| Protecting the environment and sustainable use of natural resources in Lao PDR is vital for poverty reduction and economic growth. Studies carried out by the UNDP supported project to develop the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan reveal that some 80 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP) directly derives from natural resources. Hydropower, agriculture, timber production and tourism depend to a very large extent on natural resources. Over eighty percent of the poor in Lao PDR live in rural areas practicing agriculture and hence completely depend on natural resources for their survival.
Current Projects in Environment & Energy
At present, many Lao natural resources, including forests, rivers, and wetlands are under threat. This in-turn threatens economic growth, and makes the realization of poverty reduction targets increasingly difficult.
The Lao government has recognized this threat and lists sustainable use of natural resources as one of the three principles of socioeconomic development. The National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) strongly advocates bringing environmental concerns into government policy. UNDP is working towards providing strategic support to assist the Government of Lao PDR meet the target of the poverty reduction and MDG Goal 7 to Ensure Environmental Sustainability. At present, UNDP works in the following areas:
Pillar 1: Improved Environmental Governance
UNDP and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are currently supporting the development of the Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI) that aims to mainstream environmental issues into both national level planning and poverty reduction processes. This encompasses strengthening poverty reduction and environmental sustainability linkages in national planning documents; enhancing capacities of national and provincial authorities to plan and manage investments for poverty reduction and sound environmental management; supporting the strengthening of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Department of WREA to ensure proper review and approval processes of environmental and social assessments and management plans based on the law and good science in effective coordination with the concerned line ministries and state enterprises; and increasing National Assembly members' understanding of poverty reduction and environmental management and their capacity in reviewing new legislation and policies related to environmental conservation, rural livelihoods and natural resource management.
Read more about the Poverty Environment Initiative in Lao PDR.
PEI Annual Progress Report for 2008
UNDP provides consistent support to the Water Resources and Environment Administration (WREA) to enhance the capacities of the Government of Lao PDR to strengthen its environmental legislation, institutions and intergovernmental coordination and to comply with national environmental laws and policies and international multi-lateral environmental agreements to realize effective environmental management in the country (link to NCSA Technical Report).
Finally, UNDP has supported the expansion of the Small Grants Programme to Lao PRD, providing a critical opportunity to strengthen effective local participation in generating local solutions to global environmental problems.
Pillar 2: Ecosystem Management
UNDP is working together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and other stakeholders to support ecosystem management. Initiatives being developed include strengthening national and local capacity and actions for biodiversity conservation in Lao PDR through mainstreaming biodiversity in agricultural and land management policies, plans and programmes, and supporting the development of integrated approaches to management of land, forest and water resources, starting with support to the Lao PDR Wetlands and Water Policy, which will be implemented in Attapeu Province.
Pillar 3: Strengthened Programme of Response to the Challenges of Climate Change, Energy and Disaster Management
The potentially far-reaching impacts of climate change for the people of the Lao PDR led the Government of the Lao PDR to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1995 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2003. In May 2008, the Prime Minister established the National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC) and the Climate Change Office (CCO) to coordinate the development of both a national strategy to manage climate change and its impacts, and an action plan that will details substantive programmes.
In order to support the Government in developing a comprehensive and consolidated response to national climate change challenges, a new initiative was formally approved with the Water Resources and Environment Administration (WREA) in late 2008, to develop the Second National Communication to the UNFCCC and address the challenges of climate change. The overall development objective of this initiative is to strengthen the technical and institutional capacity of the Lao PDR to mainstream climate change concerns into sectoral and national development priorities, including the National Socio-Economic Development Plan.
UNDP Lao PDR CO seeks to provide continuity to support in the area of adaptation to climate change, seeking to support the development of an integrated programme of adaptation to climate change in Lao PDR with a particular focus on the adaptation of the agricultural sector to climate change and the need to safeguard the rural poor who are highly vulnerable to droughts and floods.
Finally, activities are being developed with the UNDP Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit to support the Government to develop a strategy to reduce and manage disaster risks, with a particular focus on those that are related to climate change.
GEF Small Grants Programme
The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) is a global corporate programme implemented by UNDP on behalf of Implementing Agencies (IAs) and Executing Agencies (EAs) of the Global Environment Facility and executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Launched in 1992, GEF SGP is rooted in the belief that global environmental problems can best be addressed if local people are involved and direct community benefits and ownership are generated.
There are now 101 participating countries in GEF SGP in five world regions: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Arab States , Europe/CIS and Latin America/Caribbean. GEF SGP has funded more than 9,000 projects worldwide for GEF-SGP grants covering 104 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East . These projects have paid special attention to meeting GEF's environmental objectives while at the same time achieving poverty reduction and local empowerment objectives. Special concern is also given to local and indigenous communities as well as gender concerns. GEF SGP supports the larger sustainable development goals and the achievement of key components of the Millennium Development Goals.
Within operational phase 4 (OP4) as per the decision of the GEF SGP Steering Committee on 11 December 2006, the Country Programme Strategy for Lao PDR has been developed on the basis of National Environment and Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and Action Plan to 2010 and the development priorities of the country. The SGP involves the direct implementation of projects by CBOs/NPAs. The hands-on decision-making on grants by National Steering Committees has produced a very high degree of national ownership of the GEF SGP. Stakeholders, including government institutions, have expressed appreciation of the GEF SGP as a fast and effective delivery mechanism for GEF resources. There is also increasing utilization of the GEF SGP mechanisms and procedures in the micro grants components of other full-sized projects of the GEF as well as other donors.
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