Laos, a landlocked nation in Southeast Asia, is celebrated for its breathtaking natural landscapes and diverse ecosystems. The country is home to a variety of habitats, including mountains, forests, rivers, and wetlands, all of which nurture an extensive array of flora and fauna. Biodiversity is crucial to the Laotian economy, with the nation’s forests yielding timber, food, and medicinal plants, while ecotourism, attracting visitors eager to explore its natural splendors and wildlife, is an expanding sector.

Laos’s economy is heavily dependent on its natural resources, making sustainable management of biodiversity a critical strategy for reducing poverty. However, as the rural population grows, there has been increasing pressure on these biological resources in recent years.

	Score	Rank	Change
Total Score – NCI 2024	52.5	129	N/A
Land Management	70	16	N/A
Protected Areas (Terrestrial)	63	93	N/A
Ecological Representativeness of Terrestrial Protected Areas	46	104	N/A
Connectedness of Terrestrial Protected Areas	57	82	N/A
Protected Areas (Marine)
Pristine Habitat (Converted Land)	100	1	N/A
Sustainable Nitrogen Management (Soil Pollution)	62	15	N/A
Sustainable Pesticide Use	93	10	N/A
Threats to Biodiversity	67	55	N/A
Threatened Species (Terrestrial)	83	121	N/A
Threatened Species (Marine)
Threatened Species’ Coverage by Protected Areas	88	100	N/A
Species Coverage by Marine Protected Areas
Species with Declining Populations (Terrestrial)	0	165	N/A
Species with Declining Populations (Marine)
Depleted Fisheries
Fishery Pressure in the High Seas
Invasive Species Pressure	99	25	N/A
Capacity and Governance	63	92	N/A
Total Management Cost	99	45	N/A
Conservation Culturomics	45	82	N/A
Conservation Legislation	38	96	N/A
Ratification of CBD	100	1	N/A
Ratification of CITES	100	1	N/A
Political Stability and Absence of Violence	70	3	N/A
Control of Corruption	30	141	N/A
Government Effectiveness	38	118	N/A
Future Trends	10	180	N/A
Climate Change Mitigation	10	180	N/A

Four pillars elaborated:

Land Management

Laos is home to 25 National Protected Areas (NPAs), including six National Parks, which cover 17% of the nation’s land area. These protected zones play a crucial role in preserving diverse ecosystems and endangered species. Beyond the NPAs, Laos also maintains Provincial and District Protected Areas that enhance its conservation landscape. The government has plans to further increase the scope of these protected areas, with initiatives such as the expansion of Hin Nam No.

Threats to Biodiversity

In Lao PDR, the primary threats to biodiversity include climate change, illegal logging, the illegal wildlife trade, infrastructure development in protected areas, and the expansion of agriculture and settlements. Climate change impacts biodiversity at multiple levels, leading to ecosystem disruption, habitat degradation, and increased vulnerability to pests and natural disasters. The illegal wildlife trade, heavily influenced by demand from neighboring countries like China and Vietnam, targets high-value species and products, severely impacting large and medium-sized mammal populations. Overhunting and overharvesting, driven by both local subsistence needs and external trade demands, further deplete biodiversity.

Additionally, numerous hydropower projects and mining operations within protected areas cause habitat fragmentation and other detrimental effects, while shifting cultivation and agricultural expansion into forested areas reflect the ongoing struggle to find sustainable economic alternatives.

Capacity and Governance

In recent years, the Lao government has significantly increased its commitment to the sustainable management of biodiversity, with a strong focus on forest conservation, and combating illegal logging, fishing, and wildlife trade. This enhanced dedication has led to transformative natural resource legislation and policies, including the enactment of Prime Minister’s Orders and revisions to the Forestry Law and the Law on Water and Water Resources. These measures have tightened management and inspections, significantly curbing illegal timber trade and protecting endangered species.

Additionally, Laos has strengthened its national Protected Areas (PA) system, a key component of its biodiversity conservation strategy for the past 25 years. The system has expanded to include the establishment of the country’s first national parks, such as Nakai-nam Theun and Nam et-Phou Louey, and the designation of Hin Nam No as a national park, which is also a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Future Trends

Lao PDR has implemented two National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs), the initial one up to 2010 and the current one spanning 2016-2025. These strategic plans are focused on conserving biodiversity resources and promoting their sustainable utilization. Recognizing biodiversity as a foundational element for fostering a greener and more resilient economy, the importance of these initiatives is underscored in the World Bank’s report titled “Lao Biodiversity: A Priority for Resilient Green Growth.” The progress and ongoing efforts of the latest NBSAP (2016-2025) are detailed in the Sixth National Report of Lao PDR.

Biodiversity

Laos stands out as one of the most biodiverse countries globally, hosting a wide array of species across various taxa. The country boasts thousands of flowering plants, numerous reptiles and amphibians, hundreds of bird species, scores of bats, many fish species, and a diverse array of mammals.

This rich biodiversity is supported by Laos’s extensive forest and water resources, which stretch across the nation. These habitats provide refuge for many rare and endangered species, some of which, like the Asian elephant, tiger, clouded leopard, leopard, gaur, saola, gibbon, Siamese crocodile, Irrawaddy dolphin, and the white-winged duck, are extinct in other parts of the world but still exist in Laos. Additionally, Laos is recognized for having one of the largest genetic reservoirs of glutinous rice varieties in Asia.

In the table below are the number of known species in several main groups, how many of these species are Threatened with extinction, and how many of them are Endemic (unique to Laos only):

	Species (World rank)	Threatened	% Threatened	Endemic	% Endemic
Mammals	261 (#35)	45	17.2%	5	1.9%
Birds	697 (#38)	28	4.0%	1	0.1%
Reptiles	220 (#43)	18	8.2%	25	11.4%
Amphibians	110 (#33)	6	5.5%	8	7.3%
Fishes	576 (#101)	62	10.8%	103	17.9%
Plants	5,745 (#53)	56	1.0%	33	0.6%