Laos aims to increase forest coverage to 70% by 2035
Hanoi (VNA) - The Lao government's officials have held
a meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to discuss
sustainable forest management and carry out a plan to restore forest coverage to
70% in 2035.
At the meeting, Bounpone
Sengthong, Deputy Director of the Department of Forestry under the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry of Laos, called for open discussions on all
outstanding issues and proposed feasible solutions. He emphasised that this was
a good opportunity to mull over how to restore forest coverage to 70% and JICA's
contribution to the process.
The Lao forestry sector is in an important
transition as the forestry strategy to 2035 is being finalised. The strategy
together with the Prime Minister's ordinance on forest conservation will be important guidelines
to protect forests in Laos, especially to raise forest coverage to 70% by 2035.
Noriyuki Ito, JICA Representative in Laos, said the Japanese
government appreciates the importance of reducing deforestation in Laos as part
of efforts to tackle global climate change.
The ultimate goal is to strengthen institutional frameworks
and policies for the implementation of the Lao Forestry Strategy to 2035, he
said, adding that it is possible to restore forest area but this can only be
done through the strong leadership, commitment and coordination from the Department
of Forestry.
The meeting focused on revising plans of the Lao Government to fulfill the
target of restoring forest coverage to 70%. It also touched upon other issues including management,
protection and use of natural resources and the environment in an efficient and
sustainable manner./.