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PM’s Order Poses Positive Outcomes for Lao Forests

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admin
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Prime Minister’s Order No. 15 has successfully curbed harmful practices in the forestry sector and timber industry, while restoring public trust in the Party and government.

This message was delivered at an annual meeting in Vientiane this week to review past achievements and discuss the plans of the agriculture and forestry sector for the coming years.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith issued the order in May to strengthen the management and inspection of logging and businesses involved in the transport of wood and associated activities.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Mr Thongphath Vongmany said “Since the prime minister issued the order, which was followed by the creation of a task force to carry out the measures stipulated, there has been an evident decline in logging and the export of wood.”

“Illegal logging has been sharply reduced and chronic undesirable practices within the sector and the timber industry have been reined in,” he added.

Mr Thongloun decided to tackle these issues head on after becoming prime minister and promising to battle all forms of corruption.

The order complies with the Resolution adopted by the Tenth Party Congress and the guidance given by the highest ranking leaders concerning forestry.

“Another significant result is that the majority of people in the country support and appreciate the government’s efforts. This has contributed to the restoration of public trust in the Party’s leadership and state management in general, and forest management in particular,” Mr Thongphath said.

According to a report from the ministry, more than 1.2 million cubic metres of unprocessed logs and sawn timber were exported to neighbouring countries in 2015, earning less than US$50 million in revenue.

Prior to the order there was a surge in both legal and illegal logging, with exports comprising mostly unprocessed wood and sawn timber.

The hands-off attitude of local authorities in relation to forest management led to private companies engaging in pre-logging surveys, tree marking, quantity assessment, and the felling of trees.

Foreigners were found felling trees and encroaching in conservation areas and protected forests.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has now completed plans for the demarcation of ‘production forest’ in 51 areas of the country. It has also identified areas where logging is permitted, forests that are in need of reestablishment, and areas for integrated tree plantations.

The ministry has installed 783 markers indicating the borders of four national protected areas, and 376 notices on the use of this land. More than 200 markers and 129 notices have also been installed in four national protected forests.

The government plans to restore forest cover to 70 percent of the country’s terrain by 2020.

More than 260,000 hectares of forests have been restored in the past year. More than 36,000 hectares are in protected areas, 116,000 hectares are in protected forests, and 108,000 hectares are in production and community forests.

Source: Vientiane Times

Top 10 Most Visited Websites in Laos

By
Laotian Times
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We all know that everyone uses the Internet but which sites people are visiting is another story. We have some idea as to where Lao people and residents are surfing but may be slightly surprised by some of the ones that made this list. While there are a number of lists out there claiming to be accurate, the Laotian Times has decided to use none other than Amazon’s Alexa Traffic Rankings.

How are Alexa Rankings calculated?

According to its site, Alexa’s traffic estimates and ranks are based on the browsing behavior of people in the global data panel, which is a sample of all internet users.

Alexa’s Traffic Ranks are based on the traffic data provided by users in Alexa’s global data panel over a rolling 3 month period. Traffic Ranks are updated daily. A site’s ranking is based on a combined measure of Unique Visitors and Pageviews. Unique Visitors are determined by the number of unique Alexa users who visit a site on a given day. Pageviews are the total number of Alexa user URL requests for a site. However, multiple requests for the same URL on the same day by the same user are counted as a single Pageview. The site with the highest combination of unique visitors and pageviews is ranked #1. Additionally, Alexa employs data normalization to correct for biases that may occur in the data.

Without further ado, here are the Top 10 most visited sites in Laos.

 

  1. Youtube.com

It should not be a surprise to anyone that this would be the number one most visited site in Laos (and for many parts of the world, for that matter). YouTube represents an imaginary television with unlimited channels on demand for free (you have to pay for that monthly pseudo-unlimited Unitel not quite 4G Internet package, though). Who watches YouTube videos? Neglected children of busy parents enjoying Ben 10 and Disney’s Elsa-from-Frozen videos, complacent employees watching that Thai soap opera episode from the night before, bored university students entranced by Korean & American music videos, and the odd person looking for how-to videos.

