climate.
"Poor countries are the ones mostly affected from the crisis that was originated elsewhere, because they have very little resources to cope with climate change," Hun Sen said at the opening of the first national forum on climate change in Phnom Penh.
"Very often, governments of poor countries have very limited intervention through rescue operation and relief efforts after the crisis already occurred," he said.
The three-day forum beginning from Monday was participated by many stakeholders coming from various sources including the government, international organizations, and experts. It aims to help the Cambodian public better understand that climate change is not just an environmental but a development issue with far-reaching consequences for Cambodia's progress toward achieving Millennium Development Goals.
Cambodia signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1995 which reflected its awareness on the issue as well as its determination and responsibility in the global effort to tackle climate change.
Hun Sen said the forum is a critical event because it opens the floor for sharing information and experience with other regional countries.
He said Cambodia has implemented program of climate change adaptation in late 2006, which has 39 projects for implementation to respond to immediate needs of communities to adapt themselves to climate change.
He also said "It is very encouraging to know that recently the European Union has pledged and is considering to provide a budget of two to 15 billion U.S. dollars annually to poor countries for implementing their adaptation measures."
But, Hun Sen alerted the success of this mechanism could be assured only with a good incentive scheme, justice and justified economic cost of legal relative to illegal use of forest.
"In addition to carbon absorption, forest protection and conservation brought a lot of benefits to community, country and the world," he said, and added "They include non-timber forest products for community, protecting watershed, regulating water level, fertilizing land, absorbing rain water, correcting weather condition, conserving biodiversities".
Editor: Wang Guanqun
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