Biodiversity

The government of Japan last Friday granted USD2.9 million to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to implement its new strategic plan, seeking to promote responsible development in the region.The Mekong River and its tributaries support nearly 70 million people in the Lower Mekong Basin, providing ...

The Lao government’s high-risk plan to install a massive dam on the Mekong River, perilously close to the renowned UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang, shows a disregard for its legal obligations to protect the renowned site, according to conservation experts.Keep reading  ...

A completed initiative to protect the climate has contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving livelihoods, and conserving precious and fragile biodiversity, a report has revealed. Initiated in 2011, the Climate Protection through Avoided Deforestation Programme (CliPAD), which ends this year, aimed to address the loss ...

The government of Germany has agreed to continue financial support of EUR 6.2 million to implement the second phase of the Protection and Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystems and Biodiversity (ProFEB) project in Laos.Representatives of the Lao and German governments yesterday signed the technical implementation ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Agro-Biodiversity Initiative (TABI) is continuing to encourage rural people in three northern provinces to expand their fish preservation efforts at designated conservation reservoirs.The project, which was launched in 2009, has increased the number of conservation areas to 262. Fishing is ...

A Chinese-owned firm drew fire from animal conservation activists when it brought in 10 elephants from the north of the country to entertain tourists in a special economic zone in the Lao capital Vientiane during Visit Laos-China Year 2019.The year-long promotional campaign officially encourages tourism ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The Defence Threat Reduction Agency of the United States of America has provided more than 5.4 billion kip (US$617,744) to roll out the Development of the National Wildlife Disease Surveillance Network Project in Laos.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Vientiane ...

Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammalDozens of live pangolins smuggled from Laos have been discovered “dehydrated and weak” in a box on a bus in Vietnam.The Vietnamese police arrested the driver and his wife on suspicion of trafficking the animals from Laos, AFP reported ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The European Union has provided 8 million Euros to support a new project in seven countries including Laos, in a move to strengthen their governments’ actions to combat wildlife trafficking and forest crime.In Laos, the national launch event of EU action, ...

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – Local Saravan authorities have confirmed the province is facing serious challenges in preventing the spread of African swine fever with the reported number of pig deaths increasing.As of June 20, provincial officials reported 1,500 pigs had died from the disease, but ...