Lao PDR
Capital:
Vientiane
Land Area:
230,800km²
Inland Water Area:
6,000km²
Lao PDR is strongly linked with its river systems. More than 80% of Lao PDR is within the Mekong River basin, providing the country with the highest per capita water allocation in the region. Spanning the Sekong, Saravane and Champasack provinces, the Sedone Rivers basin is one of the major river basins of the country, and has a total land area of 7,229km2.
A significant achievement of Lao PDR is the integrated management of the Sedone River Basin, one of the 10 priority river basins for IRBM implementation in the country. The Sedone River runs for 1,574km in Southern Lao and has five main tributaries and 18 sub-basins. A lifeblood of about 690,000 people, Sedone River supports various socioeconomic activities including coffee plantations, hydropower generation, tourism and agriculture. Since 2008, Lao PDR and PEMSEA have been working together to develop the Sedone River Basin Profile and adopt the Sedone River Basin Sustainable Development Strategy. The partnership continues with the implementation of the SDS-SEA Scaling Up Project in Lao PDR focusing on: development of the National River Basin Strategy to 2030; development of the National Guideline for Water Resources Use Fee; development of the national IRBM demonstration site in Houay Paii, Saravan Province and; implementation of the Sedone River Basin Sustainable Development Strategy including development of management plans for the 3 sub-basins (Houay Champi, Houay Paii and Houa Sedone) in the Sedone Riber basin.
The Sedone Integrated River Basin Management Project (SIRBMP) promotes an interprovincial and multisectoral approach to manage the resources in Sedone. It is a collaborative effort among the three provinces, the Department of Water Resources and PEMSEA. The SIRBMP is providing capacity development in various aspects of river basin management, including rapid appraisal, assessing the state of river basin development, river basin strategy development, information management and other activities designed to strengthen capacity of the Project Management Team. The intergovernmental Project Steering Committee (PSC) established in the provinces of Champasack, Saravan, and Sekong provides policy direction and recommendations to the implementation of the SIRBMP. The Project Coordinating Offices established in each of the provinces serves as Secretariat to the PSCs.
A comprehensive river basin strategy, the Sedone River Basin Strategy and its implementation plan (Sedone Riverbasin Sustainable Development and Management Plan (2015-2030), which was adopted in 2014 by the Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment in the 3 provinces, serves as a blueprint for the sustainable management of resources in the Sedone watershed area. Major implementation activities include policy implementation, land use planning, riverbank rehabilitation, protected area management, waste management, information dissemination and public awareness.
In an effort to lay the mechanism for improved watershed management, the Government of Lao PDR passed and approved its updated Water and Water Resources Law covering the comprehensive management of the country’s water resources, mitigation of potential water-related disasters and management of wastewater discharges during its National Assembly in May 2017. The country has also embarked in the development of its National River Basin Strategy to 2030 for improved management of its water resources.
Focal Points:
Dr. Inthavy Akkharath (National Focal Point)
Director-General, Department of Water Resources (DWR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)
c/o Ms. Chindavanh Souriyaphack (main contact point)
Senior Officer, DWR, MONRE
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
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PEMSEA eBulletin - August 2024
Dear PEMSEA community,
Welcome to the August e-bulletin!
We have a little over 60 days before EAS Congress 2024 kicks off! Do check out the messages from Dr. Vann Monyneath, Chair of the EAS Partnership Council, alongside key officials Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of Natural Resources, and Huang Wenhui, Mayor of Xiamen, inviting the global ocean community to join us in this triennial event to foster stronger regional collaboration in ocean governance and management.
This month’s bulletin also features the winners of the “Humans of East Asian Seas” challenge which we launched last year to commemorate PEMSEA’s 30th anniversary. Thirty local champions of coastal and marine conservation across the region were selected, with the top three profiled in this bulletin in recognition of their contributions in promoting sustainable coastal development, namely: Ms. Masako Bannai Otsuka of Japan, Mr. Prak Visal of Cambodia, and Dr. Wang Jinhe of China.
We also want to inform you about the new features on the SEA Knowledge Bank platform. The revamped platform now includes an e-library of scientific publications, an interactive map of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) sites, and new resources from ongoing projects.
Local government officials from Tangerang Regency, Indonesia, recently completed an ICM study tour in Batangas City, Philippines. The visit, held from 30 July to 1 August 2024, facilitated LGU to LGU knowledge exchange on sustainable coastal practices and management strategies.
The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN River Basin Project organized a Regional Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Workshop in Bogor City, Indonesia, on 6-7 August 2024. The workshop brought together participants from seven river basins in ASEAN member states to discuss regional GESI analysis, develop stakeholder maps, and improve capacity for mainstreaming GESI principles in river basin management programs.
In other updates, a recent PEMSEA study reveals growing interest in Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) across the East Asian Seas region. BCE projects, focusing on mangroves, seagrasses, and other critical habitats, are advancing efforts in conservation, research, and restoration.
From the ATSEA-2 Project, global experts convened in Bali, Indonesia for the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development with ATSEA-2 Regional Project Manager, Dr. Handoko Adi Susanto representing ATSEA/PEMSEA in the dialogue.
The 2024 EAS Congress will be hosted by China in Xiamen from 6-8 November 2024. It is organized through a partnership between the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, and PEMSEA.
The event will take place in conjunction with Xiamen World Ocean Week, featuring the city's commitment to sustainable ocean management and regional collaboration.
For more information, visit the 2024 EAS Congress website.
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PEMSEA NETWORK OF LEARNING CENTERS (PNLC) 2024 Executive Committee Meeting Proceedings
The document contains the proceedings from the PNLC Executive Committee (EC) held 22 July 2024 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.
The meeting was participated in by the President and Vice-President of the PNLC, the PEMSEA Executive Director the PNLC Secretariat from IPB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The agenda included:
· Review of the PNLC Workplan
· PNLC Secretariat Turnover MOA to CCMRS-IPB
· Updates and plans on PNLC Financial Sustainability Efforts
· New PNLC Membership Applications
· PNLG-PNLC Joint Session at the EAS Congress 2024
· 4th PNLC General Assembly AgendaThe meeting was organized jointly by the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) and the Center for Coastal and Marine Resources Studies (CCMRS) of the IPB University, Indonesia with support from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines.
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Proceedings of the Sixteenth East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting
The 16th EAS Partnership Council Meeting was held on July 23-24, 2024, at Costa Palawan Resort, Puerto Princesa, Philippines, and via Zoom. Onsite participants included the EAS PC Chair; the Intergovernmental Session Chair and Co-Chair; the Technical Session Co-Chair ; the Executive Director of the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF); country partners from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam; non-country partners from the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), Oil Spill Response Ltd. (OSRL), PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG), and PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) as an observer.
Online participants included the EAS PC Co-chair, Technical Session Chair, country partners from RO Korea and Singapore; non-country partners from the International Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas Center (EMECS), International Union for Conservation of Nature - Asia Regional Office (IUCN-ARO), Korea Institute for Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Ipieca and the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS).
The meeting covered various topics including updates on the EAS Congress 2024, progress report on SDS-SEA Implementation 2023-2027, updates on the Blue Carbon Program, and preparations for the 8th Ministerial Forum. Key outcomes included approving NMHMS as a new non-country partner, discussing the draft Ministerial Declaration, and approving the PRF Work Plan and Budget for 2024-2025. The meeting concluded with recommendations for enhancing regional cooperation and sustainable coastal management in the East Asian Seas region.