In Short : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing support to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) to address climate risks and enhance livelihoods. This assistance likely involves funding and implementing projects aimed at building climate resilience, promoting sustainable practices.
In Detail : MANILA, PHILIPPINES : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $32 million financing package to support the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in strengthening its response to climate change and improving the livelihoods of agricultural communities in Vientiane and the central provinces of Bolikhamxai and Khammouan.
The Flood and Drought Mitigation and Management Sector Project will help the Lao PDR government in its efforts to reduce financial and economic losses from floods and droughts and enhance dietary diversity. It aims to promote economic diversification through the expansion of high value crops, creation of jobs to absorb the surplus agricultural workforce, improvement of the business enabling environment, and generation of foreign exchange and domestic tax revenues by expanding agricultural exports.
“High food price inflation and losses to agricultural yields from floods and droughts affect households’ food consumption, income, and welfare,” said ADB Country Director for the Lao PDR Sonomi Tanaka. “This project will target our support at boosting climate resilience and improving the livelihoods of agricultural communities. It will introduce low-cost innovations to harness floodwaters and increase the reliability of water availability during droughts, enabling the production of diversified crops, including marketable higher valued ones, all year round.”
The Lao PDR is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, which are estimated to reduce the country’s gross domestic product by up to 2% annually. Extreme heat is leading to increasingly lower rice yields in the dry season due to declining water availability, higher crop water requirements, and poor soil health. In response, the project will incorporate measures that include financing the construction of irrigation schemes that supply the right amount of water to the right place at the right time.
Financing for the project will consist of a $30 million concessional loan by ADB to the Lao PDR government, along with a $1.5 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries, to strengthen community flood preparedness, and a $500,000 grant from the High-Level Technology (HLT) Fund to support modernization of the country’s agrometeorological information system.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
