Cambodia’s Women Champions lead the way on climate resilience

Author: Jocelyn Pederick

From coastal communities to inland farms, Cambodian women are on the front lines of a changing climate, and increasingly, they are also on the front lines of the response.

“Women are already leading climate resilience in their communities,” says Sophoarn Sok, UN Women Programme Analyst for EmPower in Cambodia. “Our role is to help strengthen that leadership, so their knowledge, priorities and solutions are recognized in climate and disaster decision-making.”

Piloted in June 2026, a new training programme is equipping Cambodia’s Women Champions with leadership skills in climate change and disaster risk reduction. This initiative is supported by the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies programme, jointly implemented by UN Women and the United Nations Environment Programme, with support from the Governments of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland.

The need for this work is increasingly urgent.

In a fishing village on Cambodia’s coast, 51-year-old cockle farmer En Theavy

remembers the year almost a ton of blood cockle seeds died before they could be harvested. “From March to April, the temperature becomes very hot,” she says. “This affects the sea and the marine resources that our families depend on.”

Inland, 29-year-old farmer Ou Mari sees the same pattern in her vegetable fields: “When it is hot, it becomes extremely hot, and when it rains, the rain is very heavy. It affects our family’s livelihood because we depend on the vegetables for income.”

These impacts are not experienced equally.

“For women, the impact is broader,” says Vireaksopheakmukul Mongkul, Project Officer from ActionAid Cambodia. “They have to think about family safety, care responsibilities, food, income and community needs at the same time.”

For 26-year-old Ith Sophoarn, who lives with a disability, the effects reach further. “These changes affect my health, especially when I get strong headaches. When I am not well, it becomes very difficult for me to work. If I cannot work, I will lose my income.”

That gap is what the Women Champion Network was built to close. Founded in 2017, the network is active in Kampot, Koh Kong, Pursat and Kampong Thom. Members support women’s livelihoods, lead community meetings and mobilize resources for disaster preparedness.

In late June 2026, thirty Women Champions from Kampot and Koh Kong came together in Phnom Penh for a two-and-a-half-day training on transformative leadership for climate change and disaster risk reduction. Developed following a needs assessment with the network’s civil society partner, the practical workshop strengthened participants’ leadership skills and their ability to speak up, influence decisions and support more inclusive climate and disaster preparedness.

For many participants, the clearest outcome is confidence. "I was shy and afraid to speak," says Oeung Sinan, a 42-year-old farmer and small-scale livestock producer from Koh Toch Commune in Kampot Province. As a Women Champion in Bokor, she takes part in community forums, raises local concerns and helps mobilize support for local development. "Now, I have the courage to speak in public forums, raise issues and share my opinions at larger events."

Participants now plan to take what they have learned back to their villages and communities. As Mongkul explains, the aim is for these 30 women to become agents of change, not only for other women, but for the wider community.

As Ith Sophoarn puts it, simply: “I feel that I also have a place, a voice, and the ability to contribute to my community.”