2.1 Forest policy and legal framework
2.2 Forest resources in Lao PDR
2.3 Forest management in the 1990s
2.4 Biodiversity conservation, watershed management and other environmental initiatives
2.5 Wood-based industries
2.6 Human resources
The basic directions for forest sector development were set in the first National Forestry Conference organized in 1989. During this congress, it was concluded that a new system of sustainable forest management needs to be established. The strategic directives agreed upon during this conference were:
· preservation of forests and improvement of management to increase production· rationalization of the use of forests to increase their economic value; and
· permanent settlement by the year 2000 of 60% of the 1.5 million people currently engaged in shifting cultivation.
To translate the general government forest policy into action, a National Forestry Action Plan was prepared in 1990-1991. This plan has been guiding forestry development in Lao PDR in the 1990s.
New legislation has been introduced to provide directions and a regulatory framework for forestry development since the early 1990s. The legal reform culminated in the issue of a first comprehensive Forest Law in the country in 1996. The law promotes the participation of people in forest management, protection and conservation, e.g. through provision of incentives. The law has a provision for allocating degraded forests and forested land to individuals and organizations for management according to prescribed purposes. Concrete steps have already been taken to allocate land and forestland to local people. In mid-1996 the Prime Minister's Office issued instructions on implementing forestland allocation. In July 1996, a First Nationwide Review Conference on Land Management and Forestland Allocation was held. The conference resulted in a number of resolutions to guide forestland allocation in the future. A national Land Management and Forestland Allocation Steering Committee was set up in July 1996 to assist the Government in studying policies, plans, and regulations, and in coordinating, monitoring, and controlling land allocation (Decree No. 137/PM).
There is not yet comprehensive legislation supporting biodiversity conservation. Following Decree 164 PMO/93 specific areas have been set aside for conservation purposes. The Forest Law also has provisions regarding conservation. According to the law individuals and organizations have a duty to protect the environment. Biodiversity is to be protected also outside the conservation forests. In August 1996, the Government of Lao PDR (GOL) signed the international Convention on the Conservation of Biodiversity. This has implications for the policy and regulatory framework for biodiversity conservation in Lao PDR.
Regulations pertaining to forest management and biodiversity conservation are currently being drafted, and they are to be completed and approved in 1998. Draft regulations for governing harvesting operations, management contracting and planning, village forestry, and national biodiversity conservation areas already exists.
A National Code of Timber Harvesting Practice was drafted in mid-1997. The purpose of the Code is to provide guidelines for carrying out timber harvesting operations in order to protect the environment and promote forest development consistent with the principles of sustainable development. The GOL is also participating in the development of Regional Timber Harvesting Code for the Asia-Pacific countries.
Despite ongoing deforestation, Lao PDR still has about 11 million hectares of forest. The central and southern parts of Lao PDR retain some of the highest proportions of forest cover in Asia. However, much of the remaining forest is degraded and under shifting cultivation. Good quality forest accounts for less than 50% of the total forest area. The remaining forest area with a crown density above 20% is distributed among different regions of the country as shown in table 1.
Table 1 - Forest cover in Lao PDR in 1989
|
|
North |
Central |
South |
Total area |
|
Total land area (mill. ha) |
9,821 |
7,229 |
6,630 |
23,680 |
|
Total forest (mill. ha) |
3,563 |
3,739 |
3,866 |
11,168 |
|
Forest cover (%) |
36% |
52% |
58% |
47% |
Mixed deciduous forest covers about 35% of the country. About 5% of the country is covered by dry dipterocarp forest and a further 5% by dry evergreen forest. The remaining 1.5% is comprised of coniferous and mixed coniferous forests (Jerndal, 1992).
The forest plantation sub-sector is not yet well developed. In fact, large-scale forest plantation development is something relatively new in Lao PDR. The first forest plantation was established in 1975 but it was for species trial only. Forest plantation development was properly initiated in early 1990s. The total effective forest plantation area in 1997 is about 40,000 ha.
In 1996, GOL introduced new forest policy to promote forest plantation by allocating degraded forest land to household as well as private sectors for planting trees and exempting the land tax. Forest plantations are established by farmers, state and private companies. The main species introduced are Eucalyptus sp., Acacia, teak, Azadirachta indica, Alstonia scholaris, Sarcocephalus sp., Azilia xylocarpa and Pterocarpus macrocarpus.
