Akreiy Ksatr lies across the river from Phnom Penh and combines typical features of Cambodian peri-urban communities – local markets, temples, schools and government offices – with extensive wetlands that support agriculture, fishing and flood management.

These wetlands act as natural storage basins for seasonal Mekong floods and provide important habitats for biodiversity. However, rapid, largely unstructured urbanisation is placing pressure on the floodplain. Development is occurring in an ad hoc way, often infilling low-lying land and wetlands without a coherent municipality-wide plan.

What the case study explored

RUCaS worked with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) and the Akreiy Ksatr Provincial Government to identify pathways and principles for integrating NbS into the municipality’s development. The study site presented a vision for Asia’s first new wetland city, where urban form and infrastructure are designed to work with, rather than against, the floodplain.

The Wetland City concept integrates urban activities with seasonal flood and drought cycles, emphasising retention of floodplain functions, connectivity between forest, river, floodplain and agricultural areas, and preservation of wetlands as both ecological infrastructure and livelihood assets. Within this broader framework, the study used Prek Luong High School as a building-scale example of how NbS can be incorporated into new development – for instance, through green courtyards, water sensitive drainage and shading that connect students with nature-positive design.

What happened next

Nature-based Solutions for Wetland Cities

Rather than progressing a single site-specific pilot in Akreiy Ksatr, RUCaS and MLMUPC used the study site to develop a catalogue of NbS typologies for Wetland Cities in Cambodia. This document translates the Wetland City concept into a set of scalable NbS typologies – from catchment-scale floodplain and wetland systems to neighbourhood parks and building-scale interventions – with cross-sections, indicative layouts and example costs and benefits.

The approach aligned with Cambodia’s 9-step district and municipal land use master planning guide, so NbS and wetland protection can be embedded directly into standard planning workflows. This approach will help apply Wetland City principles not only in Akreiy Ksatr but in other rapidly urbanising floodplain municipalities.

RUCaS worked closely with MLMUPC to ensure the document is practical, links to financing pathways introduced through earlier economic training and can be applied in a range of Cambodian cities, not only Akreiy Ksatr.

This strategic work complemented the physical demonstration underway in Battambang (Road 501) and ensures that lessons from Akreiy Ksatr’s floodplain setting help shape how NbS are planned and implemented in Cambodia’s next generation of urban growth areas