  1. Google.la
  2. Google.com
  3. Google.co.th

Many of our readers might have thought that any of these domains should have been on the top of the list but it seems that Elsa videos on YouTube were too hard to ignore. For many, Google is the default home page of their browser. Occupying three spots (Numbers 2, 3 and 4) on the Top 10 says much about this site’s popularity. Whether you’re using a Lao, English or Thai keyboard, Google will help you find what you’re looking for.

  1. Yahoo.com

Apparently, people in Laos are still using Yahoo! This may perhaps be the case because it provides more than simple search queries. Yahoo does provide useful news like how a woman died because she tried to save a tortoise, the weather, and of course the immortal Yahoo Mail.

  1. Facebook.com

People are sharing the most random things on this site. It is anyone’s guess that a person who has access to the Internet, will have a Facebook account. Unless you’re meditating at a Buddhist temple. Oh wait, even that won’t stop you these days. Mark Zuckerberg has done such a fantastic job in getting people addicted to his product that people of all walks of life are turning to Facebook to digitally voice their opinions and listen to others.

  1. Blogspot.com / Blogger.com

Many locals use Blogger to build their own websites as an alternative to WordPress.

  1. Live.com / Hotmail.com / Outlook.com

Surprisingly, a number of Lao civil servants and private sector employees are using the @hotmail.com address as their official work email, a habit that is often hard to break for many (as Hotmail was one of the pioneers of email – owned by Microsoft) as they have been using the email address for a long time. This would be comparable to the plight of one who had to change his/her phone number: the hassle of informing everyone in your social network of the change, the fear of losing out on potential business opportunity, and the pain of re-printing business cards! So, please don’t be startled if your employee sends you an email from her personal address, xxlaoangle88xx@hotmail.com. While this behavior persists, live.com will remain on the list.

  1. Kapook.com

While Laos is in the midst of a Lao-language digital content boom, driven by private ventures such as LaoPost, Mahason, Tholakhong, Una Studio, Kidork, Muan and other content providers, Lao readers consume news and entertainment content from our neighbors in Thailand, especially from kapook.com. The general understanding is that if the news is popular in Thailand, Lao people are sure to find out about it. Ranked as the 11th most visited site in Thailand according to Alexa Rankings, it is no wonder why it made it to the list for Laos.

  1. Ask.com

We’re just as puzzled as you are for this one. Perhaps, it was initially easier to type Ask than Google?

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It is important to note that this Top 10 List does not include any Laos-based websites. The sheer volume and quality of the content and functionality generated by the aforementioned global websites will be very hard for Lao websites to compete with for the foreseeable future. However, Lao tech entrepreneurs and businesses are not too far behind as local IT professionals become more internet savvy and rising incomes and education are promoting the generation of local content. We’ll be back next year with the Top 10 Laos-based Websites. Stay tuned!

Lancang-Mekong River Plan May “Shift” Thailand-Laos Border

By
Laotian Times
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THAILAND may lose territory under the plan approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday to improve navigation in the Mekong River between Thailand and the Laos border at Chiang Rai, which will include the dredging of rapids, local people warned yesterday.

The Cabinet agreed in principle with the international Lancang-Mekong River navigation improvement plan from 2015-25, which intends to make the Mekong passable for 500-tonne cargo ships plying the route from China to Luang Prabang in Laos. However, the Cabinet decision was met with heavy protest.

Locals claimed that the adjustment to the river’s course would definitely shift the boundary of Thailand and Laos.

The removal of the rapids will destroy the breeding grounds and habitat of wildlife, which will lead to total devastation of the Mekong River ecosystem.

A joint statement was also released by 20 organisations protesting the Cabinet decision and emphasising that the Cabinet was making a major mistake in allowing the project, which has high risk and serious impact on the people and river ecosystem, to be implemented.

Jirasak Intayot, coordinator of the Rak Chiang Khong Group, raised concerns over the plan, saying that if the government insists on proceeding with the river channel adjustment work, they will have to consider the law seriously or they will end up in ceding the country’s territory and violating the law.

“The river channel improvement will definitely affect the border between Thailand and Laos, because the demolition of rapids would change the river flow and erode the riverbank, changing the border of Thailand and Laos,” he said. The Mekong River forms a part of the Thai-Lao border and changing the river’s course will also change the border, he argued.

