Over 40 years ago, Cambodia's most famous singer Sin Sisamuth wrote a song called the bridge in Otaki. This year, one LoCAL project has drawn special attention to Otaki again. In the province of Battambang, the Otaki community exceeded expectations and were able to build a new water gate that could potentially improve the lives of hundreds of families in the area.

Mr Pan Nath, the head of the commune smiles with pride: ‘Japanese engineers visited the site and told us they were jealous of our achievement – they told us that the technical specificities were really good’. But he also adds that to make the gate, over 200 meters of road needed to be renovated. This was a direly needed project. Thousands of people and even more hectares of paddy fields were flooded last year because of this water gate. (Video: A new Watergate for Otaki)

The quality of the design and the execution of the project produced very good results. The level of water overflow was calculated precisely so that only a certain amount of water can pass cross the gate. The rest of the water stays trapped at a level that maintains the natural habitat and serves the nearby villages on this side of the dike.

Mr Im Mith, Climate Change is the climate change project officer in Battambang (NCDDS). He joined LoCAL at the start of the second phase of scaling up. He explains that one of the biggest challenges has been to manage a large set of projects, with a tight deadline that was further shortened by the rainy season (see video).

Despite these small challenges, the project made strides by harnessing the support of the community and the central and local governments. Since its completion, the project became a pride for the community - not only because they think it is beautifully made but also because they see that it is drawing attention from influential visitors.

The NCDDS chose the dam in Otaki as a demonstration site to show the success of its decentralized approach. The model helps to demonstrate how infrastructure projects designed by local communities can build resilience to climate change and improve the livelihoods of farmers.

The project was showcased among major development stakeholders such as IFAD, adding funding and confidence to the development plans of the NCDDS. Inspired by this, other development partners are also taking heed and joining the efforts.

It is not the watergate itself that appeals to development partners – it is the process of implementation and the potential for scaling up. The beauty of the approach pioneered by LoCAL-UNCDF system comes from the participation and inputs of local communities and local governments: with the support of the NCDDS at central and provincial level, the local governments learn how to mainstream climate change in their existing development plans.

In this process, each community is asked to enhance its development plans by considering 'the climate change factor'. Naturally, this process helps to better communicate the complexities of climate change and to highlight the risks it could represent for each community. As a result, climate change adaptation becomes a natural part of local planning processes.