Country Profile
Since 1940, natural forests in Lao PDR have been on a steady decline, dropping to 64% in the mid-1960s, 47% in 1992, and 41,5% in 2002. Forest degradation has been plaguing the country. Forest densities have decreased dramatically with dense forests declining from 29% of total forest area in 1992 to only 8.2% in 2002. Forests have also become increasingly fragmented with small forest compartments. Today the forests in Lao PDR are classified in:
• Production forest (3.2 Million hectare)
• Protection forest (5.6 Million ha)
• Conservation Forest (3.6 Million ha)
The main threads to the natural forests come from unregulated logging activities, but recently natural forest have also become increasingly threatened by uncoordinated industrial plantation development and conversion to rubber, eucalyptus and oil palm.
The Government of Lao PDR decreased the felling quota considerably from 730,000 m3 in 1999 to 200,000 m3 in 2001 in order to stop the ongoing degradation of the natural forests. Since then, the felling rate ranges between 200,000 m3 and 360,000m3. Today, The legal forestry sector contributes about 3.2% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for more than 30% of the total export revenue.
Certified Forests in Lao PDR
• Production forest (3.2 Million hectare)
• Protection forest (5.6 Million ha)
• Conservation Forest (3.6 Million ha)
The main threads to the natural forests come from unregulated logging activities, but recently natural forest have also become increasingly threatened by uncoordinated industrial plantation development and conversion to rubber, eucalyptus and oil palm.
The Government of Lao PDR decreased the felling quota considerably from 730,000 m3 in 1999 to 200,000 m3 in 2001 in order to stop the ongoing degradation of the natural forests. Since then, the felling rate ranges between 200,000 m3 and 360,000m3. Today, The legal forestry sector contributes about 3.2% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for more than 30% of the total export revenue.
Certified Forests in Lao PDR
In 2006 community forest is becoming increasingly important, two community forest totaling 60,000 ha have been credibly certified under a group certificate administrated by the national government. Since 2007, the new forest law has designated Community Forestry as the main management approach in Production Forest Areas. This bears an immense potential for forest certification on up to 450,000 ha in the near future. However, the main challenge to support this process is the development of the processing sector to access FSC markets.
The potential of FSC forest certification in Lao PDR