The Mekong project was not new. It has been championed for a long time and was not successful until now because the Cabinet was worried about the possibility of territory losses. The project was postponed in 2003.

The joint statement stressed that if this project goes ahead, not only will the motherland be violated and vast swathes of land be lost, the Thai constitution mentions that any project that affects the country’s border must get the approval of Parliament first.

However, this Cabinet resolution has not been deliberated on by Parliament yet, so it may be in conflict with the Constitution.

The project will be implemented on the mainstream of the Mekong, but the agreement was among only four countries, excluding Cambodia and Vietnam, who were also members of the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

That was a violation of the MRC agreement and international regulations on international river management.

“The people’s networks demand that the Thai government end this project immediately to protect our country’s territory and preserve the precious Mekong River ecosystem,” the statement concluded.

Niwat Roikaew, chairman of the Rak Chiang Khong Group, warned that the demolition of rapids in the Mekong would destroy the habitat and spawning grounds for various kinds of native creatures, including the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish. “Not only will this project destroy the rich biodiversity and pristine ecosystem of the river, the ecosystem degradation will also severely hurt many people who depend on the river for food, and destroy their traditional livelihood too,” he said.

The group will send the petition to the government to end this project soon.

According to the Cabinet decision, the plan was part of the Agreement on Commercial Navigation on the Lancang-Mekong River signed by four riparian countries – China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand – to improve the navigation route on the Mekong and make commercial river transportation convenient, safe and in accordance with the agreement among the country members.

The Cabinet also approved the project to improve the river channel.

The Marine Department will oversee the study, working with other agencies to prevent an impact on the international boundary.

Source: The Nation

Alisa Gallery Brings French Urban Art to Vientiane

By
Laotian Times
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For the first time in Asia, the Alisa Gallery headed by Alisa Phommahaxay, one of the curator associates for Art42, invites seven French artists from this collection to show their work. Entitled “Art42, Hors Les Murs // Extramural : Vientiane,” the event will be held from the 6th to 15th of January 2017 from 5:30pm at the French Institute in Vientiane.
French Urban Art
ART 42 is the first (anti) urban art museum in Paris, France, which opened in October 2016.
Featured Artists
BAULT: a French street artist and illustrator born in 1978. He uses a mix of acrylic paint and low pressure.

ERELL: Erell spreads his distinctive square-shaped patterns on the streets all around the world like a virus.

ROMAIN FROQUET: The work of Romain Froquet is an invitation to the fantasy and the uniqueness of a universe stemming from his own subconscious. Froquet, a self-taught ar7st directs his passion for drawing to diverse mediums without prejudice. He is as comfortable painting on an easel, or on the street enveloping the walls of lost dismal areas of town or creating site specific installations. He wishes to express himself with or without a public, sometimes choosing obscure urban areas to dress the walls with his delicate tree like representations that bring colour and joy to an otherwise gloomy background. The surface is of no importance nor the visibility of his installations, here he presents himself as an ephemeral ar7st and as a performer –it is his process that becomes paramount not the actual public display.

KAZY: In a crazy world full of realism and fiction, Kazy develops a personal world where strange characters come to life.

CLÉMENT LAURENTIN: After his studies in Visual Arts at the Boulle school, one of the most renown public school in France, Clement Lauren7n joined the 9e Concept in 2001. In his work, Clement developed a graphic and semiological style with distinct lines, in which he tries to make them coexist as so many aspects of the same personality. His drawings can be spontaneous or thought, his portraits can be set in the reality or related to an oneiric imagery. Nevertheless what is important for Clement is to play with the opposite and spring up the unexpected. His particular interests are music, street art, printing, but the melting pot is also among the themes that inspire him. His peculiarities such as being mind-blowing, inventive, positive and curious, can be seen in his works which are full of energy and optimism.

