Advancing From Fishing to Village Sustainability
Don Xom is one of the 4,000 islands located in the Siphandone area of Southern Laos. The farmers and fishermen have a subsistence lifestyle. With the impacts of climate change, flooding, drought, livestock death, riverbank erosion, and hotter weather are all hard to predict and adapt to.
Mr. Xai, a Don Xom fisherman and member of the village leadership team, is seeing the impacts of climate change on his people. As a child, there was never any worry about fish stocks, the rice harvest or the stability of the island’s road. But in recent years, the impacts from climate change have become more visible with adverse effects on the island. Mr. Xai had been thinking for a long time about how to provide his community with a more sustainable and secure future.
In 2023, 3C carried out a baseline study for WWF and put forth recommendations for Nature-based Solutions for the people in Siphandone to adapt to climate impacts. At Don Xom, Mr. Xai facilitated the baseline study and stakeholder consultations. He demonstrated his prowess in understanding the issues and urgency for action. Unfortunately, he did not see any action implemented by the project donors in the following two years to solve the issues. This came to the attention of 3C who also observed that under Mr. Xai’s leadership, the people of Don Xom were ready and eager to address climate impacts on their community. Further discussions between 3C and Mr. Xai paved the way for assisting Don Xom in implementing nature-based solutions.
In 2025, Mr. Xai led the project for 3C to provide fruit trees and local sommek herb to his community. The trees and herbs are now thriving and will soon provide fruit and revenue to the community.
Also in 2025, strong rains and the release of water from a dam upstream caused many areas of Don Xom’s riverbank to erode faster than usual. Mr. Xai referred to the baseline assessment’s recommendations and partnered with 3C to prevent further erosion. The NBS action was proposed whereby rocks from the Mekong River were placed against the riverbank. Sand from sandbars were used to fill the gaps between the riverbank and the “rock wall.”
Mr. Xai rallied the villagers to erect a “rock wall” and collect sand to fortify the erosion control wall. As much as possible, natural materials were used with steel cages to keep the rocks in place.
Mr. Xai continues to lead his people to limit erosion in other parts of Don Xom, using nature-based solutions.
.jpeg)
