VIENTIANE, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lao government has called for central and provincial agriculture and forestry officials to be alert in preventing and controlling forest fires, which are a perennial problem.
In 2016, forest fires damaged 6,458 hectares of land throughout the country, mostly in Luang Namtha, Xayabouly, Huaphan and Salavan provinces, according to Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Thursday.
The main causes of forest fires are hunting animals and slash-and-burn cultivation in the absence of fire breaks. It is estimated that 90 percent of fires originate from slash-and-burn cultivation by upland farmers.
To prevent and control forest fires, sustainable land use practices and job opportunities need to be provided for shifting cultivators and they must be encouraged to understand how to prevent, detect and control fires, state-run Vientiane Times quoted the ministry as saying.
The government has urged officials to prepare working groups and set up an organization to coordinate regional fire control agencies and other government bodies as well as prepare materials and guidelines for forest fire prevention and suppression.
Lao government is rolling out a strategy to restore forest cover to 70 percent of the country's terrain by 2020.
