Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) Cambodia

The PEARL project aims to protect the livelihoods of approximately 550,000 farmers and value-chain actors in Cambodia's Northern Tonle Sap Basin (NTSB) from climate-driven droughts and floods. By shifting focus from conventional rice to high-value, drought-tolerant crops like cashew, mango, organic rice, and vegetables, the project seeks to increase adaptive capacity and income. The strategy employs Public-Social-Private Partnerships (PSPPs) to remove barriers to premium markets, utilizing certification schemes (e.g., CamGAP, GI, organic) and introducing advanced agro-hydrometeorological early warning systems. The project is budgeted at US$ 40.635 million, with US$ 34.485 million requested as a grant from the Green Climate Fund.

• The Northern Tonle Sap Basin (NTSB) is highly vulnerable to climate change, characterized by increasing temperatures and shifts in precipitation that lead to more severe droughts and intense wet-season rainfall.
• Conventional rain-fed rice production in the NTSB is projected to see a significant decline in agro-climatic suitability by 2080 without adaptation measures.
• High-value upland crops such as cashew and mango, as well as organic rice and vegetables, are identified as climate-resilient alternatives to conventional rice that can increase the adaptive capacity of farmers.
• Smallholder farmers and SMEs face five critical barriers to climate adaptation: lack of reliable agro-hydrometeorological forecasting, limited risk awareness, lack of technical/financial support for diversified agriculture, poor environmental management, and limited institutional coordination.
• The project will implement a Public-Social-Private Partnership (PSPP) model to leverage private investment and create shared social value, focusing on market-based incentives through certification schemes like CamGAP, Geographical Indication (GI), and organic certification.
• A core technical component of the project is the establishment of a sector-focused early warning system to provide location-specific forecasts for drought, rainfall, pests, and diseases.
• The project targets approximately 550,000 farmers and value-chain actors, and more than 500,000 consumers, representing about 7% of Cambodia's population.
• The total indicative cost of the project is US$ 40,635,000, with a requested GCF grant of US$ 34,485,000 and US$ 6.15 million in indicative co-financing.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) Cambodia. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23210-public-social-private-partnerships-ecologically-sound-agriculture-and-resilient-livelihood.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) Cambodia. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23210-public-social-private-partnerships-ecologically-sound-agriculture-and-resilient-livelihood.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) Cambodia |date=20 August 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23210-public-social-private-partnerships-ecologically-sound-agriculture-and-resilient-livelihood.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020publicsocialprivate, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Public-Social-Private Partnerships for Ecologically-Sound Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood in Northern Tonle Sap Basin (PEARL) Cambodia}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/23210-public-social-private-partnerships-ecologically-sound-agriculture-and-resilient-livelihood.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }