Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia
(PUC)
Course: Environmental Science
Lecturer: James Adams Carver
Term Paper Topic:
Cambodia’s food security challenges and energy
independence.
Student’s name: SOTH Bun Heng
ID Card: 06500
Cambodia’s food security challenges and energy independence.
Cambodia is a country among other country in South-East Asia. Nowadays, Cambodia is
going to challenges with the food security and energy independence. Cambodia is a country, which
is economy development. There are many projects that Cambodia needs to process in the future,
but there are also a lot of problems that Cambodia faced now. Food security and energy
independence are the important things that we should be thinking about and solve the problems
that already has been happened. Cambodians people 70 percent live in rural area are depending on
agriculture and fishing. However, food security is the problem we faced in nowadays. Cambodian
are challenges with the food security, it caused by lacking of the proteins, nutrition, and less
calories. Cambodia needs to process energy independence as soon to reduce the citizens concern,
because the electricity is highest price, and the supply of power is not enough for whole country.
Actually, we still depending to import the energy power neighbors country, so that is why the costs
is high and without stable. According to Piesse (2016) Cambodia is planned to construct the
hydropower to make the energy for the country requirement. Hydropower does not pollute the
water or the air. However, hydropower facilities can have large environmental impacts by
changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area.
Anyways, the food security and energy independence will affects with those planned also.
However, there are three solutions should be useful to solve the problems such as divide the small
waterway from the main river, using solar power, and using wind power.
First of all, the solution is to divide the small water way from Mekong river to the
community that located along the Mekong river. The Hydropower will be happen in Cambodia in
the future soon, so this is a small solution, but it useful to avoid from food security challenges and
energy independence. In addition, the citizens would be able to do fishing, farming, and water
security. Anyways, Cambodian people are able to get a part of food security and energy
independence. As a result, waterway is very important people, if we living without water or no
enough water, it will faced with many problems, so this is show the reflection shape of Cambodia.
For example, food security and energy independence are very important, in which we cannot
lacking of even one. Therefore, we should use this one solution to solve Cambodia’s food security
and energy independence.
Meanwhile, using solar power, which is a good solution we should use to solve the food
security and energy independence. Solar power, which is a renewable energy. However, it was
happened already in the most of country in the worlds. According to Holowka (2017), solar power
systems is clean, and the power is getting from the sunlight. However, there are many benefits that
we get from using solar power. For example, using solar power less affects to environmental than
using the energy from hydropower, so we do not need to constructs the hydropower, then we use
the solar power instead. Mekong river is flowing through Cambodia, when we build many
hydropower through Mekong river that flow through Cambodia and will challenges with the food
security problems as much. The reason because waterway is important to share the flowing way
to other local, and is convenience to Cambodian people who rely on agriculture, and fishing.
Actually, Cambodia in dry season is needs the water as much, because some area does not have
enough water to use, the water does not flow reach to some location, where they live, it caused by
the Dan hydropower, and the food security starting happened. Although, making use solar power
is saving and avoid from the environmental problems and it also avoid from food security
challenges, but we have stable with energy independence.
Furthermore, using wind power is a renewable energy, which is pure sources from the wind
power. It is the new discovery to solve other problems which caused by use energy power. Wind
energy doesn't pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels. Anyway,
reduce from using fossil, oil, and gas which make the planet decrease the pollution. On the other
hand, wind power using wind energy is not affects to food security. In contras, we can the energy
independence and also food security. As the solutions describes above which talking how to solve
the problems that make from hydropower, that what is affects to food security and energy
independence. It does not at all problems, but it solution which we could use to solve when we
faced with that situation. However, get the energy from wind power it will always be there to
support future technological advances to create environmentally friendly green city (green city).
In conclusion, Cambodia’s food security and energy independence are very important for
populations in whole country. As a result, Cambodians are need food security and energy
independence, so there are three important solutions to solve the problems, which involve with the
Mekong river caused by construct hydropower and affects to food security for Cambodians.
Making other small waterway from the Mekong river is one solution, using solar power and wind
energy is the other solutions to get avoid from food security challenges and energy independence.
References
Holowka, T. (April 5, 2017). Top four benefits of installing solar panels on your home. Retrieved
(October 25, 2017) from https://www.usgbc.org/articles/top-four-benefits-installing-solar-panelsyour-home
Piesse, M. (May 26, 2016). Livelihoods and Food Security on the Mekong River. Retrieved
(October
25, 2017)
security-mekong-river/
from
http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/livelihoods-food-