Protect our forests, officials urge

The country's 21 national protected areas (NPA) will improve management and allocate more forest conservation areas in a bid to protect natural resources, biodiversity and wildlife.

The move is part of government efforts to restore forest cover to 53 percent of total land area by 2010 and to 70 percent by 2020. At present only about 40 percent of land is forested, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Several factors have caused widespread deforestation in Laos . These include growing population pressure and a sharp increase in the number of industrial tree plantations.

Land concessions to domestic and foreign companies growing trees on a commercial basis has led to the destruction of thousands of hectares of land in NPAs, Deputy Head of the Division of Forest Resource Conservation, Mr Savanh Chanthakoumman, said.

He was speaking at a national forest conservation management meeting held in Vientiane on Thursday and Friday.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr Ty Phommasak and senior forestry senior officials from provinces around the country.
Mr Savanh said Laos was rich in natural resources such as forestry and biodiversity, which were a source of food, traditional medicine, energy and trade and a source of income for many Lao people.

He said natural resources were vital to the country's socio-economic development and the survival of rural communities.
“We should all join hands to solve any problem that arises in the protection of our natural resources and their management so that they continue to exist well into the future,” he said.
Dr Ty said “If we want to establish Laos as “the battery of Asia ” we first have to protect our forests.”

Over the years the government had paid closer attention to issuing various orders, announcements and decrees to each go vernment sector involved in forestry and forest conservation, he said. Dr Ty said the government had recently approved forestry, aquatic and wildlife laws as a tool to implement forestry resource management.

He advised all participants at the meeting to have a greater understanding of the importance of forests and the value of natural resources, saying it would add to the success of their work.
He called on each section concerned to designate forest areas that could be protected and agricultural land that could be farmed.

The proper use of natural resources would help to boost gross domestic product and enable people to earn a living. This was especially the case in the tourism sector, where local people could help tourists to access natural resources and earn an income in the process, Dr Ty said.

Participants also heard reports on management and conservation in NPAs such as Nakai-Nam Kading, Nam Aaed-Phou Leuay and Phou Khaokhuay.