MADAME: Madame was born into an artistic family. She is one of those few people who fall under this category. Her moniker sounds sophisticated and theatrical, just like a stage name for a prima donna, which resonates with the nature of her professional background. But in case you feel like it sounds just a bit too classy, consider her other alias: Madame. A healthy sense of humour casts a different light on the artist, denoting how femininity and masculinity can overlap at times. After years of exploration and cultural uplifting, which involved theatre studies, Madame eventually found her own favourite genre: pasting.

perroquet

STEW: STeW is a French contemporary artist born in 1978 in Les Lilas, Paris. He is well known for his Japanese inspired artworks, and murals created throughout the world. From an early age, he had shown a tendency towards art, redecorating his own room when he was only four years old! What makes him recognizable are his Japan-inspired artworks. Samurais are resurrected in modern world, but STeW always inserts something of his own into pieces. Such a powerful source of inspiration turned into reality in such a magnificent way. Besides Japan, he loves and is a passionate collector of stamps. Nature is another one of his inspirations. Traveling, even if happening only inside his head, gives the artist enthusiasm to continue his work.

36RECYCLAB (Special Curator Guest): 36recyclab (Alexis Cladière) does large scale street exhibitions of black and white engineering collages creating new perspectives and many more projects as sculpture.

The public is invited to come to discover the up and coming, exciting French Urban Art Scene!

Public Urged to Support Local Pottery Makers

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admin
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The Lao Handicrafts Association (LHA) is aiming to introduce some new additions to the pottery range in Vientiane, which it hopes will attract more customers.

The association already supports local potters to produce various items including jars, mortars and vases, and customers can place orders directly with the association.

President of the Lao Handicrafts Association, Mr Hansana Sisane, spoke about the need to diversify pottery products at a workshop on the business recently.

Phase II of a skills development programme took place at the Santiphone Pottery Factory in Vientiane as part of a strengthening technical and vocational education and training project.

Mr Hansana said the association needs to increase understanding of the importance of supporting local pottery makers rather than purchasing products made elsewhere.

We are now worried about pottery businesses in Laos because the demand for pottery increases each year but the number of local people actually making pottery products has decreased, he said.

In response, the LHA’s policy to support sustainable pottery aims to respond to production needs by ensuring the long term viability of pottery businesses.

During the training course participants discussed their work. As part of the project, communities were required to implement a viable and sustainable pottery management model allowing villagers to earn more income from the pottery they sold to markets, he added.

He explained that the LHA was continuing to promote Lao handicrafts at home and abroad while tackling the issue of pottery preservation by encouraging pottery production at the local level.

While Lao handicrafts are proving popular with domestic and international customers alike, some people have sought out imported pottery when local raw products are in short supply.

Mr Hansana said we believe that customers are interested in items like plates, cups, spoons and other utensils made by Lao people.

So we use raw materials found in Laos like clay to make pottery products here and of course these will also be made with the use of Lao people’s skills, he added.

The Lao Handicrafts Association will also look to local markets in Vientiane for inspiration before creating any of the new pottery products.

The association hopes to expand these new products to other provinces especially if they see increased customer interest in them.

According to the association, in October and November this year, the Lao Handicrafts Association held an exhibition of Lao handicrafts to present the new pottery products at Lao-ITECC.

The association invited customers from shops, hotels and restaurants around the city to attend the exhibition, when they were able to purchase new pottery items.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Hospitals Prepare to Treat New Year Road Accident Victims

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admin
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Hospitals in Vientiane are making preparations to treat the expected influx of patients involved in road accidents over the New Year.

Mittaphab, Setthathirath and Mahosot hospitals will have 24-hour emergency teams on standby to treat accident victims between December 29 and January 2, a hospital official said.

Deputy Director General of Mittaphab Hospital, Dr Tavanh Manivong, told Vientiane Times yesterday about their plans when giving a rundown of preparations in the lead up to the New Year.

Mittaphab and hospital networks are preparing medical staff and equipment in response to the expected surge in demand for services.

We have medical emergency teams on duty at all times so that we can provide good service, especially as the number of accidents is increasing each year, he said.

Last New Year Mittaphab had to handle about 400 road accident victims in just five days, which placed a lot of strain of doctors and nurses, he added.

On some days, we had to send accident victims to other hospitals because we didn’t have enough beds available. We believe the number of accidents could go as high as 800 this year over the same period.

Dr Tavanh said hospitals were partnering with the Foundation for Assisting Poor People of the Lao PDR, which provides aid to road accident victims and sends patients to Mittaphab and other hospitals nearest the scene of an accident.

