Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: A national multi-stakeholder policy dialogue in Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

10 February 2020

Conclusions and recommendations

1) The Social Welfare Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare convened the Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: A national multi-stakeholder policy dialogue in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in partnership with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Lao

People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, ESCAP, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The agenda is attached as Annex 1.

2) The Dialogue is a follow-up to the 34th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management

(ACDM) held on 24 April 2019 in Mandalay, Myanmar which agreed, among other things, to conduct

national policy dialogues on drought in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and

Viet Nam and to develop the capacities of the ASEAN member States to strengthen their resilience to

drought.

3) Mr. Vilayphong Sisomvang, Director–General of Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and

Social Welfare delivered the opening remarks. Ms. Sara Sekkenes, United Nations Resident

Coordinator to Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, Chief, Disaster Risk

Reduction, ESCAP delivered statements at the opening session.

4) Thirty officials and technical experts representing line ministries, Non-Governmental Organizations and

United Nations agencies in Cambodia participated. Representatives from ASEAN and ESCAP

Secretariats also participated. The attendance is attached as Annex 2.

5) The Dialogue provided an analytical review of drought in 2019, revealing a 41% decrease in rainfall

compared to previous years. It further highlighted Lao PDR’s challenges for data and information

sharing related to water forecasting, national drought monitoring and early warning system, the lack

of water conservation facilities across the country and long-term strategy for watershed management

plan for all hydropower dams.

6) The Government has recognized the importance of adopting risk-informed development strategies.

Strategic initiatives are ongoing to integrate disaster risk considerations into the national development

plan. A new Disaster Management Law was also adopted in 2019.

7) Participants recognized the need to step up efforts to build resilience to drought and recommended

the following actions:

a) Establish a national information centre to serve as a unified repository of meteorological,

hydrological, historical damage and loss, and relevant data.

b) Implement a well-coordinated capacity development strategy for sectors to systematically

incorporate disaster risk information into their strategic planning and operational decision-

making.

c) Improve the early warning system for droughts and floods by ensuring access to water level

and discharge data, amongst other enhancements.

d) Ministries overseeing natural resource extraction activities need to consider risk information

on an ongoing basis, such as the projections of water availability for short and long-term

timescales.

e) Ensure that drought risk and early information reaches the at-risk population, especially

farmers whose livelihoods are always exposed to natural hazards.

f) Strengthen the standard operating procedures for responding to drought in the context of a

comprehensive response to disasters.

g) Leverage local expertise in building resilience to drought and other disasters.

h) Implementing agencies and development partners should ensure the sustainability of ongoing

projects.

8) The participants were informed of the Drought Management Strategy for the Lower Mekong River

Basin (2020-2025), released by the Mekong River Commission in November 2019.

9) The participants also recommended that ASEAN’s regional capacity to deal with drought to be

strengthened through: identifying of gaps in climate and hydrological information and network,

mobilizing relevant sectoral bodies and mechanisms to mitigate the impact of drought from

humanitarian, agricultural and environmental perspectives, and engaging support from competent

agencies/organizations for technical support in strengthening the regional drought monitoring system.

10) The participants expressed a strong support for strengthening ASEAN’s regional mechanisms on

drought and in this regard endorsed the plan to develop the ASEAN declaration on drought for

potential adoption at the 37th

ASEAN Summit in November 2020.

11) The participants called on ASEAN countries to jointly address drought in transboundary areas. They

further identified areas of action which could benefit from a collaborative approach at the ASEAN

level, such as improving drought risk assessment, monitoring, and early warning systems;

strengthening multi-sectoral approaches; and drought risk financing.

12) It was noted that the ASEAN Operating Procedure for Regional Standby Arrangements and

Coordination of Joint Disaster Relief and Emergency Response Operations (SASOP) are well-embedded

into Lao People’s Democratic Republic operations but noted the lack of regional guidance for

responding to drought conditions before they become disasters.

13) The participants welcomed the initiation of the second phase of ASEAN-UN joint study on drought

Ready for the Dry Years to provide a comprehensive drought assessment in all ASEAN countries, and

the mainstreaming of drought and other slow-onset disasters in the 2021-2025 work programme of

the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER).

14) The Social Welfare Department committed to support the completion of a draft ASEAN declaration on

drought at the next ACDM meeting.

Annexes

1: Agenda

2: Attendance

Building Resilience to Drought in South‐East Asia: A national multi‐stakeholder policy dialogue in Lao PDR 

 Organized by Social Welfare Department of the

Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, in partnership with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Laos, Ministry of Agriculture and 

Forest in Laos, ESCAP, and the ASEAN Secretariat 10 February 2020, Vientiane Capital, Laos 

