A high risk to floods and droughts, as well as having few resources to rebound
from them, has led Cambodia to be ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries in the
world to natural disasters (Verisk Maplecroft 2015). The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) reports that temperatures across Southeast Asia have increased at
a rate of 0.14° C to 0.20° C per decade since the 1960s, with the number of cool days and
evenings having decreased overall (Barros et al. 2014). The average annual wet day
rainfall, despite climate variability and differing trends across the region, has increased
by 22mm per decade, while rainfall from extreme rain days has increased by 10 mm per
decade (Barros et al. 2014). Given this, a greater frequency of floods and droughts are
expected, which will likely reduce crop yields and cause much damage to infrastructure.
There may also be forest degradation, loss of wet and dry forest eco-systems, pest
infestations, and more volatile ground and surface water supplies. In addition, the IPCC
predicts that the timing and onset of the monsoon will be affected, where the rainy season
is expected to be shorter and wetter, and the dry season, drier and longer. These changes
will cause severe disruptions in rice production, fisheries, and other agricultural
processes. Because climate change and its impact on migration are difficult to pinpoint,
my research will focus on the repeated and slow-onset of environmental conditions over
time that, when added to other migration drivers, triggers migration. Migration, indeed,
is complex and often involves multiple drivers that work together to trigger the decision
to migrate.