Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia. The existing infrastructure for wastewater disposal of the city centre is partially existing since the colonial period. But since this period the area of the city increased several times, mostly uncontrolled without considering modern urban planning. Unsafe pit latrines pollute the groundwater and are flooded during the rainy season.
Less than 70% of the inhabitants are connected to the central drinking water supply or have access to toilets. With increasing distance to the city centre the access to adequate infrastructure decreases. Waste collection, recycling and disposal of solid waste are further challenges for the city.
While struggling with a lack of adequate infrastructure, at the same time the city has an important economic potential in Cambodia, as it is located on one of the main roads in the country and Southeast Asia. With the second largest university of the country, Battambang is a centre of science and education in Cambodia.
The project will enhance the cooperation between the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and the University of Battambang in order to build up a network between Cambodian and German researcher and students. This cooperation is also the basis for the common propose of research projects in South East Asia and a sustainable collaboration.
This project shall also encourage the German and Cambodian students to get in touch and exchange ideas. The students get the chance to strengthen their scientific education on an international level. The practical cooperation of the students from both countries will enhance their intercultural understanding and open the possibility for a deepened exchange of knowledge in the future.
The preparation for this workshop has already started in end of 2013 in Germany and Cambodia.
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