Mainstreaming biodiversity across agricultural and forestry sectors in Lao PDR
Lao PDRBackground
Lao PDR’s natural landscape dominates 80% of its area, 236,800 km2, with mountainous regions and rich fauna and flora, comprising 166 species of reptiles and amphibians, 700 birds, 90 bats and over 247 mammals, and approximately 500 species of indigenous fish.[i] However, unsustainable agricultural practices, land use change, forest fires, and illegal wildlife trade are driving biodiversity loss and undermining the resilience of these key ecosystems, which is even further compounded by climate change.[ii] To address those threats, Lao PDR has committed to translating the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework[iii] targets into national policies and strategies with a vision of assuring a thriving biodiversity for years to come. Through the support of FAO,[iv] Lao PDR’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has developed a roadmap for mainstreaming biodiversity across agricultural and forestry sectors for 2024-2030. The roadmap is a call to action for all stakeholders to integrate the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in those sectors as a catalyst for sustainable development. It further aims to address gaps between existing policies and commitments on biodiversity, climate change, and land restoration. It was formulated through multi-stakeholder consultation processes to ensure alignment of the environment and agriculture sectors on the vision of mainstreaming biodiversity. The roadmap serves as a foundation for future policy direction and projects on the ground.
Activities
The project “Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)”[v] supports Lao PDR to implement its roadmap for mainstreaming biodiversity across agriculture and forestry sectors. Specifically, the project is contributing to the translation of the KMGBF Target 10 on sustainable agriculture (crop and livestock production), aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry into national targets, policies, measures, and practices aimed at ensuring sustainable management of biodiversity in those sectors. At the policy level, the project is supporting the revision of the country’s NBSAP to ensure its alignment with KMGBF Targets relevant to the agriculture and forestry sectors. In addition, the project will promote the integration of NBSAP Targets into sectoral strategies and action plans to ensure a common vision for the sustainable management of biodiversity. At the field level, multi-stakeholder approaches are being used to identify biodiversity-friendly practices for sustainable agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry in response to the challenges and threats to biodiversity that are traditionally posed by agriculture, as well as leveraging opportunities for enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Impact
The project is anticipated to foster cross-sectoral collaboration and policy coherence in the effort to align the nationally-defined NBSAP targets set with other national and sectoral commitments, including the 2021 NDCs under the Paris Agreement and land restoration commitments communicated under other multilateral environmental agreements. As a result of strengthened cross-sectoral collaboration and policy coherence across multiple institutions and policy agendas, the project will enable Lao PDR to address the climate change-biodiversity-nutrition nexus, resulting in greater resilience of smallholders to droughts, floods and soil erosion, and ultimately contributing to the achievement of the country’s biodiversity and climate goals for agrifood systems.
Sources
[i] CBD Secretariat. (n.d.). Lao People’s Democratic Republic - Country Profile. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=la.
[ii] Lao PDR National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2025
[iv] FMM/GLO/165/MUL, https://www.fao.org/flexible-multipartner-mechanism/projects/project-detail/en/c/1629226/
[v] FVC/GLO/193/MUL