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Laos
Index
In the 1950s, forests covered 70 percent of the land
area; yet,
by 1992, according to government estimates, forest
coverage had
decreased by nearly one-third, to just 47 percent of total
land
area. Despite the dwindling expanse, timber--including
ironwood,
mahogany, pine, redwood, and teak--and other forestry
products--
benzoin (resin), charcoal, and sticklac--constitute a
valuable
supply of potential export goods. The forest has also been
an
important source of wild foods, herbal medicines, and
timber for
house construction and even into the 1990s continues to be
a valued
reserve of natural products for noncommercial household
consumption. Since the mid-1980s, however, widespread
commercial
harvesting of timber for the export market has disrupted
the
traditional gathering of forest products in a number of
locations
and contributed to extremely rapid deforestation
throughout the
country
(see Environmental Problems and Policy
, this ch.).
Deforestation increased steadily throughout the 1980s,
at an
annual average rate of about 1.2 percent in the first half
of the
decade according to the United Nations (UN) and other
monitoring
agencies. This rate represents the destruction of about
150,000 to
160,000 hectares annually, as compared with annual
reforestation of
about 2,000 hectares. The government, however, reported a
deforestation rate double this figure. Deforestation
results from
clearing forestland for shifting cultivation and removing
logs for
industrial uses and fuel. The volume of logs (roundwood)
removed
for industrial purposes increased by about 70 percent
between 1975-
77 and 1985-87, to about 330,000 cubic meters; however,
this volume
was dwarfed by that removed for domestic (fuel) purposes.
Between
1980 and 1989, the volume of logs removed for fuel
increased by
about 25 percent, to about 3.7 million cubic meters; only
about
100,000 cubic meters were removed for industrial purposes.
By 1991
these figures had increased to approximately 3.9 million
cubic
meters and 106,000 cubic meters, respectively.
Following the introduction of the New Economic
Mechanism,
decentralization of forest management to autonomous forest
enterprises at the provincial level encouraged increased
exploitation of forests. At the central and provincial
levels,
autonomous forest enterprises are responsible for forest
management.
Timber resources have been commercially exploited on a
small
scale since the colonial period and are an important
source of
foreign exchange. In 1988 wood products accounted for more
than
one-half of all export earnings. In 1992 timber and wood
products
were almost one-third of the total principal exports.
The government needed to reconcile its opposing
objectives of
decentralized forestry management and environmental
protection. In
January 1989, the government imposed a ban on
logging--initially
announced in January 1988 as a ban on the export of
unprocessed
wood--although exemptions are granted on a case-by-case
basis. This
measure was followed by the imposition of high export
taxes on
timber and other wood products, included in the June 1989
tax
reforms. Toward the end of 1989, logging was again
permitted, but
only based on quotas extended to individual forestry
enterprises.
In response to the restrictions, production of unprocessed
logs
(roundwood or timber) decreased slightly in 1989, but,
according to the
Asian Development Bank (see Glossary),
production more
than
recovered the following year. The effect of the
restrictions is
most clearly shown in the export statistics for
1989--exports of
timber and wood products had decreased by 30 percent from
the
previous year. In 1991 a new decree banned all logging
until
further notice, in hopes of controlling widespread illegal
logging
and subsequent environmental destruction. However, there
was little
practical impact, and illegal logging remains widespread.
The
smuggling of logs to Thailand also is significant.
Data as of July 1994
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