nder the Radar is a weekly special series bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world, one region at a time. This week in Asia, Cambodia’s innovative approach to schooling intended to make education resilient to climate change is at risk. Other noteworthy under–the–radar stories from the region include identity crisis for a rebuilding Nepalese village–turned–tourist–destination, the genetically mutated divers of Jeju Island, and India’s controversial addition of caste identification in census polling.
Cambodia is one of the countries working with the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative from 2024 to 2026 to improve education resilience amidst the climate crisis. This cooperation will allow schools to evaluate climate–related risks and improve the schools’ infrastructure, ensuring students will continue to learn despite the climate crisis. In Cambodia, the major climate crisis–related risks to education include flooding and extreme heat from the dry season, which impact transportation, schools, students, and teachers alike. A May 2025 piece shows that Cambodia’s floating schools are especially struggling to develop resilience in the climate crisis.
Cambodia’s floating schools are essential to the country’s floating fishing villages, allowing the children of the fishing families to continue their education despite their villages’ locations on the water. As one might expect, floating schools encounter unique obstacles. For instance, parents often prevent their children from attending these schools until they can swim to ensure their safety, which means that students in these schools start school years later than their peers. Similarly, finding teachers willing to teach in such conditions is difficult. However, given the importance of these floating schools in these communities, the villages have worked diligently to ensure they can accommodate their youth. For example, to accommodate for shortages in teachers, Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport developed an early grade reading program for the country, with already–developed lesson plans and mentors for teachers to make their jobs easier. Organization Aide et Action also developed a mobile library system to support students’ reading efforts in their unique schools.
And now the climate crisis is making access to these floating schools more challenging. Cambodia’s flooding makes accessing these schools dangerous for students and teachers. Similarly, the climate crisis is exacerbating meningitis and other diseases, preventing students from being able to attend classes, as more of them are getting sick. Yet the students at the floating schools have showcased their own resilience, becoming environmental activists advocating for their education.
There is hope as these floating schools already embody education resilience and continue implementing new strategies to best serve their students. Notably, as the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative continues to work alongside Cambodian schools, the climate crisis resilient infrastructure could continue to improve access to education for students, perhaps by implementing remote learning and online classes that would not require students to traverse large, dangerous distances.
Here are some other under–the–radar stories from across Asia:
- A Nepal village was destroyed by an earthquake in 2015, and in rebuilding, the village found success in becoming a tourist destination, but now the locals do not recognize their village’s identity.
- Scientists discovered that a community of women divers on Jeju Island has genetically mutated to be better suited for deep diving.
- India will include caste details in their upcoming census, despite how controversial the debates around this have been in the past, to allegedly better support social programs.
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Cambodia’s floating schools are at risk from the climate crisis
Children riding a boat to school in the floating village of Kompong Khleang, Cambodia. Image courtesy of Rob Sheridan via Flickr. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
May 16, 2025
Diplomatic Courier’s Stephanie Gull brings you weekly under–the–radar stories from around the world. This week in Asia: Cambodia’s floating schools are struggling due to the effects of the climate crisis, but students are proving their resilience.
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nder the Radar is a weekly special series bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world, one region at a time. This week in Asia, Cambodia’s innovative approach to schooling intended to make education resilient to climate change is at risk. Other noteworthy under–the–radar stories from the region include identity crisis for a rebuilding Nepalese village–turned–tourist–destination, the genetically mutated divers of Jeju Island, and India’s controversial addition of caste identification in census polling.
Cambodia is one of the countries working with the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative from 2024 to 2026 to improve education resilience amidst the climate crisis. This cooperation will allow schools to evaluate climate–related risks and improve the schools’ infrastructure, ensuring students will continue to learn despite the climate crisis. In Cambodia, the major climate crisis–related risks to education include flooding and extreme heat from the dry season, which impact transportation, schools, students, and teachers alike. A May 2025 piece shows that Cambodia’s floating schools are especially struggling to develop resilience in the climate crisis.
Cambodia’s floating schools are essential to the country’s floating fishing villages, allowing the children of the fishing families to continue their education despite their villages’ locations on the water. As one might expect, floating schools encounter unique obstacles. For instance, parents often prevent their children from attending these schools until they can swim to ensure their safety, which means that students in these schools start school years later than their peers. Similarly, finding teachers willing to teach in such conditions is difficult. However, given the importance of these floating schools in these communities, the villages have worked diligently to ensure they can accommodate their youth. For example, to accommodate for shortages in teachers, Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport developed an early grade reading program for the country, with already–developed lesson plans and mentors for teachers to make their jobs easier. Organization Aide et Action also developed a mobile library system to support students’ reading efforts in their unique schools.
And now the climate crisis is making access to these floating schools more challenging. Cambodia’s flooding makes accessing these schools dangerous for students and teachers. Similarly, the climate crisis is exacerbating meningitis and other diseases, preventing students from being able to attend classes, as more of them are getting sick. Yet the students at the floating schools have showcased their own resilience, becoming environmental activists advocating for their education.
There is hope as these floating schools already embody education resilience and continue implementing new strategies to best serve their students. Notably, as the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative continues to work alongside Cambodian schools, the climate crisis resilient infrastructure could continue to improve access to education for students, perhaps by implementing remote learning and online classes that would not require students to traverse large, dangerous distances.
Here are some other under–the–radar stories from across Asia:
- A Nepal village was destroyed by an earthquake in 2015, and in rebuilding, the village found success in becoming a tourist destination, but now the locals do not recognize their village’s identity.
- Scientists discovered that a community of women divers on Jeju Island has genetically mutated to be better suited for deep diving.
- India will include caste details in their upcoming census, despite how controversial the debates around this have been in the past, to allegedly better support social programs.
