3 concern about deforestation. The conference also pointed out the new policy direction for forest
management in Lao PDR. This new forest policy called for preservation and conservation of biological diversity by improving management systems, as well as maximizing the use of forest for
the country’s economic development. The policy also called for the improvement of local people’s livelihoods especially in the upland area.
To ensure the new forest policy’s direction, the Government of Lao PDR GoL developed a Tropical Forestry Action Plan TFAP in 1990 and officially adopted it one year later. The action
plan identified six major forest associated development programs covering areas of human resource development; alternatives to shifting cultivation; watershed protection; sustainable forest
utilization; and development of forest plantation. It was the first forest development program that advocated people’s participation in forest management DOF, 2000.
Another important policy instrument that shaped community based natural resource management in Lao PDR during the 1990s was the Land Use Planning and Land Allocation Policy, which
recognized the rights of local people to use and manage natural resources. It also encouraged local people’s participation in the management planning and protection of the forest.
The notion of community forestry or community-based forest management began to emerge in Lao PDR in the very early 1990s. In one of the early efforts to respond to TFAP, Department of
Forestry DOF developed the first guiding framework for sustainable forest management in Lao PDR. Known as the “New System of Resource Management”, forests were divided into forest
management units called “Forest Management Areas”. Besides the development of procedures and operations of sustainable forest management, under the system a new framework for restructuring
DOF in line with the sector policy as required by TFAP was developed. It also built the foundation for community involvement in forest management DOF, 1992.
Within the same framework, the Lao Swedish Forestry Programme LSFP further developed and tested “Joint Forest Management” in Dong Khapo State Production Forest, Savannakhet in 1993.
Another project which is also well known is the Forest Management and Conservation Project FOMACOP which began in 1995 with financial and technical support from the World Bank, the
Finnish International Development Agency FINNIDA, and the Global Environmental Facility GEF. This project incorporated a participatory forest management model called “Village
Forestry” in Dong Sithouane, Savannakhet FOMACOP, 1996. In addition other projects also supported tree planting, but incorporated the participatory forest management process in their
projects such as: the Forest Conservation and Afforestation Project FORCAP of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency JICA in Vang Vieng, the Industrial Tree Plantation Project of
the ADB, the Promotion of Forestry Education Project PROFEP in Vientiane by GTZ Braeutigam 2003, as well as community development projects supported by international NGOs
that also assisted the Land and Forest Allocation policy of the central government.
2.2 Status of the natural resource base
In comparison with neighboring countries, Lao PDR, a country with a total land area of 236,800 km
2
, is particularly rich in commercially valuable and ecologically unique forests. In 2002, the total forest area was estimated at 41.5 per cent or about 9.8 million ha DOF, 2003. By law, these
forests are classified into five categories: i Production Forest, ii Conservation Forest, iii Protection Forest, iv Regeneration Forest, and v Degraded Forest See also Box 1. Production
forest covers 33 per cent 3.20 mill. ha of the forest area, while Protection Forest and Conservation Forest covers 10 per cent 1.03 mill. ha, and 49 per cent 4.8 mill. Ha respectively.
The remaining areas are covered by Regenerated and Degraded Forests. Out of the Conservation Forest, 3.4 mill. ha about 14.3 per cent of the total land area are part of the national biodiversity
conservation area NBCA. These forests are rich in species with a high degree of endemism and
4
Box 1: Definitions of Forest Categories in Lao PDR. Protection Forest
is forest and forest land classified for the purpose of protection of watershed areas and the
prevention of soil erosion. It also include areas of forest lands significant for national security, areas for protection
against natural disaster and the protection of the environment and other areas.
Conservation Forest is forest and forest land classified
for the purpose protecting and conserving animal species, plant species, nature and various other things which have
historical, cultural, tourism, environmental, educational and specific research values.
Production Forest is forest and forest land classified for the purpose of satisfying the requirements of natural
economic and social development and people’s livelihoods, for timber and other forest products on
sustainable basis and without significant negative environmental impacts.
Regeneration forest is young fallow forest classified for the purpose of regeneration and maintenance so that it
increases in maturity toward a stage of natural equilibrium.
Degraded Forest is forest which have been heavily
damaged such as land without forest on it or barren land classified for tree planting andor allocated to individuals
and organizations for tree planting, permanent agriculture and livestock production, or for other purposes, in
accordance with national economic development plans.
Source:
Forest Law, 1996 biological distinctiveness. For instance, at least 8,100 plant species, 166 species of reptile and
amphibian, 700 bird species, and 100 mammal species have been identified in these forests MAF, FS 2020.
Timber is not the only valuable resource of the forest, hundreds of Non Timber Forest Products NTFPs species are also found in Lao forests which provide significant contribution to the
country’s economy. They are also an important source of food and income for the rural people. Statistics from the NTFP National Survey
1
shows that there are 13 plant species that have high commercial value in the international market. Eight are found in two regions Northern and
Central regions, while the other five species are found in the South Sophathilath, et al, 2005. In spite of being rich, natural forest
resources of the Lao PDR have shown a negative trend in the last two
decades. For instance, in the 1940s the coverage of natural forests in Lao
PDR was estimated at 70 per cent of the total land area. This declined to 47
per cent in 1992, and 41.5 per cent in 2002. The rate of deforestation
between1982-1992 was estimated at 2 per cent per year, while the period
between 1992-2006 marked a higher rate of deforestation at 5.6 per cent
DOF, 2003. The decline of forest areas has taken place mostly in the
North 10.4 per cent, followed by Central 8.2 per cent and the South 3
per cent respectively DOF, 2003.
Besides the change in coverage, changes are also observed in stocking
density, species composition and forest structure and in the decrease in
wildlife and plant population. Forests have also become increasingly
fragmented with small forest compartments less than 10 ha
resulting in a decrease of large forest compartments from 88 per cent in
1992 to 54 per cent in 2002 DOF, 2003. Similarly, forest density
decreased dramatically with dense forest declining from 29 per cent in
1992 to 8.2 per cent in 2002. With respect to the structure, forest areas
dominated by large trees decreased from 43.6 per cent to 41.3 per cent in the same period. The stocking also declined from 128m3ha in 1990 to 29 m3ha in 2000 FAO, 1990 and 2001 quoted
in Chandrasekharan’s presentation, 2005
Along with the degradation of forest areas and the deterioration of forest structure, quantity and quality, other forest resources, especially NTFPs have also decreased. NTFP species growing in
1
Surveys were conducted in 39 out of 142 districts through out country in 2005.
5 natural forests have declined in terms of both quantity and quality, but increase was observed with
species growing in abandoned shifting cultivation areas Sophathilath, et al, 2005. There are many factors, both external and internal, that cause decline and deterioration of forest
resources. External factors include increasing market demands on timber and NTFP in the region, partially resulting from logging bans in some neighboring countries which caused increased
pressure on the Lao forests. Internal factors, on the other hand, comprised of shifting cultivation practices, unsustainable logging due to the lack of sustainable forest management and weakness in
law enforcement. The underlying factors behind these causes are poverty, population increase, increasing economic incentives for over harvesting, and ineffectiveness in governance DOF,
2003.
2.3 Status of population and poverty
