1 Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004) Second Regional Workshop Capacity Development for the Clean Development Mechanism (CD4CDM) 23 March 2004 Siem Reap, Cambodia CAMBODIA’S APPROACH TO ASSESSING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR PROPOSED CDM PROJECTS Presented by Chea Chanthou, Project Counterpart, Ministry of Environment, Cambodia

2 What is Sustainable Development? Sustainable development has four aspects: Economic development Social development Environmental sustainability Technological development The only benefits for Cambodia consists of sustainable development benefits, thus it is important that each aspect be properly assessed for proposed CDM projects. Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

3 Approaches for Assessing Sustainable Development Criteria of CDM Projects Threshold approach: use a list of minimum criteria that the proposed CDM project must meet: no local job losses, no impact on biodiversity, no impact on public health, no pollution... Checklist approach: use a list of sustainable development indicators to score projects: Economic: GDP growth, jobs created... Social: contribution to education, impact on healthcare... Environment: impact on biodiversity, pollution emitted... Technological: transfer of technology, capacity building... Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

4 Existing Matrix Approaches for Assessing Sustainable Development Projects WWF Gold Standard: Three components: environmental sustainability, social development, economic and technical development Each indicator is rated between -3 and +3 Threshold: 0 for each component, 1 for overall matrix Southsouthnorth Three components: environmental sustainability, social development, economic and technical development Each indicator is rated between -2 and +2 Threshold:–1 for each indicator, 0 for each component Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

5 Cambodia’s Approach to Assessing Sustainable Development Indicators Review of all existing policies and regulations to determine Cambodia’s national sustainable development objectives Review of sustainable development practices from other countries and organisations Development of a matrix tool for Cambodia, combining checklist and threshold approaches Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

6 Designing a Procedure for Assessing Sustainable Development of CDM Projects Simple: the procedure is easily implemented, replicable, understandable and minimises decision-making time Cost effective: because only limited field surveys and consultations can be undertaken, the procedure makes effective use of government’s resources available Transparent: the details of the decision-making is made public Fair: the procedure is fair to all stakeholders, decisions are taken for objective reasons Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

7 Overview of the Cambodian Sustainable Development Assessment Matrix Environmental Protection and Improvement: pollution indicators, biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of resources, archeological conservation... Enhancement of Income and Quality of Life: poverty alleviation, community infrastructure, public health... Technology Transfer: appropriate technology, capacity building Economic Benefits: impact on national economy, rate of return... Adapted from T. De Lopez (2004)

8 Overview of the Cambodian Sustainable Development Assessment Matrix Each indicator is scored from –3 to serious negative impact 0 no impact +3 significant beneficial impact (best practise) For each indicator, a minimum score of 0 must be achieved (no negative impact). Negative points for a specific indicator cannot be counterbalanced by positive points for another indicator. Adapted from B. McIntosh and T. De Lopez (2003)