Low Carbon News in Laos in February 2015
3 Feb 15
Forum discusses sustainability in the Lower Mekong
Representatives from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam yesterday met in Vientiane at the two-day conference titled ‘Extraordinary Friends of the Lower Mekong and Mekong Sustainability’. There were experts from the United States, donor countries and international institutions to discuss sustainable economic growth and development in the Mekong sub-region. The conference was a significant platform for sharing experiences and approaches for improving sustainable economic development in the region, which will contribute to poverty reduction and prosperity in the lower Mekong countries and the region as a whole. The Friend of the Lower Mekong (FLM) is a broad dialogue that aims to improve donor coordination in the Mekong sub-region and supports integrated cooperation between and among the Lower Mekong countries of Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the United States.
The overarching goal of the meeting is to find ways the FLM group can work together to bolster regional economic growth and strengthen the environmental and social aspects of regional development, including smart infrastructure, hydropower, and alternative energy. The FLM group’s efforts also include building peer-to peer technical networks and developing practical solutions that incorporate environmental and social safeguards in relation to economic growth and energy security planning.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2015-02-03.pdf
5 Feb 15
KOICA moves forward with Nam Ngum river project
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has provided a grant of US$2 million (more than 16 billion kip) for the Nam Ngum river basin project, which is set to start at the beginning of next year and run until 2018. The main objectives of the project are to maximise the benefits in a broad sense by managing the river system in an integrated manner, taking into consideration water supply, flood mitigation, hydropower generation and environmental protection in the Nam Ngum river basin. According to the KOICA Laos Office, the three-year project will strengthen flood risk management and mitigation in the Nam Ngum river basin through the establishment of an integrated water resources management system and efficient use of water resources. The Nam Ngum river project is very important because this is the first step assisted by KOICA to operate dams in Laos for hydropower development and also to cooperate with the Ministry of Energy and Mines. This project will focus more on sustainable growth in pursuit of the development of energy and electricity.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2015-02-05.pdf
13 Feb 15
Govt steps up disaster risk management in agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has taken a number of important steps to better address and mainstream Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change into agriculture planning and programming. Laos is exposed to high risks of natural disasters and climate change, especially flooding and drought conditions with the issue affecting agricultural production and livelihoods, particularly the majority of smallholder farmers in rural areas. In that context, the ministry has developed with facilitation support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) a sector specific “Plan of Action for DRR and Management in Agriculture”. The aim is to raise awareness, strengthen sectoral capacities for proactive risk reduction and promote proactive risk reduction work with communities and farmers to reduce damage and losses.
FAO is now assisting the ministry through two closely related projects to initiate systematic implementation and operation of selected key priorities identified within the Plan of Action (POA). It will further institutionalise disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) in agriculture and its subsectors, including on a pilot basis at decentralised level in the three provinces of Khammuan, Savannakhet and Champassak.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2015-02-13.pdf
26 Feb15
Mekong nations mull strategy on energy, environment
Government representatives from five countries met in Vientiane to discuss and approve the future implementation strategy and plan under the Energy and Environment Partnership Programme (EEP). Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam discussed Phase II of the four-year programme, whose main focus is on increasing and improving access by rural populations to sustainable and affordable energy services and products. The programme also seeks to build climate change resilience among local communities in the Mekong countries through decentralised renewable energy solutions.
In the Mekong region, electrification has been high on the political agenda over the last decades and continues to be an important issue for most countries in the region. Cambodia, Myanmar and, to a lesser extent, Laos are still facing major challenges in achieving universal access to electricity, not only by rural but also urban populations. The objective of the EEP is to influence national and regional energy policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency, by disseminating the lessons learned from evidence-based solutions in order to contribute to an enabling environment for energy entrepreneurs and investment.
The EEP Mekong, funded with 9.1 million euros by Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a grant-making programme operating in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The second four-year phase of the programme began in November 2014 and will run until October 2018. During the first phase, EEP Mekong funded 39 renewable energy related projects.
Newspapers/vientianetimes/2015-02-26.pdf