VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has urged the public to increase awareness about environmental protection, including planting more trees, better management of waste and the effective utilisation of natural resources.
Delivering his messages to mark the World Environment Day and the National Environment Day, observed on Wednesday (June 5), Sonexay said Laos and countries around the world organise a ceremony to celebrate this important day with the aim of protecting the environment and ensuring sustainable uses of resources.
He highlighted the three principles of waste management, including reducing consumption, reusing used items and cleaning cities to make Laos cleaner and greener.
This year marks the 51st anniversary of the World Environment Day and the 25th anniversary of the National Environment Day and the slogan for 2024 is “Together stop destroying forests, use forest areas responsibly to restore soil, fight against drought and floods”.
Sonexay said the celebration of this important day will increase awareness and mobilise the people and domestic and international organisations to work together to manage and use natural resources in a sustainable manner.
“We can work together on protecting the environment from being destroyed in order to maintain the ecosystem and the good health of people and other living things, as well as to combat and prevent the effects of climate change, desertification and natural disasters,” he said.
The premier noted that forest fires and the encroachment and destruction of forests had become widespread in Laos and were increasing annually.
“In order to ensure the management and protection of forests and to increase the area covered by forests to 70 percent of the country’s area, to ensure the sustainability of natural resources and the environment for future generations, all of us must be ready to solve this issue decisively,” he said.
Sonexay added, “We need to restore the soil and ecosystem to make them fertile and durable in order to cope with climate change and help protect the living things on this earth from extinction in the future.”
As part of the government’s efforts to address climate change, several legislations have been passed. It issued Order No 11/PM, dated July 21, 2023, to improve the management, protection, development and use of forests, to fight the destruction of forests and to prevent wildfires.
It is also aimed at preventing unauthorised buying and selling of forest land and clearing of forests as well as promoting better management, protection and use of land, forests and other natural resources for the maximum benefits to the nation.
It is further aimed at ensuring the proportion of economic and social development and environmental protection to take Laos in a greener and sustainable direction.
Currently, more than 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, and 3.2 billion people are affected by desertification. It is expected that more than three-fourths of the world’s population will be affected by drought by 2050.
The Lao government has worked with the world community to tackle such problems by becoming party to many conventions, especially the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
While concluding his message, Mr Sonexay called on all parties at the central and local levels, social organisations, legal entities and Lao people of all ethnic groups to pay greater attention to managing and protecting natural resources.
“This year, in line with the National Arbor Day and International Children’s Day on June 1, I’d like to call on everyone, organisations, schools, various places and all parts of Lao society to end harmful actions against forests and to plant more trees, with each person planting at least one tree and closely following up on the planted tree to ensure it grows properly,” he stressed. - Vientiane Times/ANN