The Government of Lao PDR (GOL) has done a lot in recent years to reverse the negative forestry trends and promote sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. Earlier in this document, the policy and legal reforms introduced to support sustainable forest management were described. Some other major thrusts being pursued to tackle the current problems in the forestry sector include:
Drafting of the forest regulations pertaining to village forestry, biodiversity conservation and watershed management, harvesting, etc. The comprehensive forest regulations based on the 1996 Forest Law are to be completed during this year.
· Forest land allocation to local communities and other resource managers has been ongoing now for few years. This work will be intensified in 1998-2000.· Expanding of the protected area system to cover almost 14% of the total land area, and initiation a number of projects to develop management plans for the National Biodiversity Conservation Areas.
· Strengthening of the information base through a nationwide forest inventory. Through the Lao-SIDA Forestry Programme (LSFP), the National Office of Forest Inventory and Planning (NOFIP) has been strengthened. National Forest inventory has been ongoing since 1990 and is expected to be completed in 1999. This inventory will provide reliable up-to-date information on the forest resources and will provide a basis for macro-level forest planning. National Forest Inventory data and other information sources are currently being consolidated to provide a thorough overview of the forest resources of each province.
· Strengthening of human resources through training. Forestry education and training is being strengthened both at the university and training centre level. In addition, training of forestry staff has been undertaken with support from a number of projects. These activities have helped in creating a more efficient and capable forestry cadre.
· Development and piloting of sustainable forest management systems. Various types of forest management models are currently being tested and implemented in Lao PDR. There is a change in the emphasis from large-scale state production forestry toward more people-oriented forest management. A form of community forestry called village forestry is presently being developed by the Department of Forestry's (DOF) Forest Management and Conservation Programme (FOMACOP) with assistance from the Government of Finland and the World Bank. In early 1998, village forestry implementation covered about 145,000 ha. Joint forest management type of models are being tested in state production forests in the LSFP.
· Systematic forest plantation development has been started to supply timber and reduce pressure to utilize natural forests. There are some private joint ventures and also a major forest plantation programme finance by Asian Development Bank.
· Development of a National Village Forestry Strategy. In 1997 a draft national Village Forestry Strategy was prepared. It was discussed in February 1998 in a national workshop. The strategy, which is to be completed during within next six months, will provide a framework plan for involving local people in forest management throughout the country.
Biodiversity conservation efforts are of recent origin in Lao PDR. In 1986, the DOF established a National Office for Nature Conservation, which is the ancestor to the present Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management (CPAWM), and initiated a nationwide programme of wildlife and habitat surveys. These efforts received wider recognition during the First National Forestry Conference, in 1989, and in the consequent National Forestry Action Plan. Field studies not only helped to identify the best remaining forest areas and wildlife populations, but also led in the 1990s to the existing discovery of several new species of mammal, such as the saola and large-antlered muntjac. Such discoveries emphasize both the richness of Lao biodiversity and the extreme threats it faces from widespread hunting and collection of NTFPs both for subsistence and commercial use.
Up to now the GOL has established and declared 20 National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCA), covering almost 30,000 sq. km, or about 12.5% of the country's land area. In addition, large areas have been designated as Protection or Conservation Forest at provincial and district levels, some of which will be upgraded to an NBCA status. In total, these classes of forest now cover over 8 million ha or 76% of the recognized forest estate: a large commitment by any standards.
Most recently, in 1996, the National Assembly passed The Forestry Law, which provides a comprehensive policy framework for all aspects of forestry, including a basis for zonation of NBCAs in to "Strictly Protected" and "Controlled Use" zones. Regulations are currently being drafted to provide the necessary directions for all aspects of wildlife, habitat and protected area management.
Besides initiatives in the forestry sector, a Science, Technology and Environment Organization (STENO) was established in 1993 under the Prime Minister's Office. STENO has a mandate to provide cross-sectoral co-ordination within the framework of an "Environmental Action Plan" (STENO, 1993). At the international level one of its responsibilities is to lead participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity, which Lao PDR ratified in 1996. Lao PDR is also a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, but is not yet a party to CITES. In addition to initiatives on protected areas or wildlife, several donor-funded projects are attempting to promote integrated planning and development in watershed areas.
The Lao wood-based industry is composed mainly of the sawmilling industry. In 1996 there were about 100 registered sawmills. Most of the mills are relatively small in an international context, averaging a production capacity of about 3,000-4,000 m3 in terms of output. However, there are also large mills producing sawnwood for the international market. The total capacity of the sawmilling sector is estimated at about 500,000 m3, but due to low capacity utilization rate the annual official production has been around 250,000 m3 during the mid-1990s. In addition to registered sawmills, sawnwood is being produced by pit sawing and small-scale industrial operations. The volume of these operations has been estimated at 200,000-250,000 m3, which implies that annual production of sawnwood would be about 500,000 m3 at present.
