Vanishing Acts...

How long will Lao PDR's natural resources and biodiversity last?

Lao PDR is a signatory to the Greater Mekong Subregion ten-year strategic plan that is today driving unprecedented economic activity and infrastructure development across the entire Greater Mekong.

Concentrated along three "economic corridors" that criss-cross the region this development is designed to promote free flows of goods and people across national borders.

At its current unsustainable rate, this development will result in the irreversible grand-scale loss of biological and cultural diversity.

A report by Oxfam published in 2007 stated that "the ability of natural resources to continue to support poor peoples' livelihoods in the Mekong is at crisis point. Forests and rivers are in a state of rapid ecological decline caused by human over-exploitation."

It is not too late for nations of the Greater Mekong Subregion to change this trajectory. What is WWF Doing?

Avoidable Costs

If no action is take to sustain natural resources, local communities and multi-billion dollar investments will be devastated, and some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity will be lost.

One result of the region-wide development is that Lao PDR, with its lower-cost labour and relative abundance of land, is emerging as a regional exporter of agricultural products, such as, rubber.

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of large-scale land concessions, mostly to foreign investors, to develop agriculture and pulpwood plantations for the production of exportable commodities. The government of Lao PDR has targeted a total area of 500, 000 hectares of industrial tree plantations by 2020.

Insufficient land-use planning is displacing permanent agriculture investment into local community boundaries and protected forest areas. This creates resource conflict between neighbouring communities that are forced to share already stretched natural resources for food and trade.

In other cases, agricultural production moves into protected forest areas leading to deforestation, wildlife trade and biodiversity loss.

Learn how we are helping sustain Lao PDR's species, forest and freshwater resources.
A Sustainable Future...

The challenge for Lao PDR and all nations of the Greater Mekong Subregion is to sustain economic growth, while ensuring natural ecosystems remain viable.

By adopting sound environmental management and maintaining healthy ecosystems, Lao PDR's natural resources and globally outstanding biodiversity will sustain today's economic development into the future.

For example

• Roads that link major cities and promote regional trade will be protected from flooding and erosion by healthy forests and watersheds that also harbour globally significant biodiversity.
• Hydropower dams that generate energy, income and employment will have sustainable water supplies, likewise secured by healthy forests, while maintaining critical fish spawning habitats.
• Ecotourism initiatives will provide income to local communities and promote the conservation of wildlife and natural landscapes.

SOURCE: http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/laos/challenges/