Between 1966 and 2008, Laos reportedly experienced about 30 flood events

The Asian Development Bank and the Nordic Development Fund will help poverty-stricken Laos in Southeast Asia weather the worst effects of climate change such as floods and droughts through a $3.1 million grant.

The fund, owned by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, will pitch in $2.8 million while the multilateral development bank will give $300,000 for a technical assistance project that will enhance Laos’ capacity to cope with climate change.

Laos will contribute $300,000 in the form of in-kind support to the project, which will cost a total of $3.4 million.

The financial support will go to Laos’ National Steering Committee on Climate Change, established in May 2008 to develop a national strategy on climate change and draw up appropriate action plans. The committee comprises eight working groups which will receive policy support and technical skills enhancement through the grant.

The grant will help raise public awareness and knowledge about climate change and fund initial water adaptation activities for the agriculture and forestry sectors that can be replicated on a bigger scale.

The climate change project demonstrates the government’s efforts to boost sustainable management of natural resources and develop rural infrastructure with the help of the multilateral development bank.

The project also aims to assess financing and investment needed to address climate change in the water, agriculture and energy sectors.

Laos’ Water Resources and Environment Agency will carry out the project until September 2012.

Laos is highly dependable on sectors that are inevitably climate sensitive such as agriculture and water, making adaptation a pressing need. At the same time, Laos’ weak institutional capacity and limited resources for adaptation make it even more vulnerable to floods and droughts.

In the past few months, drought has reportedly caused water levels at the Mekong River to plummet, threatening poverty-ridden Northern Laos.

On the other extreme end of the pole however, the country is still not immune to the dangers of flooding.

“Between 1966 and 2008 the country experienced about 30 flood events with one in 2008 causing a loss of $58 million alone, so strengthening climate resilience is central to the country’s sustainable development and poverty reduction,” said Ancha Srinivasan, senior climate change specialist in A.D.B.’s Southeast Asia department.

Every support proves to be essential as the country faces the reality of translating strategies into practice due to various human and institutional capacity constraints.

Manila-based A.D.B., an international development finance institution aiming to reduce poverty in its member countries, will manage the Nordic Development Fund’s financial contribution.

The Nordic Development Fund supports climate change intervention in low-income developing countries.