He said that last year, doctors were sometimes unable to resuscitate accident victims because they were dead on arrival, the emergency team was busy with other patients, or there weren’t enough doctors on hand when casualties arrived.

Most accident victims are brought to the hospital at night, according to the Emergency and Critical Care Unit at Mittaphab.

According to the latest report from the Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security, there were 530 fatalities among 2,754 road accidents nationwide in the first six months of 2015.

Along with the 530 fatalities, 583 people were left in a critical condition, 1,716 were seriously injured and 2,022 people were slightly injured.

In addition, 189 vehicles were written off, 2,399 sustained moderate damage and 2,324 vehicles sustained minor damage.

Vientiane again the topped the list with 730 accidents, including 126 fatalities and 983 people injured. Some 1,400 vehicles also sustained damage.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Gift Basket Sales Drop This Year

By
admin
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Many retailers in Vientiane have seen a decline in sales of gift baskets during the year-end shopping season.

Gift baskets are top selling items among company staff and government officials who buy them to give to their customers and people held in esteem in the run up to New Year.

But vendors are struggling to make a profit this year.

We have been able to sell about 100 gift baskets during the end-of-year period, only half the number we sold last year, said shop owner Ms Ang.

This decline is part of a trend that has been observed over the past few years. The dip in popularity of the baskets has been attributed to the economic slowdown, the government’s policy of thrift, and the growth in the number of retail shops which is encouraging more people to spend their money on other kinds of gift, Ms Ang said.

I am one of the biggest retailers in the Dongpalan area but I have sold only about 100 gift baskets. Most of the buyers are businessmen and company staff and only a small number of customers are government officials, she added.

Her gift baskets range in price from 100,000 kip to 1 million kip depending on what kind of items the customer wants.

Another retailer in Xiengngeun village said she too was unable to sell a large number of gift baskets like she did last year.

Last year, she sold more than 100 of the brightly packaged baskets but this year had sold only 30-40.

I have no idea about the fake or expired products in gift baskets that many people have commented on, but at my shop we always check the goods before packing them into baskets ready for sale, the vendor said.

The Food and Drug Department under the Ministry of Health recently warned the public to be careful when buying a gift basket because some of the items it contains may be imitation or past the sell-by date. This may not be obvious because they will be mixed in with other items.

Out-of-date or imitation items could pose a serious health risk, a department official said.

Before New Year each year, health officials visit markets in Vientiane and the provinces to look for expired goods among mixed goods and gift baskets in the interests of consumer safety.

Health officials carry out inspections in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

This year, they discovered imported products and foods that were imitation, such as frozen seafood, tobacco, and herbicides.

They also found that some of the products were past their use-by date and some had been mixed in with other products.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

Water Route to Sky Lake in Attapeu Remains Unexplored

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admin
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Attapeu province has yet to conduct a water route survey to the popular NongFa (Sky Lake) after the provincial governor approved a proposal some months ago.

Developing a water route to NongFa is considered to be the most comfortable way for visitors to access the site and also see natural forests and mountains along the river.

An anonymous official from the province told Vientiane Times on Wednesday that so far no work has been carried out to develop this water route.

However, we’ve heard that the local company that proposed the project is trying to find another company as a partner to help with the survey and development of the route to the lake, he said.

According to the provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department, foreigners always ask to go Sky Lake when visiting the province.

The proposed route is about 50 kilometres long and it would take a boat about one hour to travel from Sammakhixay district to the lake.

Alternatively, the road route to the lake is about 170km long, but one section of about 70km is difficult to negotiate in the wet season.

The lake is located high on a hilltop and has very clear water that reflects the blue sky and resembles the sea in colour. It is believed the lake formed after a meteor crashed at the site hundreds of years ago.

The region is home to the Brao ethnic group, one of 11 distinct groups in Attapeu province. They typically build their houses on hilltops and wear elaborate bracelets on their arms and legs. They also cut their teeth, pierce their ears, and use animal tusks as earrings.

Attapeu province was chosen as Laos’ representative in The Cities of Charm’ pavilion at the China-Asean Exposition held in China in September.

The popular southern tourist attraction was featured during the event in a bid to promote tourism and city-to-city exchanges.

 

Source: Vientiane Times

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