Somwang Phimmavong, Director General of the Department of Forestry, delivering the message at the 28th Meeting of Asean Senior Officials on Forestry in Luang Prabang on 6 July 2025. - Laotian Times
VIENTIANE (Laotian Times): Laos is urging Asean member states to ramp up investment in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), calling them powerful tools for protecting forests, strengthening communities, and tackling climate change head-on.
Delivering the message at the 28th Meeting of Asean Senior Officials on Forestry in Luang Prabang on 6 July, Somwang Phimmavong, Director General of the Department of Forestry, warned of mounting threats to the region’s forests, including deforestation, ecological degradation, illegal logging, and land use change.
He stressed that without sustainable financing, efforts to implement NbS and EbA will fall short.
To illustrate Laos’ own approach, Somwang pointed to the country’s promotion of Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services (PfES), which help preserve forest areas while boosting local livelihoods. He also highlighted sustainable tourism as a practical way to balance income generation with biodiversity protection.
Building on this, he urged Asean countries to share proven financing models—such as PfES, carbon markets, pooled funds, and multi-sector partnerships – to drive greater investment in nature-based climate and conservation efforts.
With roughly 70 percent of Laos’ land classified as state forest and home to around 3,000 villages, the country stands among the world’s top ten in biodiversity richness.
Somwang concluded by calling for stronger institutional capacity and deeper regional knowledge-sharing to accelerate the rollout of effective NbS initiatives across Asean. -- Laotian Times
