Implementation of Prime Minister Order No. 15 and the Lao-EU FLEGT process go hand-in-hand. This was highlighted at the annual FLEGT meeting held in Attapeu province on 7 and 8 February 2017 with participation of representatives from government agencies, National Assembly, timber sector, academia and civil society organisations.
“FLEGT supports the implementation of Prime Minister Order No. 15 in many aspects”, said Mr. Souksamay Chanthamath, Vice Governor of Attapeu. “As part of the FLEGT process a master plan to strengthen the Lao wood processing industry is being developed and a training centre to enhance the capacity of its companies on value adding processing is being established, thereby supporting the Prime Minister’s order to modernize the domestic timber sector. A mandatory national Chain of Custody (CoC) system – input-output monitoring for timber in particular – is being drafted to strengthen the operations at company-level, thereby further contributing to a modernized wood processing sector.”
According to Mr. Khamphout Phandanouvong, Director General of Department of Forest Inspection, and the Head of the National Support and Development Committee, additional areas where FLEGT supports implementation of Prime Minister Order No. 15 are:
- Timber flow monitoring in the FLEGT pilot provinces Attapeu, Khammouane and Sayaboury improves recording and management of data from the timber supply chain, thereby helping the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to collect detailed information such as timber volumes and outstanding obligations at log landing 2 and helping to coordinate handling of confiscated timber from different Government agencies.
- The regulation 0112 for timber harvesting in conversion areas is being revised and tested in pilot provinces to improve demarcation of conversion areas for infrastructure and plantations, to improve inventory of timber and monitoring of harvesting operations.
Lao PDR is now starting to see the fruitful results of stronger forest governance and the intention to solve country’s problem on illegal logging, after the announcement of the Prime Minister Order No. 15 since May 2016. The Lao-EU FLEGT process (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) is one of the initiatives that helps contribute to the Government of Lao PDR to realise this, since the process also seeks to improve forest governance throughout the timber supply chain.
You can download the press release HERE