The Lao government has announced the 2025-2035 National Tiger Recovery Action Plan, a major initiative developed in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and WWF-Laos. This plan aims to restore and protect tiger populations in Laos.
The first meeting to discuss the plan took place in Vientiane on 15-16 August. The gathering included provincial forestry officials, law enforcement agencies, and international conservation organizations. Participants reviewed strategies for managing and monitoring tiger populations and explored the feasibility of reintroducing tigers to their natural habitats.
Oupakone Alounsavath, Deputy Director General of the Department of Forestry, highlighted that the plan aligns with Laos’ Wildlife Law. He emphasized that the initiative will address habitat destruction from development and strengthen Laos’ commitment to biodiversity conservation.
According to WWF-Laos, the action plan will provide a comprehensive conservation strategy focused on recovering wild tiger populations, regulating tiger farms, and combating illegal tiger trade. The plan aims to improve management practices in national protected areas and parks, with the goal of revitalizing Laos’ tiger populations.
Despite being one of 13 countries with tiger habitats, Laos has seen a significant decline in tiger numbers, primarily due to poaching and habitat loss.
In a 2019 study, researchers claimed that tigers might now be extinct in Laos, reporting that snares have been devastating for Laos’ wildlife. These snares, often set by poachers, kill a wide range of animals, including tigers. The last confirmed sighting of tigers in Laos was in 2016, when only two individuals were recorded. These tigers have since been lost, the researchers believe.
The decline in Laos mirrors the broader struggles of the Indochinese tiger, with healthy populations now limited to Thailand, and very few remaining in China, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Despite global tiger populations showing an increase of about 40 percent since 2015, Laos has seen no such recovery, according to the study.
The research also identified the local extinction of leopards and declining populations of other predators and prey species.
While experts suggest that tigers could potentially repopulate Laos if snaring is controlled, current conditions remain dire.
The 2025-2035 National Tiger Recovery Action Plan represents a key step towards rewilding and restoring tiger populations to the forests of Laos, with hopes of witnessing tigers roam the country once more.
