Cambodia Development Review   29 - 3

Gender Dimensions of Climate-Induced Migration: Evidence from Three Provinces in Rural Cambodia


Published: 31-Oct-2025
Keyword: Climate change, climate-induced migration, gender dimensions, ESA framework, socioeconomic factors
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Abstract/Summary

Climate change has negatively affected agricultural productivity, threatening the incomes and livelihoods of rural farmers. These pressures have led to both permanent and temporary migration. Migration trends are often internal or international, and their patterns vary significantly between men and women. Drawing on primary data from 377 migrant individuals across Kratie, Mondulkiri, and Stung Treng provinces, this paper explores the relationship between climate-related impacts and migration using the Exposure-Sensitivity-Adaptability (ESA) framework, with an emphasis on the gender dimension of vulnerability that induces migration. The findings show that climate hazards are a major driving force, with women being more likely than men to migrate when affected. Key factors include regional household differences, farmland size, and migration type. To address the impacts of climate-induced migration, the paper proposes policy recommendations involving ensuring legal and social protections, promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices, focusing on large-farm households, implementing community awareness programmes on climate adaptation, providing women’s leadership training, and improving infrastructure and livelihood diversification, especially in Stung Treng province.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64202/cdr.29.3.202510




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