The Urban Risk Management and Resilience project is a project funded by the United Nations Development Programme funding window to enhance urban risk management and resilience to disasters and climate risks of Lao PDR.

The project applies a human rights-based approach to address development challenges associated with disasters and enhance resilience to increasing climate risks through improved policy, strengthened capacity, and risk information. This approach fosters resilient and sustainable socio-economic development and contributes towards the achievement of the SDGs.

Background

Economic growth in Lao PDR has slowed over the past 5 years falling from 6.3 percent in 2018 to 4.8 percent in 2019, primarily due to disasters and their effect on the agricultural sector. Disaster damages are undermining the country’s efforts to achieve SDGs.

One of the bottlenecks for this systematic approach towards disaster risk management and sustainable development is the lack of empirical evidence and analytical information, especially related to the impacts of disasters on vulnerable populations. In face of increasing risks, there is a need for an established national disaster response coordination mechanism and risk-informed development planning.

Major Achievements/ Objectives

• Established the new Emergency Operation Center (EOC), equipped with necessary communication devices. Trained 37 members of the National Disaster Management Committee and 4 Provincial Disaster Management Committees (Vientiane Capital, Vientiane Province, Bolikhamsay Province, and Saravane Province) on the EOC-led response coordination.
• Developing Sectoral Recovery Guidelines and Flood and Drought Recovery Guideline through consultations with relevant ministries and provincial stakeholders to promote implantation of the Disaster Management Law.
• Identifying disaster risk data gaps, updating the online Lao Disaster Information Platform (LaoDi), and developing data visualization and analytical capacity.
• Supporting emerging priorities and immediate needs in response to crisis through the improvement of Emergency Evacuation Center in Saravan Province and Cash for Work.

Project Outcome:

The project aims to:

• Implement the Disaster Management Law for sustainable development and urban risk management
• Strengthen capacity at National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and relevant national agencies, as well as UNDP CO to advance and upscale climate and disaster risk-informed urban resilience portfolio.
• Lao Disaster Information Platform (LaoDi) updated and institutionalized at NDMO to strengthen gender-responsive disaster preparedness, recovery, and urban resilience

GESI (Gender Equality & Social Inclusion) component

This project contributes to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the implementation of all project activities and challenges existing structural barriers to gender equality. All policy, institutional, legislative, and coordination measures is integrating gender equality considerations and advance active participation and engagement of women and their representative entities. Risk management and resilience-building interventions address gendered dimensions of resilience building and facilitate an active decision-making role for women in their communities. In addition, the establishment of the updated LaoDi will ensure the collection of sex-disaggregated data as an integral part of the disaster data collection and use the analysis for gender-responsive indicators/targets as well as gendered policies, programs, and interventions.

Related Materials

• Project Document
• Story: UNDP supports NDMO in upgrading and redeploying the Lao Disaster Information System (LaoDi)

Project details:

• Status: Ongoing
• Start Date: June 2021
• End Date: March 2022
• Project Office: UNDP Country Office in Lao PDR
• Focus Area: Disaster Risk Reduction
• Collaborating Partners: Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare
• Total budget: $430,000