Laos is developing a National Plastic Action Plan, which outlines actions that need to be undertaken to address the issues associated with the use and management of plastic.
The final consultation meeting for the “National Plastic Action Plan for the Lao PDR” was held last week at Landmark Hotel in Vientiane Capital. Over 70 participants from line ministries, development partners, Civil Society Organizations, and the private sector attended the meeting.
Mr. Thevarak Phonekeo, Deputy Director General of the Department of Environment at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), and Dr. Maurice Andres Rawlins, Senior Environmental Specialist from the World Bank Group, had the honor of opening the ceremony.
The conference’s key points of discussion were to outline how different parties can share lessons and work together to implement the actions in the plan, since achieving the plan’s aims will require contributions from all parts of society.
The morning session included a presentation by Dr. Sidxay Markvilay from the Department of Environment, which outlined the challenges and problems in managing plastic waste in Laos and the vision and goals for addressing these. The next session was presented by Mrs. Palina Khodphouthonem, outlining the indicators, action plan, and implementation mechanisms.
During the afternoon section, several development partners presented their plans and current activities being implemented to improve the management of plastics in Laos. These partners included the World Bank, WWF-Laos, SwissContact, Global Green Growth Institute, United Nations Development Program, and Plan International.
In addition, there was a presentation of examples of activities initiated for plastic waste management in Laos by the Department of Environment, the Zero Waste Laos Association, and Chantha Recycling Company.
At the end of the workshop, Mr. Phonekeo and Dr. Rawlins commended the efforts of the government in developing the plan through a broad consultative process, and noted that this plan will provide a valuable resource for Lao PDR in improving plastic waste management.
The MoNRE expressed their gratitude to the World Bank Group and EU-Switch Asia for providing technical and budgetary support for the creation of the National Plastics Action Plan, and acknowledged the valuable contribution from line ministries, development partners, Civil Society Organizations, and the private sector.
