ADB funding to prompt govt action on climate change
Vientiane Times, 17 March 2010
The provision of about 25.5 billion kip (more than US$3 million) could see the Lao government turn strategy into action as the country battles the effects of climate change.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Nordic Development Fund agreed to provide the funding at a five-day meeting of senior government officials and climate change experts in the Philippines that began on Monday.
The Lao government, with support from the ADB, has prepared a national strategy and action plan on climate change, but its ability to translate strategies into practice has been hamstrung by human and institutional capacity constraints.
But these constraints will soon ease, with Laos to receive grants of US $3.1 million to help the country become more resilient in the face of drought, flood and other extreme weather events.
The ADB will provide US$300,000 and the Nordic Development Fund will finance US$2.8 million for technical assistance to enhance the capacity of Laos to cope with the impacts of climate change.
The Lao government will provide in-kind support of US$300,000 for a total budget of US$3.4 million.
Laos' economic dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and water, weak institutional capacity, and limited resources to put adaptation measures in place, leave it vulnerable to extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent.
“Between 1966 and 2008 the country experienced about 30 flood events with one in 2008 causing losses of US$58 million alone, so strengthening climate resilience is central to the country's sustainable development and poverty reduction,” said Senior Climate Change Specialist at the ADB's Southeast Asia Department, Mr Ancha Srinivasan.
The grants will be used to build up technical skills and provide policy support for eight working groups of the National Steering Committee on Climate Change, responsible for implementing the country's climate change policy.
Hosted by the ADB, the meetings in the Philippines will continue until Friday and are an opportunity to review the impact of climate investment funds and strengthen developing country participation in related projects.
