Home
News
All news
Mission in Luang Prabang (Laos) from 6th to 11th July 2009

Mission in Luang Prabang (Laos) from 6th to 11th July 2009

Published on 03 September 2009 - Updated 22 December 2010
Cet article date d'il y a plus de 15 ans

International cooperation, Mission Val de Loire

This follow-up, assessment and coordination mission was intended to review how the “river-to-river cooperation” MAEE project has progressed with the authorities of the Water Resources and Environment Office (WREO) in Luang Prabang and other project partners who provide scientific and technical expertise. This project is itself part of the decentralised cooperation of the Centre Region with the Province of Luang Prabang, for which the Val de Loire Mission provides technical support.

Mission team

Val de Loire Mission :
- Vincent Rotgé, International Activities Manager and Expert in Regional Development,
- Simon Hardy, Project Management Assistant,
Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park (PNR LAT):
- Guillaume Delaunay, Natural Heritage Policy Officer
IRD (Research Institute for Development) and CIRAD (French agricultural research centre working for international development)

Highlights

The mission participants met Mr Chanthavong, Director of the WREO in Luang Prabang, who confirmed the interest of his institution in the "Eco-valley" programme - the focus of the Centre Region-Luang Prabang Province partnership - of which the Laos section of the "river-to-river cooperation" MAEE project is part.

He expressed his interest in an integrated initiative for developing and protecting the valley's nature spots.

Guillaume Delaunay's presentation of the PNR LAT captured the full attention of the WREO partners, who also expressed interest in the experience of Thai parks reported by volunteers of the Centre Region-Luang Prabang Province/WREO progress after a seminar in Thailand in September 2008.

The mission also comprised field trips to the village of Houay Yen in Nam Khan Valley, and a meeting with Tara Gujadur, TENRI, cofounder of an ethnographical museum in Luang Prabang.

Main conclusions

Objectives for the project's next stages:

Obtain tangible and direct results in the improvement of the populations' standard of living, through activities:
- underseeding test crops
- commercial sectors
- halieutic sector - fish farming
Capitalise on the work carried out during the Eco-valley Programme for several years now, including the MAEE Project for two years
- Some of these initiatives have a scientific focus and may be published in specialist reviews
Organise a series of thematic workshops for the MAEE Project running until the end of 2010, each designed in two parts:
- (1) expert group for identifying lessons and trends, as well as specific development proposals,
- (2) raising awareness of and discussion with Laos-based stakeholders: MPs, local government departments and villagers, of these proposals.

Lastly, it seems that the PNR LAT may play a useful role in putting together guidelines for the integrated development of the sector between the buffer zone and National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCA).

Regional management and preservation of the heritage of river corridors