There are two plywood mills with a combined capacity of 100,000 m3. There are no pulp and paper mills in Lao PDR. Downstream processing is still relatively limited comprising mainly parquet production for export and furniture manufacture for the domestic market.
The forestry sector is one of the main sources of export revenue for the GOL. The share of the forest sector exports of total exports has fluctuated between 30% and 45% in the 1990s compared with about 10% in 1985. In 1996, the share of forest products in total export value was about 40%. The most important export product is sawnwood, followed by logs, stumps and knobs, parquet and plywood. In principle, there is a log export ban but logs, mainly pine (Pinus merkusii), are still being exported. The main source of logs for export is infrastructure clearance sites such as dam construction areas. This means that the volume and value of annual log exports varies greatly.
At present, Lao PDR is practically self-sufficient with respect to logs and mechanical forest industry products although some special panel products like MDF are being imported in small quantities. However, due to lack of processing capacity, domestic paper demand is met solely through imports.
One of the main issues that hinders forestry development in Lao PDR is the inadequate numbers of high quality professionals at various levels, including district level. The new emphasis on biodiversity conservation, village/community forestry, land-use planning and forest extension, requires new knowledge and partly different skills from what was needed in the past. The problem of inadequately trained staff is most prevalent at the district level. The statistics below show the breakdown of number of forestry personnel by qualification:
|
Qualification |
Number in 1995 |
|
Ph.D. |
2 |
|
Masters Degree |
6 |
|
Bachelor Degree |
148 |
|
University Diploma |
272 |
|
Forestry Technician |
1288 |
The prime effort within the current planning period is to upgrade the qualifications of the above personnel. A particular emphasis is on upgrading those with B.Sc. degrees to the Masters level and to raise those who have a Diploma to the Degree level. At the moment GOL 21 DOF staffs are working towards a M.Sc. degree primarily in Malaysia and Thailand, with additional specialist qualifications being undertaken in Europe.
Formal forestry education is being provided by the Faculty of Forestry of the National University, which provides a Bachelor degree. Every year about 100 graduate from the Faculty of Forestry. In addition, there are 3 training centres which concentrate on training forestry staff to upgrade their capability in working in the field.
Various projects also develop training materials, train trainers and PAFO/DAFO staff and villagers in the field. Most of the training in village/community forestry and use of participatory tools such as PRA is being provided through various projects and not through the education/training institutions. This of course is not the best option from the viewpoint of sustainability of training efforts. One of the future challenges will be to integrate village/community forestry and conservation related training into the training curricula at the university and training centres.
Before 1985 there was only limited forestry research. Most of the research was conducted by foreigners. Researchers from France made important contributions in forest taxonomy and ecology (for example, J. Vidal). UNIDO supported research on wood technology (UNIDO) and the Australian government supported plantation species trials in 1969-75.
Since 1985 the GOL with support from Sweden (SIDA) has established three field stations. Trials have been concentrated mainly on some indigenous species suited to lowland conditions such as teak and styrax. In 1992 the Government of Australia (ACIAR) initiated comprehensive provenance trials with Eucalyptus and Acacia species. The Government of Canada through IDRC has provided support since 1992 to rattan and bamboo studies. Lao PDR is now a member of bamboo and rattan research network (INBAR).
In the early 1990s non-timber forest products have been studied by NOVIB of Netherlands and IUCN Non-timber Forest Product Project that is still active. Government of New Zealand (GNZ) has supported studies on pine in Xiang Kwang. Lao PDR is also a member of the FAO Neem network and has established field trials of Neem.
In addition to the permanent trials/demonstrations at field stations a number of projects have been conducting research to meet their information requirements. Some projects also have components that can be described as adaptive model building research, or action research, with in-built training functions for the Lao personnel. Examples of these are:
· growth rate studies of natural forest
· thinning systems for teak plantations
· development of village forestry/joint forest management models
· management systems for natural dipterocarp and pine forest
· development of natural forest management plan models
There is no forest research institute in Lao PDR, but since January 1996 forestry research activities have been coordinated and monitored under the Forestry Research Centre (FRC) of the DOF.
In late 1997, GOL/FORSPA/LSFP organized a seminar on the development of a national forestry research programme. Earlier in February 1998, the DOF organized a follow-up seminar that focused on ways of organizing forestry research in Lao PDR. All this work will culminate in formulation of a national forestry research programme ready for implementation.
