Building climate and disaster resilience capacities of vulnerable small towns in Lao PDR

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) has been increasingly affected by extreme weather events. This is particularly problematic due to its high sensitivity, resulting from dependence on climate-sensitive natural resources and its low adaptive capacity. The impacts of extreme weather events have been severe to the point that in 2013 Lao PDR was named the 7th most severely affected country in the world by climate change. Irregularity in rainfall has led to both floods and droughts, with a variation in severity from year to year. Projected increases in flooding and droughts are expected to impact livelihoods, health, physical infrastructure and the economy in general. In addition to extreme events, variation in the seasons has disrupted cropping, causing food insecurity.

The objective of this project is to build climate resilience in small towns along the east-west economic corridor in the central region of Lao PDR. This will be achieved through the provision of climate resilient water infrastructure and the mainstreaming of climate change into urban planning.

The project has three components.

1. Develop town level master plans which integrate climate change adaptation into socially inclusive infrastructure, spatial planning and land use management in and beyond the project area. Capacity built at District, Provincial and National level to plan for climate resilient infrastructure development and to maintain and manage infrastructure
2. Socially inclusive infrastructure built in target towns that protects people from climate change related impacts and provides continuous services despite current and anticipated future changes in the climate
3. Knowledge and awareness enhanced from national to local levels along the economic corridor, ensuring sustainability and potentially leading to policy changes at the national level

Project Documents