Improving the Resilience of the Agriculture Sector in Lao PDR to Climate Change Impacts
Leading Organization:United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Implementing Agency and Partnering Organizations:Mininstry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), through NAFRI
Food insecurity resulting from climate change in Lao PDR minimized and vulnerability of farmers to extreme flooding and drought events reduced
The proposed project will implement a top priority identified in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), which was finalized and submitted to the UNFCCC on 22nd May, 2009. The NAPA process has identified four sectors as being highly vulnerable to climate change and requiring priority adaptation measures: agriculture, forestry, water resources, and health.
The NAPA has confirmed that the primary climate change-related hazards in Lao PDR are floods and droughts and their adverse impacts on food security and agricultural production. Climate change is expected to have a range of impacts which includes increases in annual mean temperatures by around 0.1-0.3 oC per decade; a longer annual dry season; more intensive rainfall events; and more frequent and severe drought and flooding events. The 4th IPCC report (2007) indicates that the Mekong basin is expecting increasing maximum monthly flows of +35-41% and decreasing minimum monthly flows of 17-24% over the course of this century, which will substantially increase flooding risks in the wet season and water scarcity in the dry season.
Source: Project Identification Form - Lao PDR: Improving the Resilience of the Agriculture Sector in Lao PDR to Climate Change Impacts, 4 August 2009
- Access to climate risk information
- Policy Analysis and Capacity Building
- Community-based climate risk reduction
- Adaptation Learning
Working in one drought prone province in the South and one flood prone province in the North, this project is reducing the vulnerability of farmers to extreme flooding and drought events through the introduction of an applied ecosystems based approach to agriculture. The project is engaging at several levels. At the community and farmer level it is promoting a combination of new and traditional climate resilient cropping methods; at the province and district level it is strengthening the skills of planners, policy makers and extension workers; and the national level it is introducing a climate risk information system as a basis for comprehensive long term planning for climate risks.
1. An improved national knowledge and information base on climate change and its impacts
Existing climate hazard and vulnerability information for agricultural production is being systematically compiled, documented and assessed on the basis of global and regional climate change models. This information will be used to analyze agricultural land-use planning in flood- and drought-prone areas and develop alternative land use plans for different climate scenarios. Based on the results of this analysis, climate risk projections will be integrated into a comprehensive national database for flooding and drought hazards and vulnerabilities to be established by the project. A functioning system for the collection, distribution, and use of climate-related risk information at the national, district, and local levels will promote the sharing of project knowledge both within Lao PDR and in the greater Mekong sub-region. Most importantly it will contribute to and underpin both of the two other key project outcomes.
2. Increased awareness and understanding of planners, extension works and producers about climate risks in the agriculture sector
The project will build the capacity of sectoral planners and policy makers in MAF, WREA, MPI, NLMA, NDMO to understand and plan for projected climate change impacts on agricultural production. Climate risks will be integrated into agriculture and land use planning policies and strategies, helping to demonstrate the practical value of a comprehensive national database on climate risk. Capacity development will also engage province and district level agricultural officers, extension workers, farmer cooperatives and local stakeholders, for example by ensuring that climate risk projections and low-cost adaptation options are introduced into training programmes and learning activities provided by extension workers to local farmer groups.
3. Investments in diversified and adaptive agricultural practices
Community-based agricultural adaptation measures will be piloted in selected communities to promote the diversification of crops, the introduction of drought- and flood-resilient crop options, resilient farming methods and low-cost water conservation/irrigation technologies.
Project contact person:
- Angus Mackay
- Regional Technical Advisor