 The Asia‐Pacific Disaster Report 2019 shows that annualized economic losses in Asia and the Pacific more than quadruple when slow‐onset disasters, most notably drought, are added to the region’s disaster risk landscape (‘risks cape’).  The average annual loss (AAL) for the region is $675 billion, of which $405 billion, or 60 per cent,  is drought‐related agricultural  losses. The key takeaway  is  that economic  losses due to disasters are larger than previously estimated with most of this additional loss linked to the impacts of slow‐onset disasters in the agricultural sector.  In South‐East Asia, the average annual loss (AAL) is higher than the Asia‐Pacific regional average, reaching $86.5 billion with drought accounting  for 60 per cent. The AAL  is highest  in Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao People’s  Democratic  Republic,  Vietnam  (CMLV),  and  the  Philippines.  In  the  Lao  People’s  Democratic Republic, the AAL as percentage of Gross Domestic Product is estimated to be at 8.7 per cent of which nearly 5.5 per cent is contributed by losses due to agricultural drought.  The dominance of agricultural drought‐related  losses  is  consistent  across  all  countries  in  South‐East  Asia.  Thus,  no  South‐East Asian country  can  afford  to  ignore  agricultural  drought when mitigating  the  economic  impacts  of  disasters. Furthermore, agricultural drought does not only result in large economic losses; it is also linked with low levels of socio‐economic development.  These findings reinforce the key messages of the joint study carried out jointly by the ESCAP and ASEAN secretariats under the auspices of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM). The study (2019), entitled Ready for the Dry Years: Building Resilience to Drought in South‐East Asia, projects that there will be many more dry years ahead, and the area affected by drought is likely to shift and expand. Its key message is that while drought may be inevitable, more suffering is not if timely interventions are made. The study was released at the thirty‐fourth meeting of the Committee in April 2019 hosted by the Government  of  Myanmar  in  Mandalay.  During  the  launch  of  the  study,  several  delegates  had recommended that in‐country multi‐stakeholder policy dialogues would be helpful in building consensus and accelerating momentum on the priority actions needed at the national and regional levels.  Objectives  Led by the respective ACDM focal points, multi‐stakeholder dialogues are being organized in each of the four countries covered by the Ready for the Dry Years study, namely Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Viet Nam.  The half‐day drought multi‐stakeholder dialogues event will: 

1. Communicate  the  study’s  key  findings  to  government  ministries  and  other  development stakeholders; 

2. Highlight the perspectives of various stakeholder’s drought occurrence, impacts, and solutions; 3. Exchange solutions and good practices from Laos and other countries; and 

4. Agree on the next steps for ASEAN‐wide actions and strategies for building resilience to drought: ASEAN Declaration and ASEAN Plan of Action. 

 Organization and Participation  The organization of the multi‐stakeholder dialogue in Laos is being led by the Social Welfare Department of  the Ministry  of  Labour  and  Social Welfare,  in  partnership  with Ministry  of  Natural  Resources  and Environment in Laos, Ministry of Agriculture and Forest in Laos, ESCAP, and the ASEAN Secretariat.  Invitations are sent out to the subnational members of the National Disaster Management Committee (NDMC) and to a broad range of stakeholders at the national and subnational levels, including government ministries,  development  partners,  civil  society,  academe,  industry  and  professional  associations,  and media.  Outcomes  A summary report of the meeting will be written highlighting the recommendations for further actions at the ASEAN level.  The  implementation  of  national‐level  recommendations  will  be  considered  in  the  context  of  ESCAP‐supported ongoing and upcoming projects in Laos.  References  

1. ESCAP, 2020. The Disaster Risks‐Cape Across Asia‐Pacific: Asia‐Pacific Disaster Report 2019. Key Takeaways for Policymakers in South‐East Asia. Available at: https://www.unescap.org/publications/asia‐pacific‐disaster‐report‐2019  

 2. ESCAP and ASEAN, 2019. Ready for the Dry Years: Building Resilience to Drought in South‐East 

Asia. Available at: https://www.unescap.org/publications/ready‐dry‐years‐building‐resilience‐drought‐south‐east‐asia   

3. Yearly report of Ministry of Agriculture and Forest in Laos  

 Tentative Agenda  8:30 – 9:00       Arrival and registration of invited participants  9:00 to 9:15  Welcome remarks, background and objectives of the dialogue (15 minutes)  

Mr. Vilayphong SISOMVANG, Director – General, Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.   

9.15 to 9.45   Opening statements (10 minutes each statement)   Ms. Sara Sekkenes, United Nations Resident Coordinator to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic  

Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, Chief, Disaster Risk Reduction, ESCAP   Ms.  Intani Kusuma, Senior Officer, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division, ASEAN Secretariat   

9:45 to 10:45   National  perspectives  on  drought‐related  challenges  and  policy  response  options  (10 minutes each presentation, followed by discussion) 

 1. Recent  droughts  in  Laos  improvements  and  challenges  in  monitoring  and  early 

warning Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment  2. Managing the humanitarian impacts of drought Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare  3. Managing the impacts of drought on agriculture and water sectors Ministry of Agriculture and Forest  4. Initiatives of the UN Country Team to build resilience to drought  Representative, UN Country Team   Question and Answer/Discussion (20 mins)   

10:45– 11:35    Regional perspectives (15 minutes each presentation, followed by discussion)   

1. Challenges and opportunities for regional action: Key findings  and messages of the Ready for the Dry Years and Asia‐Pacific Disaster Report 2019 Ms. Kareff Rafisura, Economic Affairs Officer, Disaster Risk Reduction, ESCAP   2. Reflections on how to strengthen ASEAN‐level action on drought: next steps Ms.  Intani Kusuma, Senior Officer, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division, ASEAN Secretariat  Question and Answer/Discussion (20 mins)  

 11:35‐ 12:50    Stakeholder perspectives: Roundtable discussion  Note: As representatives of various sectors, participants will offer their brief perspectives on the issues, sectoral response options, and recommendations for actions at the ASEAN level. The recommendations may, but not exclusively, focus on learning, data access, capacity building and technical support to build long‐term resilience to drought.  12.50‐13.00  Final remarks 

Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare   13.00‐14.00     Lunch  

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