The Asian Development Bank will provide US$20 million to the Lao government for the second phase of its Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Project (BCCP) in southern Laos.
The funding will allow the project to continue from 2011-2019, and forms part of a collaborative conservation effort between the countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).
The second phase of the project in Laos has been expanded to cover the Xepian, Dong Houasao, Xesap and Ampham conservation areas which stretch across large tracts of the three southernmost border provinces. There are 4,700 households in 69 villages spread across the targeted five districts in the border provinces of Champassak, Xekong and Attapeu.
The inception workshop for the second phase of the project was held in Vientiane yesterday to discuss relevant issues and orient all stakeholders on project design, implementation arrangements, and their respective roles and responsibilities.
Officials from all the relevant government and international organisations, as well as ADB representatives and other stakeholders in Greater Mekong Sub-region issues all took part in the meeting. They discussed, refined and agreed on an implementation plan for the next year of the project.
Forest degradation, decrea-sing wildlife populations and declining biodiversity in fragile environments is an ongoing issue in the region, which is why large tracts of land have been allocated as National Conservation Areas and the preservation project will continue.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Mr Akhom Tounalom said at the opening that he welcomed the expansion of the project, which is being scaled up after the success of phase one along Road No. 18A in Champhone district, Champassak province.
This road runs through the Dong Houasao and Xepian wildlife corridors, and the first phase of the project worked in 11 villages along the road to improve conservation outcomes in vulnerable areas, with US$1.3 million in funding from the ADB.
Mr Akhom welcomed the decision to expand the second phase of the project. He said the workshop was an important first step to examine and report previous project activities, allocate a budget for future activities, and incorporate ideas and suggestions regarding potential improvements.
He called on all the involved sectors take their responsibilities seriously and work to improve project outcomes, saying he believed that this second phase would strengthen coordination between the sectors involved.
Capacity building initiatives would help them to ensure more sustainable natural resource management, he said, and take preventative measures in relation to the future effects of climate change, and preserve biodiversity in the region.
Poverty reduction among the people who are living in the target areas is central to the success of the project, which will work to provide security of tenure to poor households and ethnic groups. It will allow for the collective management of forest resources and restore habitat on degraded forestlands.
Replanting of native species will be combined with agro-forestry models that encourage the harvesting of non-timber forest products to rehabilitate previously degraded land. The project will also enhance small-scale infrastructure and generate over one million cash-based labour days throughout the course of project activities.
Delineation and demarcation of land and wildlife conservation corridors will be carried out in consultation with the primary beneficiaries, based on a participatory land use planning appro
