Low Carbon News in Laos in December 2014
24 December 14
Laos Government gets tough on forest conservation, timber trade
The government cabinet has agreed to impose tougher measures on the timber trade and forest protection in a bid to ensure the efficient use of natural resources and preserve the nation’s forests amend the Prime Ministerial. The recent amendment on the Order on forest management and the timber trade stipulates measures relating to the allocation andmanagement of forests, tree felling, and the management of the timber trade and non-timber forest products. The order also defines the penalties to be meted out to those involved in illegal logging, among other activities.
The Cabinet meeting also approved in principle a draft prime ministerial decree on higher education, which provides guidance for teaching, learning, and research activities in private and state higher education institutions. In addition, the meeting approved a report on solutions to improve coordination between central and local state organisations in order to streamline and speed up work performance
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-24.pdf
23 December 14
New Zealand donates towards disaster readiness in Laos
The New Zealand government has contributed some 104 million kip (around US$130,000) to assist with disaster preparedness and community resilience in Laos. A memorandum of understanding on the strengthening and capacity building in disaster risk reduction project was signed in Vientiane last week.
The 18 month capacity building project funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce of New Zealand is being implemented by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre. Laos has been identified as the 42nd most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. The project will run from the date of the signing day, working to strengthen initiatives in climate change management and establish an online accessible database of disaster related information.
It is expected that thecapacity building efforts and the development of the database will make a positive
contribution to future disaster preparedness activities amongst the communities at risk.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-23.pdf
20 December 14
Hongsa power plant to start generation next year
Construction of the Hongsa Lignite Power Plant is now 93 percent complete according to a Hongsa Power Company report. The project is expected to produce 1,878 MW of capacity, of which 1,473MW will be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and 100MW to Electricite du Laos. The Lao government has granted 25 years of concession to the Hongsa Power Company for electricity generation from 2016 to 2041.
This is the first lignite thermal power plant in Laos requiring a total investment of US$3.7 billion, jointly provided by Banpu Power Limited, Ratchabury Electricity Generating Holding Public Company Limited and Lao Holding State Enterprise.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-20.pdf
19 December 14
EU, Care climate project targets north
The European Union has provided more than 1.6 million euros (over 16 billion kip) to CARE International to support community based climate resilience in northern Laos namely the ‘Phongsaly Climate Change Adaptation Project’. Additional funding from CARE Denmark and Oxfam Laos take the total investment to more than two million euros (more than 20 billion kip) over four years.
The project will focus on the three districts of YotOu, Mai and Samphan in Phongsaly province. It seeks to ensure that remote ethnic women, their families and communities have an increased capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions. CARE aims to achieve this through the application of local assessment tools and ongoing support with adaptation measures. The project also aims to strengthen the capacity of local authorities. CARE International will implement this programme in partnership with the Comite du Cooperation avec du Laos and a local partner, the Sustainable Agriculture and Environment Development Association. Together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, these partners will work to deliver lasting change for the people of Phongsaly province.
This project is one of three Green Climate Change Alliance Projects funded by the EU.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-19.pdf
17 December 14
Warning system set up to stave off rough weather
In the most recent five years, Lao PDR has suffered some remarkable and devastating hydro-meteorological disasters. A National Early Warning System on Meteorological and Hydrological Disasters will be set up to provide accurate and timely advice in the face of the increasing number and extent of extreme weather events. The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) will establish the system to mitigate damage including loss of lives and property and harm to public socio-economic infrastructure.
To establish the system the department will join with the Regional Integrated Multi Hazards Early Warning System (RIMES) for Asia and Africa via the World Bank supported M-IWRM Project with the assistance of UNESCAP. The services are designed to fill gaps in forecasting and facilitate earlier and more accurate warnings to affected sectors. The weather monitoring, forecasting and early warnings on potential disaster events will also assist agricultural producers.
These forecasts and warnings should be made available regularly at near-real time, be easily understandable and reachable for users in at-risk communities so they can take appropriate actions in sufficient time.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-17.pdf
16 December 2014
Forest protection vital for carbon control
Laos is one of the countries working hard on forestry conservation. The Forestry Department last week held a Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) meeting in Vientiane to encourage the relevant sectors to participate in forest protection. The government has established targets for reafforestation set at 65 percent of cover by 2015 and 70 percent by 2020 but it faces severe challenges to reach these targets due to an increasing population and rapid development. FCPF was launched at the 13th session of the conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali.
After the country joined the FCPF it received two grants, US$200,000 for RPP (readiness, preparation and proposal) development implemented during 2009-2010 and US$3.6 million for RPP implementation and REDD+ readiness support. This grant became effective in August this year. The objective of the project is to contribute to Laos’ efforts to design and implement a sound national REDD+ strategy
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2014-12-16.pdf