Cambodia Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing; coastal ecosystems choked by sediment washed loose from deforested areas inland

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Climate

tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation

Land use

agricultural land: 32.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 22.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 8.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 56.5% (2018 est.)

other: 11.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 25.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.84% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 17.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 9.92 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 14.88 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1.089 million tons (2014 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Tonle Sap - 2,700-16,000 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Mekong (shared with China [s], Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 2.05 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

476.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)