Our Response World Vision is working with community leaders in flood and drought prone areas to build early warning and response systems to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. World Vision also partners with communities to address flood-induced food security problems by enhancing community resilience against natural disaster through increased dry season cultivation, diversification of cropping practices, introducing alternative income-generating activities and family and community savings. What are the challenges? While the prevalence of general hazards and major disasters in Lao PDR is considered medium to low relative to other Asian countries, it is the acute vulnerability that causes relatively high risks for communities when disasters do occur. Communities living in severe poverty are especially vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters.
Vulnerability is identified as the key determinant for communities experiencing disasters and the negative impact of unexploded ordnances (UXO). Vulnerability is determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. Poverty is seen as the main cause of vulnerability, underlining the importance of reducing poverty in order to increase community resilience to disasters.
The most vulnerable groups include the landless, women-headed households, those people living subsistence livelihoods in remote or fragile environments, and those with health problems.
Also, while Lao PDR is generally well endowed with natural resources (fisheries, water, forests and non-timber forest products (NTFPs), a number of these natural resources are in danger of over-usage and depletion, particularly with the expansion of road networks from China, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
Floods, droughts and man-made disasters
Lao PDR is annually faced with flooding, drought and landslides in addition to man-made disaster such as forest fires and fires affecting household and government assets.
Perennial flooding from the annual monsoon season (July – October) affects the livelihoods and security of communities that are based in flood prone areas. These communities experience annual cycles of disaster and dependency on surrounding villages, government and non-government assistance. Almost every year the annual floods destroy large percentages of wet season crop, which is the mainstay of these and many local economies. High crop loss has left many poorer farmers in accumulative debt.
While flooding is an important and normal part of life in these areas, as environmental conditions, demographic and livelihood patterns have changed, the destructive effects of large floods have increased while the frequency of floods has remained consisted for the last 40 years.
When the monsoon season ends, drought-like conditions replace flooding, further preventing communities from utilizing their land to sustain a livelihood.
The past decade has seen dramatic changes in the natural environment. Human activities, whether intentional or unintentional, has contributed to the degradation of the environment though practices such as land clearing for development, logging, slash and burn cultivation practices, and the growing use of chemicals and pesticides.
Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
Per capita, Lao PDR is the most heavily bombed country in the world, and UXO contamination is still a legacy affecting agricultural land, particularly in some areas bordering Vietnam. UXO limits access to productive land, prohibits development efforts such as improvement of health services, and restricts access to education and markets.
Children are especially at risk as they search for food and work in areas that may be contaminated with UXO.
There is also a clear linkage between UXO and poverty reduction. Poverty, rather than lack of knowledge about dangers, is the key factor in determining who collect UXO for scrap metal. The risks are heightened when scrap collectors lack the technical skill to disarm and dispose of UXO properly.
LANGOCA Disaster Management and UXO Analytical Mission (AM) (2006)
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
Strategic Plan on Disaster Management for Lao PDR, 2005-2020 (2003) | 
