Disaster and Climate Change Law Workshop | Vientiane, Lao PDR | 29 July 2015

Since October 2013, IFRC, LRC, UNDP and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MoNRE) have been working together as key partners in the development of a new disaster risk management and climate change law in Lao PDR. The development of the new law is a central component of the ‘Integrated Disaster and Climate Risk Management Project’ (ICDRM) currently being carried out in Lao PDR by UNDP and MoNRE, with IFRC and LRC as key implementing partners. Over the past 12 months, these four partners have achieved several milestones which have marked the progress of this work.

Building upon these milestones, the project partners held a “Disaster and Climate Change Law Workshop” in Vientiane, to bring together key national and local stakeholders to discuss progress to date, key thematic/technical components to consider when developing the new law, and to solicit their feedback and inputs in this process. The workshop was also in line with international commitments made by the government of Lao PDR and the Lao Red Cross at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in 2011, where a resolution was adopted calling upon states to review their existing legislative frameworks at all levels (or develop new ones) to adequately establish key disaster risk reduction measures, and to promote community level action.

The objectives of the workshop are:

• Increase knowledge and understanding of disaster law concepts and issues, and how to incorporate these in the new law (eg. IDRL, DRR, climate change)
• Introduce key tools such as the IDRL Guidelines, Model Act on International Assistance and DRR Checklist
• Provide technical support and discussion in the development of the new national disaster risk management and climate change law.
• Solicit input and feedback from key stakeholders involved in the development of the law, in order to garner support and momentum for the development and passage of the law.

For more information, see the concept note, agenda, participant list and published article about the workshop inVientiane Times.

For more resources, visit Disaster Law page.