The project was developed with the participation of local communities and authorities, community fisheries committees, and local officials from Peam Chor district Office of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and of the Fisheries Administration, and staff of Chetthor organization.
Before the project proposal was developed, the community fisheries committees from three communes conducted Vulnerability Reduction Assessment (VRA) in 10 target villages through a process facilitated and coordinated by Chetthor staff and thus defined community?s priority issues and needs in relation to climate change (biodiversity) to build their capacity to adapt to climate change impacts.
According to the VRA findings, droughts occur frequently, resulting in water shortage particularly for crop and rice farming irrigation in the dry season. Fish catch declines year after year due to loss of flooded forest that provides for fish spawning grounds in the wet season, application of illegal fishing practices, and lack of knowledge and limited management capacity. The decline in rice and other crop production is due to frequent pest infestation and preservation of seeds for some crops such as corn, bean, and rice for farming in the next farming season is not possible. Warmer weather causes human, animals, and crop to suffer from a range of illnesses. This is a challenge for local livelihood and some people become desperate and decide on migration in search for jobs. Families pull their children out of school and send them to work in garment factories to help generate household incomes. Lack of human resource, technology, capital, irrigation scheme, information, and adequate experiences constrain their capacity from adapting to climate change.
The project purpose is to restore and improve the state of biodiversity and socio-economy of the rural poor in the area. The project will direct its efforts to the poorest, particularly the households most affected by climate change in the community.
The project to be implemented in a district, covering 3 communes and 11 villages in Prey Veng province by the existing community fisheries committees and to support 22 self help groups of 330 members, of them 200 are women.
1.2 Objective
People?s livelihood is improved, with an increase in fish production and flooded forest area in Prek Chor, former fishing lot # 16.
1.3 Outcomes
Outcome 1: The ecosystem is enhanced through the restoration of 2,000 m streams, 1.5 m depth, 5 m top width, and 2 m bottom width, and 3 ha of flooded forest planted.
Outcome 2: Community?s livelihood is improved and their vulnerability to climate change mitigated through provision of appropriate technology for adaptation to climate change and means to expand their agricultural based livelihood.
1.3 Key expected outputs

Output 1.1 (Outcome 1): Prek Chor canal is rehabilitated to provide water for irrigation in the dry season of over 1,857 ha of land (for 1,414 households) to displace current use of underground water from wells that causes soil degradation;

Output 1.2 (Outcome 2): Self help groups of 330 households, 55 per cents of whom are women, increased their income from agriculture by 30 percents.

1.4 Major project activities
Short term output 1.1.1 (Output 1.1, Outcome 1): Prek Chor 2,000 m, depth 1.5 m, 0.5 m top width and 2 m bottom width is rehabilitated;

Activities:
- Organise a meeting to raise awareness of the project on biodiversity and protected areas in 11 target villages;
- Organise a meeting with fisheries officials and relevant authorities to discuss the plan for the rehabilitation of the stream;
- Advertise for service providers through commune procurement committee to rehabilitate the canal;
- Organize the procurement of a service provider for the rehabilitation work;
- Rehabilitate the canal, 2,000 m long, 1.5 m top depth, 0,5 m top width and 2 m bottom width, and monitor and evaluate the quality of the rehabilitation; and
- Monitor and evaluate the service offered by the service provider.

Short term output 1.2.1 (Output 1.1, Outcome 1): 3 ha flooded forest reforested to enhance biodiversity and protected by a patrol team.

Activities:
- Organise a meeting with fisheries officials and local authority to discuss a plan to reforest a flooded forest over 3 ha land;
- Purchase 3,600 tree saplings for the reforestation of 3 ha protected area designated for conservation;
- Collaborate with local authority, fisheries administration, and relevant stakeholders to plant trees over the 3 ha land;
- Produce 2 signs for the newly reforested area;
- Patrol teams coordinated by community fisheries committees patrol the forest and ponds within their community fisheries areas;
- Organise a meeting with existing community fisheries committees and make sure the committees are able to take the responsibility for water management and utilisation;
- Organise a meeting to develop an internal rule for water management and utilisation by the committee; and
- Provide a motor boat to community fisheries committees for monitoring, facilitating, and motivating relevant stakeholders to engage in implementing the project successfully;

Short term output 1.3.1 (Output 1.1, Outcome 1): 297 community members and 108 members of community fisheries committees and local authority understood of natural resource management and impacts of climate change;

Activities:
- Organise meetings in 11 target villages - 2 meetings in a village with 297 participants (of whom 200 are women) to raise awareness on natural resource management and impacts of climate change;
- Provide training for 108 people in total from community fisheries, all villages and communes, patrol teams, community fisheries committees, village/ commune officials, and local police officers on the fisheries law, and impacts of climate change;
- Organise quarterly meetings for community fisheries committees in the 3 communes with commune councils to monitor project implementation and to mainstream the project into the commune development plans;
- Conduct quarterly meetings with community fisheries committees, commune councils and district governor to present the results from the project implementation and follow-up plan; and
- Organise a ceremony to release fingerlings and a campaign against illegal fishing and to raise awareness on the impacts of climate change.
Short term output 2.1.1 (Output 2.1, Outcome 2): Self help groups have increased capacity to effectively manage and use group?s fund to expand agriculture based livelihood activities.
Activities:
- Collaborate with village officials and commune councils to organize meetings with 11 target villages to establish 22 self help groups;
- Organise meetings with 22 self help groups to develop internal rule and consult with them on plans for income generation;
- Provide training courses for members of the 22 self help groups on climate change resilient agriculture;
- With the assistance of experts, provide funding to 22 self help groups to develop their agriculture based livelihood activities; and
- Provide trainings on leadership, accounting and financial management for 66 members of the management of the self help groups;

Output 2.2.1 (Output 2.1, Outcome 2): 75 households of 330 households understand climate change resilient agricultural techniques.

Activities:
- Provide 75 members of the communities with climate change resilient agricultural techniques; and
- Monitor, motivate and encourage the project team to ensure a successful implementation of the project.

Short term output 2.3.1 (Output 2.1, Outcome 2): 40 to 60 percents of 75 households who have been trained on climate change resilient agriculture apply their knowledge effectively.

Activities:
- Bey Khum Community fisheries committees and agricultural professionals monitor, motivate and encourage the project team to ensure successful implementation;
- Conduct a study tour outside of the province by the management of the self help groups, community fisheries committees and commune councillors;
- Document case studies by the self help groups and organise rice field demonstration;
- Prepare a photo story on the positive changes resulting from the project implementation;
- Organise a meeting to present results from the projects at the commune level; and
- Conduct end of project evaluation by an independent agency.