The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) is very concerned about forest degradation in the region and a group of experts is finalising a work plan to address the issue.
“We are trying to tackle deforestation problems,” Senior Officer of the Asean Secretariat Htain Lin told the Vientiane Times yesterday.
The Asean experts met in Vientiane yesterday at the Fourth Meeting of the Asean Experts Group on International Forest Policy Processes. They discussed a work plan aimed at enhancing sustainable management and law enforcement in the region's forests.
The work plan will be submitted to the Asean senior officials' meeting in Malaysia at the end of this year.
“There is a claim that forest degradation in Asean nations is occurring at a fast rate. But some countries are doing very well, especially Vietnam , where reforestation has been very successful,” Mr Lin said.
He said Indonesia accounted for about half of the total Asean land area and had the largest forest cover in the region, amounting to about 50 percent of total land area. Singapore , by contrast, had the smallest area of forest.
According to information available at the meeting, the Asean region has a land area of about 447 million hectares.
Total forest cover in the region in 2005 was 203 million hectares or about 45 percent of the region's total land area.
In 2002, 47 percent of land in Laos was reported to be forested. Some people believe this figure is probably less than 40 percent at present. Officials said a forest survey would be conducted in 2010 to discover the true figure.
Director General of the Forestry Department, Dr Silavanh Sawathvong, said the government would focus on rehabilitatin g six million hectares of forest including protected and productive forest areas.
The aim is to return the nation's forest cover to 70 percent of land area by 2020, the same level the country enjoyed in 1940.
The government also wants to see 500,000 hectares of trees planted by 2020 and has a number of policies in place to encourage the planting of trees.
Forestry experts said forest cover could be returned to 70 percent by increasing efforts to rehabilitate existing forest areas and planting more trees.
This year, the government has empowered provincial authorities to plant saplings in their areas. An estimated 25,000 hectares will be planted this year.
Tree planting began in 1975 and Arbor Day was declared in 1980 as a means to encourage the people of Laos to restore the country's forests.
In addition, Asean has taken significant steps to reduce deforestation and forest degradation by preventing forest fires, combating illegal logging, rehabilitating degraded forest areas and establishing new forests.
"“There is a claim that forest degradation in Asean nations is occurring at a fast rate. But some countries are doing very well, especially Vietnam , where reforestation has been very successful,” Mr Lin said.
Of course, it's easy for them. They preserve their forest but buy at low cost illegal logging from Laos, encouraging this business managed by a few lao traitors!
it's easy for them. They preserve their forest but buy at low cost illegal logging from Laos, encouraging this business managed by a few lao traitors!
So good I wanted to repeat it.
Also counting forest cover can depend on who counts. All that planting of trees might well only be rubber "trees" which are great for making rubber but not good for forest.
Yes Dam let's make more dam! then we won't have a green forest, big trees or wildlife anymore! more dam? so stupid maybe it almost near the end of the world people just forget those good things and cover it by money, power and just think about themself, never think of the other and the impact anymore
