The Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Lao government have agreed to establish a site for demonstrating best practice in dealing with the potential impacts of climate changes on Lao agriculture and rural life.

According to the MRC, a site has been chosen in Savannakhet, where the MRC's Climate Change and Adoption Initiative (CCAI) will work with local farmers to assess how they may be affected by projected changes to the climate in coming years and test out measures to adapt to these changes, particularly in relation to awareness raising and training for villagers and improving water supply.

The MRC reported that the Mekong region is one of the most vulnerable in the world to long term impacts of climate change, due to the relatively high proportion of people living on low incomes and regional low government capacity to deal with the issue.

The Head of Office of the Water Resources and Environment Agency in Savannakhet province, Mr Sinouan Sihalath, said “Like other areas of the Lower Mekong Basin , people in Savannakhet are facing climate risks.”

“The province is highly vulnerable to flood and drought, while agriculture areas are affected by climate risks.”

“The demonstration site activities in the four Lower Mekong Basin countries will benefit the communities directly and provide lessons learned for up-scaling or replicating,” said the Director of the Environment Division at the MRC, Dr Pornsook Chongprasith, which also intends to develop similar sites in Thailand , Cambodia and Vietnam .

Although no one knows exactly how rising world temperatures will impact on the basin, the MRC says that according to global climate modelling that has been downscaled to basin level, a change in rainfall patterns, which could increase the risk of flooding in some areas; an increase in the number and severity of extreme weather events; an increased risk of extremes of hot and cold in different parts of the basin, increasing the risk of drought; and changes in the flow of the river and tributaries, which could influence fish migration patterns, run-off and alluvial deposits, are all likely scenarios and will have serious consequences for Lao farmers.

In other parts of the basin, sea level rises of up to one metre are predicted, making the Mekong Delta one of the five most vulnerable deltas in the world. The MRC says this could cause significant displacement of people and migration into urban areas.