Multilayered Vulnerability Profile for Pakse, Lao PDR - Climate, Urban, and Biodiversity Dimensions

The Multilayered Vulnerability Profile for Pakse City, Lao PDR, was developed under the project “Enhancing interregional knowledge exchange and capacities of national and local governments in Lao PDR, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and South Africa on financing for urban sustainable, net-zero, climate resilient and nature positive development for the most vulnerable urban communities,” under UN-Habitat’s Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor (RISE UP) Programme. The project is supported by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund under the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF). 

Pakse, the capital of Champasak Province and the third-largest city in Lao PDR, is a key regional hub for trade, tourism, and services. Rapid and largely unregulated urbanization has outpaced infrastructure development and environmental safeguards, creating overlapping vulnerabilities across urban, climate, and biodiversity dimensions. 

The profile examines challenges including rapid urban expansion, significant flood risks associated with the Mekong and Xe Don rivers, rising temperatures and drought, inadequate drainage and flood protection, gaps in roads and waste management, and biodiversity loss resulting from deforestation and land-use change. The assessment combines spatial analysis with community consultations to identify and validate multilayered vulnerability hotspots, particularly in peri-urban and flood-prone areas. 

Applying the methodology set out in the Multilayered Vulnerability Assessment (MVA) Handbook, the profile provides evidence to support urban resilience planning and the forthcoming Urban Resilience Action Plan (URAP). It highlights priorities including strengthening flood risk management, improving infrastructure and basic services, guiding urban expansion, and safeguarding natural ecosystems to support sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient urban development.