Cambodia’s water security has improved steadily over the past decade, reflecting progress in water supply access, governance reforms and disaster preparedness. The country’s water security assessment undertaken by the Asian Development Bank examines developments between 2013 and 2025 and links them to governance performance between 2017 and 2023 under the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.1.
During this period, Cambodia expanded access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, and strengthened disaster management systems. Urban water supply systems improved significantly, supported by governance reforms, new legal frameworks and stronger coordination. These trends are highlighted in the “Asian Water Development Outlook 2025: The Index of Water Security for Asia and the Pacific” report published in December 2025. Key excerpts from the report…
Dimension 1: Rural household water security
Cambodia has made meaningful progress in improving rural household water security. The rural household water security score (KD1) increased from 6.0 in 2013 to 9.1 in 2025, reflecting expanded access to WASH services and reduction in diarrhoeal disease due to increased investment in water supply infrastructure.
Despite recent progress, rural water services remain vulnerable to disruption. Climate variability and growing competition between domestic consumption and irrigation places additional pressure on already limited water resources. Additionally, groundwater degradation and financing constraints are emerging as long-term concerns. Despite national strategies, rural WASH implementation in Cambodia remains constrained by funding gaps, with only 3 per cent of financing sourced domestically and heavy reliance on external support.
Dimension 2: Economic water security
Economic water security in Cambodia remains under pressure despite incremental improvements in infrastructure and planning. The economic water security score (KD2) declined slightly from 12.0 in 2013 to 11.1 in 2025, indicating persistent constraints in water availability and productivity for economic sectors such as agriculture, industry and energy.
Limited irrigation infrastructure and inefficient water management practices continue to reduce agricultural productivity. Recent improvements have been insufficient to reverse the earlier decline in access to water for productive uses.
Dimension 3: Urban water security
Urban water security has improved significantly over the past decade. Cambodia’s urban water security score (KD3) rose from 6.3 in 2013 to 14.6 in 2025, reflecting major gains in urban water supply and sanitation coverage. This progress has been driven by strong government commitment to achieving full coverage of urban water supply, sanitation and hygiene services.
Centralised utilities, regulatory reforms and increased private sector participation have helped expand service delivery in major cities such as Phnom Penh. Innovative financing mechanisms, including cross-subsidies and social funds, have also improved access for lower-income communities.
Dimension 4: Environmental water security
Cambodia’s environmental water security has remained relatively stable but faces emerging risks. The environmental water security score (KD4) increased slightly from 13.5 in 2013 to 13.8 in 2025, reflecting generally stable aquatic ecosystems and moderate environmental governance.
Nevertheless, environmental pressures are intensifying. Deforestation, agricultural expansion and wetland encroachment are altering watershed conditions and degrading ecosystem health. Although environmental governance indicators remain relatively strong, declining groundwater levels signal emerging long-term risks.
Dimension 5: Water-related disaster security
Cambodia is highly exposed to water-related disasters, particularly seasonal floods and droughts. The water-related disaster security score (KD5) improved from 8.2 in 2013 to 13.3 in 2025, reflecting stronger disaster preparedness and improved community response mechanisms.
These improvements are largely the result of initiatives led by the National Committee for Disaster Management, which has strengthened early-warning systems and local preparedness networks. Community-based disaster management programmes have also increased awareness and resilience in vulnerable regions. Despite these advances, Cambodia remains highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, infrastructure gaps and other challenges.
Water governance and institutional framework
Cambodia has made steady progress in strengthening water governance. Under SDG indicator 6.5.1, the country’s overall IWRM implementation score increased from 46 per cent in 2017 to 62 per cent in 2023, reflecting improvements in policy frameworks, institutional coordination and stakeholder participation.
The enabling environment score rose from 54 per cent to 66 per cent, supported by legal instruments such as the 2007 Water Law, the 2023 Environmental and Natural Resource Code and the 2023 Law on the Management of Clean Water Supply. Institutional and participation indicators also improved from 46 per cent to 68 per cent, indicating stronger inter-agency co-ordination and stakeholder engagement.
Management instruments strengthened from 50 per cent to 63 per cent, supported by operational tools such as cross-subsidy mechanisms to expand water access. Financing indicators increased from 37 per cent in 2017 to 52 per cent in 2023, though progress has slowed due to limited national and subnational funding.
Charting future pathways
Cambodia has strengthened its legal and institutional framework for water governance, leading to measurable improvements in rural water access, urban services, environmental management and disaster resilience. However, declining economic water security highlights persistent structural challenges, including infrastructure gaps, inefficient water use and increasing climate-related pressures on water resources. Cambodia’s key challenge is not the absence of policy frameworks but the gap between legislation and implementation. Strengthening enforcement, introducing regulatory tools such as water licensing and groundwater management, and accelerating basin-level planning are critical to improving resource allocation and operationalising IWRM.
Besides, the forthcoming IWRM Action Plan 2026-2030 presents a key opportunity to advance these priorities. Strengthening regulatory frameworks, accelerating basin planning, improving data systems and increasing public investment in water infrastructure will be critical to translating governance reforms into tangible improvements in water security.
Based on inputs from the “Asian Development Bank’s Asian Water Development Outlook 2025: The Index of Water Security for Asia and the Pacific” report.
