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.
