The governments of Laos and Germany have agreed to implement the third phase of the bilateral technical cooperation project “Protection and Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystems and Biodiversity (ProFEB)’’.
This joint project will support good forest governance, effective protected area management, environmental education, and curb illegal wildlife trade during the next three years.
While the leading Lao implementation partner is the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the project is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment – MONRE, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism – MICT, and offices in Khammuan. The project is implemented together with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Mr Somphone Keohavong, Director General of the Department of Forest Inspection, signed the implementation agreement representing the Lao partners and witnessed by Dr Christina Seeberg-Elverfeldt, Head of German Development Cooperation, German Embassy to Laos, as well as high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry – MAF.
Speaking at the signing event, Mr Somphone Keohavong emphasised, “This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment and strengthened bilateral cooperation between the governments of Laos and Germany. In the period of 2010 to 2021, in which the project and its predecessor projects supported the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, Laos has made significant progress towards achieving a forest cover of 70%. Together, authorities and non-state actors have improved conditions for the sustainable management of forest resources and biodiversity. State institutions have gained access to additional know-how, and the local population has gained greater control over the natural resources and achieved more secure living conditions.”
Dr Christina Seeberg-Elverfeldt expressed, “We are glad to see how much progress the Lao government has made towards the attainment of the aim to sustainably manage forests, biodiversity and natural resources over the last years. With our contribution of EUR 8 million to this critical project we want to firmly anchor our achievements with our partners and provide capacities among different stakeholders to sustainably continue initiated processes.”
The ProFEB project will continue supporting the Lao government for better framework conditions and strengthening the capacity of the Lao government, private sector, and civil society towards sustainable management of forest resources and biodiversity. In addition, the ProFEB project will help to establish conditions that allow people of Laos to benefit from intact ecosystems.
This third phase of the project builds on the results of the predecessor projects, which have laid the foundations for a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) between Laos and the EU on the legal timber trade. Furthermore, ProFEB continued to establish an inclusive management system in Hin Nam No National Park and increased the levels of environmental knowledge among the project’s government and civil society partners.
Based on a multi-stakeholder approach, the project operationalises these foundations in each intervention area by focusing on 1). setting up better framework conditions for implementing the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade – Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) between Laos and the EU; 2). strengthening capacities for the transboundary World Heritage nomination of Hin Nam No National Park of Laos in partnership with the Vietnamese authorities; 3). supporting the establishment of the Environmental Education and Awareness Laos Alliance and developing the requisite capacities for carrying out effective environmental education and awareness measures of its members, and 4). improving the cooperation between the Lao Government, ODA partners and local people for combatting effectively illegal wildlife trade.
This third phase of the project commenced in May 2021 and will be implemented until June 2024.
Source: Lao News Agency