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Program

Community River Basin Management

With economic growth increasing demands on Lao PDR’s rivers, we help communities and local agencies protect water resources that sustain health, commerce, and livelihoods.

Community members gather along the Mekong River basin, part of ongoing work to strengthen local stewardship of shared water resources.

As Lao PDR’s development places growing pressure on rivers and other natural resources, communities need stronger ways to protect the water systems that sustain their health and livelihoods.

Since 2015, the Community River Basin Management program has been helping river-dependent communities and local government agencies in Lao PDR manage water resources more sustainably. With support from The McConnell Foundation and in partnership with the Khammouane Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, the program strengthens river basin management, wetland conservation, environmental monitoring, and flood preparedness in the Xe Bang Fai River Basin.

Impact

Protected wetlands and strengthened community resilience

The program conserved six wetlands across 30 hectares in Mahaxai and Xebangfai districts, benefiting more than 7,000 people through improved food security and biodiversity protection.

Strengthened local capacity for sustainable resource management

More than 300 local officials and community members received training in water resource management, environmental monitoring, and environmentally friendly farming practices.

Created a platform for river governance dialogue

Established Lao PDR’s first Healthy River Network, bringing stakeholders together to address water governance, flood risks, land use, and riverbank erosion.

Community River Basin Managment in Laos
Xe Bang Fai River Basin, Hin Namno National Park, Khammouane Province, Laos

APPROACH

The program’s distinctive approach links community action with local governance and planning systems. By combining scientific assessments, community mapping, citizen-led monitoring, and participatory planning, the program supports practical, locally grounded approaches to biodiversity protection, sustainable farming, waste management, and environmental resilience. 

Person wearing a conical hat and striped sweater stands waist-deep in a wide river at sunset, holding long bamboo poles to cast a large circular fishing net that fans out over the water; distant shoreline and soft clouded sky form a low silhouette on the

FEATURED PUBLICATION

Navigating Informal Institutions: Supporting Wetland Management in Laos

Laos’s abundant wetlands have long provided a range of benefits to local communities, including water for irrigation and wildlife habitats that yield fish for consumption. These benefits are increasingly at risk. In addition to the threats posed by environmental shocks, the country’s natural wetland ecosystems face rising threats from unsustainable development practices.

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