Through her lens: Capturing climate change and resilience in Cambodia

On Cambodia’s southern coast, Lina* rises before dawn to prepare for another day at sea, hoping to bring home enough to support her household and pay for her children’s education.

“Sometimes we spend the whole day at sea and catch nothing,” Lina says. “When that happens, our debt keeps increasing.”

Across Cambodia and around the world, women are not only living with the impacts of climate change, but leading responses that strengthen resilience and protect livelihoods.

Lina joined the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies photography project to share her perspective as a fisher. Implemented by UN Women and the United Nations Environment Programme, with support from the Governments of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland, the project helps women document how climate change is affecting their lives and livelihoods while strengthening their voices in discussions.

“This project gives participating women the tools and skills to document their experiences of climate change and make their realities visible,” said Sophea Khun, Country Programme Coordinator at UN Women Cambodia. “By sharing their stories, women can take the lead in conversations about climate justice and help shape the solutions their communities need.”

Lina has witnessed how the ocean that once sustained families is changing.

“In the past, the rain and wind followed familiar patterns,” she explains. “It is no longer like that.”

Unpredictable weather has made fishing far more dangerous. Sudden storms, strong winds and lightning can strike without warning. Meanwhile, fish catches have fallen sharply. Nets and equipment are costly to replace, so when damaged or lost, many fishers fall into debt.

Coastal erosion and rising tides are also reshaping the landscape around Lina’s village, which is now increasingly vulnerable to flooding. Through the EmPower programme, Lina began documenting these changes with her camera.

The training focused not only on the technical aspects of photography, but on creating space for reflection and storytelling, exploring how images can reveal changes that are often gradual or invisible. Through one-to-one discussions, as well as workshops, mentoring, practice and group discussion, Lina learned alongside other women how to build visual narratives that communicated her community’s experience of climate change. In the process, she began to find her voice.

“Joining the programme changed my mindset,” she says. “I became more confident. I dare to speak up and show what I can do.”

Today, her photos document both the challenges and resilience of her community.

Her photographs also point to solutions. Community members are working together to plant and protect mangroves, which help shield the coastline from storms and provide vital habitats for fish and crabs.

“Mangroves are very important for communities like ours,” Lina says. “If mangroves disappear, it is like losing our rice pot. People lose their food and income.”

These photos will form part of a group exhibition to be displayed in Phnom Penh later this year, alongside work by other members of the photography group.

“Lina’s story shows how powerful it can be when women have the tools to tell their own stories,” says Sophea Khun. “It builds confidence, strengthens leadership and highlights the vital role women play in leading climate action in their communities.”

“My message to women in other villages who may not yet have the courage to show the impacts they face is this: take photos and join community discussions to share what you are seeing,” says Lina. “If we do not speak out, authorities will not know our problems or be able to help.”

Lina’s story is a reminder that advancing rights, justice and action means recognizing and supporting the leadership of women on the front lines of climate change. When women have the tools to document their realities and share their voices, they become powerful agents of change in their communities.

*Name changed to protect identity.