Over the past two decades, Cambodia has undergone a significant transition and achieved lower middle-income status, following a rapid market transformation that moved away from the country’s reliance on agriculture [3]. Through its Vision 2050, the country aspires to attain upper middle-income status by 2030, and high-income status by 2050. Between 1998 and 2019, Cambodia’s economy sustained an average real growth rate of 7.7%, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Economic growth was largely driven by garment exports and tourism [4].

Despite economic growth, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in Asia. Poverty is concentrated in rural areas, where elderly women and households headed by women are particularly vulnerable. Poverty reduction between 2007 and 2012 was largely driven by high agricultural commodity prices. Lower rice and rubber prices and adverse weather conditions in 2013 and 2015 led rural households to diversify to nonfarm wage employment and small businesses [5].

Cambodia’s Human Development Index (2017) reveals notable gender disparities: women show lower gains on expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, and per capita income than men. Since women account for a larger share of the population (there are 94 men to every 100 women) and comprise 48.9% of the labour force, developing this critical human resource is key for productivity growth [5].

Cambodia’s level of urbanization, at 21% in 2018, is lower than what would be expected of a country with similar levels of GDP. Currently urban growth in the country has been uneven, with one large city (Phnom Penh), followed by relatively few secondary cities and many small towns. The urban growth has been largely unplanned, which can result in sprawl and congestion, slums, vulnerability to flooding, pollution and poor service delivery, and hamper longer term growth [6].

There is wide recognition of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) as an engine to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Cambodia has recognized the role of innovation to achieve SDGs in its Rectangular Strategy, Phase IV (RS-IV) as well as its Vision 2050. In 2021, Cambodia launched its Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Roadmap 2030 with five strategies: (i) enhance the governance structure of the STI system; (ii) develop the national STI workforce; (iii) strengthen research capacity and quality; (iv) increase collaboration and linkages between different stakeholders; and (v) foster an enabling ecosystem for innovation [7].

Hazards in Cambodia include almost every possible hydrometeorological event, from floods, storms, and tropical cyclones to droughts. Of these, riverine flooding poses the highest risk in terms of Average Annual Loss to capital stock. Fires, epidemics, lightning strikes, and landslides (in the northern mountainous regions) also contribute to disaster risk in Cambodia [8].