September 18, 2024
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We are working with government and academic organisations in Lao PDR to support establishing a knowledge hub and building capacity on approaches to urban ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA).
This is part of a larger initiative under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) funded by the Green Climate Fund on Building resilience of urban populations with ecosystem-based solutions in Lao PDR.
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Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events in Laos, and where combined with watershed pressures, is leading to more frequent and severe flooding in vulnerable cities along the Mekong River. To address the challenge, Lao PDR is developing climate-resilient integrated flood management (CIFM).
There are several barriers to implementation of managing floods such as limited technical and institutional capacity in government; lack of integrated, climate-resilient approaches to flood management; and limited knowledge about ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and valuing ecosystem services.
Professor Tony Wong (Professor of Sustainable Development, Monash University), Katharine Cross (Nature-based Solutions Expert, Water Sensitive Cities Australia) and Dr Peter Breen (Department of Architecture, Monash University) were in Vientiane earlier this year to kick off this new area of cooperation. They met with representatives from the National University of Laos (NUoL) and the Department of Climate Change at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to start developing urban wetland and stream rehabilitation/restoration guidelines, as well as to initiate steps to support the Knowledge Hub development.
They got out in the field with a trip to Paksan to better understand how wetlands are being used in growing urban areas in Lao PDR.
The team at WSCA is working with NUoL, MONRE and UNEP to:
- develop guidelines for restoration, rehabilitation and remediation of urban streams and wetlands
- co-create a research roadmap to guide collaboration at NUOL on EbA across disciplines, building experience from the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities
Katharine Cross, Dr Peter Breen and Michael Simon were back in Lao PDR in late August, delivering a workshop to train participants on the draft guidelines and gather inputs to tailor them to a Lao context (in partnership with the RUCaS program). The guidelines offer a comprehensive framework to rehabilitate, conserve and manage urban wetlands and streams to reverse degradation, support climate change adaptation and enhance ecological and social benefits.
Participants were guided through an 8-step planning and implementation process which will support users in understanding and selecting design criteria for urban wetland and streams depending on the agreed ecosystem services and function.
Next steps will be to incorporate inputs from the workshop into the guidelines, and undertake a review with key partners prior to finalisation.
Our thanks to representatives from MONRE and NUoL, as well as UNEP. We look forward to continuing the knowledge exchange and collaboration.
