UN-Habitat, July 1, 2021
Enhancing the climate and disaster resilience in Lao PDR
Making rural and emerging urban human settlements less vulnerable to climate change
Climate change is already causing economic loss and affecting the livelihoods of many people in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The country is one of the most vulnerable in the world to climate change, extreme weather events and rainfall irregularity, which is impacting physical infrastructure, health and food security. This is exacerbated due to its high dependence on natural resources and low adaptive capacity. The frequency and intensity of climate related hazards such as droughts and floods are expected to increase in the future and most severely hit the poorest areas of the country.
Lao PDR is urgently exploring ways to build its resilience by enhancing its adaptation efforts across sectors and concrete steps are being made. A project totaling US$ 4.5 million funded by the Adaptation Fund and implemented by UN-Habitat is enhancing climate and disaster resilience across 189 of the most vulnerable human settlements in eight districts of the southern provinces of Attapeu, Sekong, and Saravane (Salavan), by increasing sustainable access to basic infrastructure systems and services, as well as emphasizing resilience to storms, floods, droughts, landslides, and disease outbreaks. The southern urban settlement of Pheerkeo is also affected by floods on an annual basis.