Promoting Climate-Resilient Rural Development and Food Security in Southeast Asia - Responsible Forestry Preparation Project

Project Description

Promoting Climate-Resilient Rural Development and Food Security in Southeast Asia – Responsible Forestry Preparation Project

Donor: Asian Development Bank (ADB)| Partner: Nippon Koei | Duration: February 2025 – December 2025 | Location: Lao PDR

Project Background:

The forestry sector in Lao PDR has a high potential to generate economic revenue and boost Gross Domestic Products (GDP), contributing to addressing high debt distress for the government of Lao PDR. However, critical challenges are restricting the sustainable development of the forestry sector in Lao including: (i) weak institutional coordination and unclear regulatory framework and land tenure, (ii) lack of sustainable revenue for forest and biodiversity conservation, and (iii) lack of viable investment models, infrastructure, and technical capacity to support forest plantations and its related value chains.

Project Objectives

The project will support the design and due diligence of pilots for the Responsible Forestry Preparation Project (RFPP) for Lao PDR. The project will tackle critical challenges in the forestry and ecotourism sectors in Lao PDR and promote responsible and sustainable forest sector growth through three outputs:

Output 1: Forest, carbon, and biodiversity management strengthened;
Output 2: Commercial Forest plantations and value chain promoted; and
Output 3: Climate resilient and sustainable livelihoods for forest communities developed. The project is expected to improve the incomes and living standards of forest communities in the central and southern provinces, enhance forest ecosystems, carbon sequestration and biodiversity, mitigate climate impacts, and contribute to national economic growth. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of the Lao PDR will be the executing agency and the Department of Forestry (DOF) will be the implementing agency. The project will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE) and supported by the relevant Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices (PAFO).

Project Activities

The assignment includes the following stages:

Stage 1 – Inception report. Following site visits and consultations with government authorities and key stakeholders, ICEM will prepare the inception report that includes the initial assessment, baseline information, and methodological approach for preparing the due diligence reports on: (i) forestry sector assessments with demand analysis and opportunities for private sector participation; (ii) stakeholder consultations and studies to determine baseline conditions including the analysis of available degraded production forest land suitable for plantation; (iii) preliminary engineering designs for rural infrastructure and facilities to promote market access for timber and non-timber forest products, ecotourism; (iv) project cost estimates and financing plan, (v) initial technical, financial, economic, institutional, and poverty and social analysis, (vi) draft gender analysis and action plan (GAAP) and summary poverty reduction and social strategy; (vii) draft climate risk assessments and recommendations in alignment with Paris Agreement; (viii) financial management assessment, including accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and disbursement agreements; (ix) procurement capacity assessment; (x) project implementation arrangements; (xi) draft project administration manual; and (xii) a project start-up plan to accelerate first-year consultant recruitment and procurement.

Stage 2 – Interim report, including feasibility studies and due diligence. ICEM will design and implement feasibility studies for at least 2 pilot projects focused on creating enabling environments for commercial forestry and ecotourism to encourage responsible investments. The pilot projects will each contain a range of activities, from designing access roads to conducting biodiversity surveys. Devising an equitable benefit-sharing arrangement between the Government, private sector, and local communities will be a key output of each pilot project. ICEM will ensure that the project design incorporates lessons from operational experiences and evaluation of ADB’s previous support for forestry, agriculture, and natural resources management in Lao PDR. These lessons should be presented in the refined drafts based on the first drafts of due diligence reports prepared in Stage 1.

Stage 3 – Final report and loan fact-finding mission. Following the interim workshop, ICEM will prepare a final integrated background report and a refined Final Report with all required linked documents in preparation for the ADB loan fact-finding mission. ICEM will ensure that all ADB and government project documents are aligned with and meet the requirements of ADB, other official development cofinancing partners, as the case may be, and the government. At the completion of the final draft report, ADB will conduct the loan fact-finding mission for which the consultants will support the mission including field visits.

Stage 4 – Loan approval, signing and project start-up. ICEM will deploy field mission(s) to provide support in implementing the start-up plan by (i) preparing the procurement documents for recruitment of the loan implementation consultants, conduct of surveys, and procurement of goods; and (ii) provide training to the executing and implementing agencies and relevant stakeholders on ADB’s safeguard policies, procurement, and financial management requirements. ICEM will work closely with ADB’s team to incorporate new comments, if any, to the Final Report, its linked documents, and the government documents. Upon loan approval, ICEM will also back up the loan negotiation process until the loan agreement is signed.

Project Description