Weather variability and long term climate change are not recent phenomena or unknown to farmers in Phongsaly, the northernmost province of Lao PDR, who live and thrive from weather-dependent agriculture and ecosystems. A more unpredictable length, start and end of the rainy and dry seasons, stronger winds and storms, longer droughts but at the same time increased intensity of rainfall resulting in floods and localized landslides, and erratic temperature patterns with more severe cold and hot spells all heavily impact on livelihoods, people and natural resources. At the same time, farmers are positively as well as negatively influenced by other socio-economic influences such as infrastructure development, international and local market pressures, modernization of agriculture, hydropower expansion and increased connectivity.
While adversity brings challenges, it also leads to change with farmers already demonstrating successful actions to confront disasters and climate change. Building on their variable capacities, shaped by factors such as gender, poverty, access and control over resources, governance and power imbalances, women and men from a diversity of ethnic groups generate responses and ideas to adapt to the effects of a changing social, economic and natural environment.
Within this dynamic resilience context, CARE, CCL and SAEDA in partnership with local authorities are implementing the „Northern Uplands Promoting Climate Resilience’ (NU PCR) project, in 3 districts of Phongsaly province. Through targeted support on climate risk analysis and planning, gender-responsive livelihood and disaster risk reduction interventions, and research and documentation for advocacy and scaling, the project aims to improve the resilience of communities in 30 villages, directly reaching 1,500 farming households and indirectly more than 78,000 women and men. The project started in 2014 and will be implemented until March 2018. [64]