Lao government officials met yesterday in Vientiane with experts from around the region to share experiences and knowledge in managing climate, the environment and natural resources.
The National Workshop on Managing Climate, Environment and Natural Resources to Achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was part of efforts to help the government remove Laos from the UN's list of least developed nations.
Laos is highly dependent on natural resources for income, employment, food, livelihoods and exports, and sound environmental management is of great importance, said Deputy Director General of the Department of Planning of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ms Phonevanh Outhavong.
She said over 80 percent of the Lao population depend on natural resources for their daily livelihoods. Selling forest products is an important income source for villagers, as well as serving dietary and medicinal purposes.
The workshop comes at an important point in time, providing an opportunity for keynote experts from around the region to present critical poverty-environment links for their possible inclusion in the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan as it is developed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The challenges confronting Laos in environmental protection and climate change are diverse and will significantly impact on government goals set to ensure removal from the list of least developed countries by 2020.
Climate change will increase the intensity of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, and will affect progress towards the achievement of all of the MDGs, according to a press release from United Nations Development Programme.
The government must ensure that investment projects are designed with increased resilience to withstand stronger floods and health programmes must be designed to cope with increasing incidence of water and vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
The agriculture sector needs to consider changes in water availability and the need for improved irrigation facilities as well as more drought resistant species; and other sectors must also respond accordingly.
The havoc wreaked by tropical storm Ketsana highlights the urgent need to effectively address the current and projected impacts of climate change in Laos .
The storm hit the four southern provinces of Savannakhet, Saravan, Attapeu and Xekong, affecting 360 villages in 18 districts. Widespread flooding has left thousands of people homeless, with hundreds losing all of their belongings.
By integrating climate change into national sector planning now, and by anticipating the impacts of climate change rather than reacting to the impacts, the costs incurred by the Lao people and country can be minimised.
Recent analysis indicates that the poor continue to suffer as the environment and natural resources upon which they depend are being degraded.
Household nutrition is being affected by decreased availability of wild foods, health is being affected by poor water quality and over use of agricultural chemicals, and climate change is generating more frequent and extreme weather events such as the devastating floods of 2008. Levels of vulnerability are increasing as the social safety nets of the poor are being eroded.
Private investment in agriculture, forestry and mining is rapidly increasing with actual and potential positive and negative impacts on poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.
