Geophysics to enhance agricultural productivity and livelihoods of smallholder farmers through improved groundwater management of the Vientiane Plain, Lao PDR

Lao PDR is a poorly-developed country with a large rural population which relies almost exclusively on agricultural production systems as their means of livelihood. Even though surface water is abundant, Lao PDR is still vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate variability and climate change – flooding and heavy monsoon rains are common but the country also experiences long and prolonged dry seasons with pronounced and common water scarcity. Shortages, both spatially and temporally are increasingly being met with supplies from groundwater. As groundwater management is still at a very basic level and perhaps the single most important constraint to progress, the goal of our SEG-Geoscientists without Borders project is to build human and institutional capacity in-country and resilience in agricultural productivity through sustainable use of groundwater for local farmers on the Vientiane Plain, Lao PDR.