VIENTIANE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Lao government has been persistent in delivering its commitment to the global community in biodiversity conservation, with a new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) being prepared, officials have said.
Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Department of Forest Management and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Friday made a final consultation of the strategy and plan for the next 10 years (NBSAP 2016-2025), Lao state-run online newspaper Vientiane Times reported on Saturday.
"The NBSAP along with the ministry's Strategy and Action Plan, and the Eighth five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan is a key document within Laos that aims to integrate biodiversity measures into relevant programmes and policies, especially those that can have an impact on the country's natural resources,"Lao Director General of Department of Forest Resource Management, Vongdeuan Vongsihalath said at the consultation meeting.
"The new NBSAP is more than how the CBD works, and how the CBD can assist the country like Laos to work in the future in protection of biodiversity," IUCN Country Director Adam Starr said.
Lao government is among 150 governments worldwide becoming a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since 1992.
Laos ratified the CBD in 1996 and is therefore committed to implementing the Decision of the CBD Conference of the Parties. As such, the government is committed to the preparation and implementation of the strategy, plan and national report.
These two documents have been prepared by the Department of Forest Resource Management with the support of the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Environment Programs and with the technical support from the IUCN Country Program, said the Lao official.
The NBSAP 2016-2025 lays out an action plan and strategy, which will consist of numerous cross cutting climate change strategies aiming to protect ecosystems, valuing biodiversity, strengthening knowledge, enhancing communication, awareness and public knowledge and implementing effective plans, projects and programs.
Lao government formulated and approved its first NBSAP in 2004 which laid out an action plan to 2010 and strategy to 2020.
