VIENTIANE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Progress and technical issues surrounding the establishment of a baseline to measure changes in greenhouse gas emissions in Laos has been reviewed by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and development partners.
The fourth REL/MRV Technical Working Group meeting was held in Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday to discuss progress and technical issues of a baseline or a benchmark to measure changes in greenhouse gas emissions (Reference Emission Level or REL) and the system to carry out the measurement, reporting, and verification of the results of emission reductions of greenhouse gas (MRV).
The department of forestry under MAF and development partners also discussed the progress of Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+ Support Project (F-REDD) and its implementation over the last 18 months. The meeting proposed an action plan through December this year, reported local daily Vientiane Times on Friday.
The Sustainable Forest Management and REDD+ Support Project will help to promote forest cover in Laos by strengthening forest management capacity. Sustainable forest management has been emphasized and given high priority in government policy objectives.
Forest cover in Laos, which was more than 70 percent in the 1940s, had dropped to 40 percent in 2010 as a result of infrastructure development such as hydropower, mining and roads, and the conversion of agricultural land due to population increases and the growth of commercial crop production, said Vientiane Times.
In response to such serious deforestation and degradation of the nations forests, the government formulated the Forestry Strategy to the year 2020 (FS2020) with the goal of restoring forest cover to 70 percent by 2020.
The objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity for sustainable forest management through the incorporation of REDD+ into the sector strategy and improvement of forest resource information.
