Facilitated Cross-Sectoral Cooperation Toward Sustainable Water Management in Lao PDR

It is evident that cross-sectoral cooperation is required among relevant sectors toward effective and sustainable water management in Lao PDR. The CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) via the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the government partners have advocated for cross-sectoral cooperation among relevant government sectors in different platforms.

Panelist of the endorsement meeting of Namma and Namnuen River Basin Management Plans in Xiengkhouang Province, Lao PDR. Photo credit: Souphalack Inphonephong, IWMI

NPS facilitated stakeholder discussions in the endorsement meeting of Namma and Namnuen River Basin Management Plans in Xiengkhouang Province, Lao PDR, on 20 June 2024. The discussion session of the event was facilitated in cooperation with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). The session discussed implementation progress, further priorities, and cooperation of the two national river basin management plans. Discussion panelists were represented from DWR, three provincial departments of natural resources and environment in Xiengkhouang, Louangprabang, and Houaphan, as well as the Department of Irrigation (DOI) and the Department of Agricultural Land Management (DALaM) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). Key findings of the discussions were summarized as follows:

• The provincial participants shared similar implementation challenges in relation to community awareness on water resources and environmental protection and a lack of means, i.e., budget and equipment for relevant agencies to implement the plans.
  • They also found that development projects, i.e., the Climate Protection through Avoided Deforestation (CLiPAD) project and Lao Landscape and Livelihood Project (LLL), led by relevant sectors, helped address the challenges and contributed to the implementation of the plans.
• The panelist participant from DOI raised examples of their associated development projects to support the implementation of the plans via agricultural activities to support community livelihoods and awareness campaigns to promote sustainable use of water and natural resources around watershed areas.
• DALaM's participant also raised their cooperation with MONRE at the provincial and district levels as part of the agricultural land use planning and land allocation activity and associated community awareness campaigns on forest and agricultural land management.
• DWR's participant also concluded the need to have further discussions among the sectors concerned to discuss further implementation priorities of the plans, based on their implementation progress and sectoral priorities, for instance.

The need to strengthen further cooperation between DALaM and DOI on groundwater management in agricultural was raised in the second semiannual stakeholder forum of the sub-sector working group on irrigation (SSWG-IR) on 14 October 2024 in Vientiane Capital. The proposed cross-sectoral cooperation was raised as a recommendation for a further priority focus in the irrigation development plan, i.e., the Irrigation Development Master Plan 2026-2030, as groundwater management is also a new mandate of DALaM. Besides, the first SSWG-IR's Stakeholder Forum on 20 March 2024 also discussed the need for cross-sectoral cooperation for integrated water resources management. Both stakeholder forums were co-hosted by DOI and the Asian Development Bank, with IWMI's technical support.

Author and photo credit:

Souphalack Inphonephong, National Researcher - Social-Political Scientist, IWMI

his work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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