Forest Carbon Projects and Protected Area Management in Laos

Geographical location:

Asia/Pacific > Southeast Asia > Lao People's Democratic Republic

Summary

Lao PDR has the largest intact forest cover in Indochina, and so is in a unique position to contribute to the global fight against climate change.

The project will develop a protected area management component as the central part of a forest carbon project proposal which feeds into the German Ministry of Environment’s Climate Protection Initiative. It will also form part of an EC project, Re-connecting Landscapes, and an overall Southern Laos landscape (SLL) strategy.

Background

Southern Laos contains several areas of globally important biodiversity, particularly within the Mekong River, Greater Annamites, and Dry Forests Ecoregions. The area has been selected by the Lao government, donors, and WWF as one of the priority landscapes within the Greater Mekong subregion to safeguard globally significant biodiversity.

Sustainable forests and watershed areas provide food and livelihood practices to local communities and secure economic investments, acting as insurance against erosion and flood for roads and hydropower dams. Regional carbon trading schemes likewise give good incentive to conserve Lao PDR's forest cover, and help tackle the global challenge of climate change.

Over the last 50 years, population and development pressures have decreased forest cover in Lao PDR from 70% to just over 40%, and that figure is shrinking by 0.6% a year.

With more than 30,000km2 of natural forests across this landscape distributed between protected areas and watershed forests, as well as several priority freshwater systems, WWF has committed to invest for the long-term in Southern Laos to build local capacity to ensure these critically important natural ecosystems are managed as sustainably as possible.

Objectives

1. Ensure full involvement and ownership of relevant government agencies to the proposals and Southern Laos landscape strategy, allowing for optimally planned projects and faster approval processes.
2. Compile all relevant information to provide a gap and needs analysis for improving the management of the priority protected areas, including buffer zones.

Solution

This project is designed to provide a better understanding of the context in and around the targeted protected areas and to discuss and further develop the project proposals on forest carbon and reconnecting forest landscapes with local government partners and key stakeholders (for example non government organisations, local community groups and to assess the gaps and needs for improved protected area management.