TITLE:
Who Pays for Climate-Resilient WASH? Supplier Perspectives on Pro-Poor Financing and Adaptation in Rural Cambodia
AUTHORS:
Lien Pham
KEYWORDS:
Climate-Resilient WASH, Pro-Poor Financing, Rural Service Delivery, Supplier Perspectives, Climate Adaptation, Rural Cambodia
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.16 No.3,
March
9,
2026
ABSTRACT: Climate change is intensifying risks to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in rural Cambodia, raising questions about how climate-resilient services can be delivered equitably and who should finance them. Small-scale private WASH suppliers play a central role in rural service delivery, yet their perspectives are rarely reflected in WASH program design. This study examines how rural Cambodian WASH suppliers understand climate adaptation, financing, and pro-poor provision. Drawing on focus group discussions and a scenario-based preference-ranking exercise, it explores adaptation measures suppliers are willing to deliver, financing instruments they consider acceptable, and how free provision for poor households should be financed. The findings show that suppliers prioritise adaptations aligned with existing capabilities, favour financing arrangements that reduce operational and repayment risk, and support free provision only when costs are covered through public or concessional sources. These results contribute supplier-level evidence to debates on climate-resilient and pro-poor WASH financing.