Environment and natural resources

Although the Prime Minister’s Order relating to control of the timber industry is being strictly enforced, illegal logging continues to be of great concern although it has declined in recent years.In 2020, more than 2,600 cubic metres of illegally harvested wood and over 290 tonnes ...

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  ...

The people of Khongxedon district and surrounding areas in Saravan province will have better opportunities for healthcare and medical treatment thanks to the US government’s support for the renovation of facilities at Khongxedon district hospital.Keep reading   ...

Policy leaders, academics, international organizations, NGOs, and media have all warned that tensions between nation-states sharing watercourses would be the source of inevitable conflict in the 21st century.Dr. Anoulak and Germany’s Dr. Susanne Schmeier, an associate professor at IHE Delft who co-edits the book, who ...

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) – Vientiane and Pakxe are set to improve waste management and treatment services, including collection, waste-to-resource opportunities, and wastewater treatment.Authorities officially launched the ‘Wastewater and Solid Waste Treatment Capacity Building Project for City Environment Improvement in Laos’ project in Vientiane on Monday.The project ...

A confluence of drought and dams along the Mekong River has renewed concerns about the future of the 4,700-kilometer waterway. Upon which tens of millions of people depend for their livelihoods in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.The number of dams impeding the Mekong’s flow ...

A Chinese-owned factory in Laos that recently started operations is causing noise and air pollution that affect the health of nearby residents in the country’s Bolikhamxay province.The factory, which produces packing foam for use in transporting bananas, is made up of one building situated on ...

The mighty Mekong River, normally a vast expanse of brown, has taken on a bluish hue, making it appear like seawater in some areas.Residents of both Thakhek in Laos, and Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, have noted the blue color of the Mekong River in recent ...