F-REDD 2 enters its third year, starting with a JICA mission’s visit to Laos

The F-REDD 2 project is entering its third year. After a reinvigorating year-end holiday, we have come back and started work on the tasks that lie ahead.

In the midst of this, a JICA mission visited Laos in mid-February 2024. They started in Vientiane, where they discussed the outcomes of past cooperation with the Department of Forestry and expectations for the remaining three years. Following that, the mission then met with experts from the World Bank project, the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) project, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who shared their own expectations about the significance of JICA’s support and collaboration. We have a renewed desire to work together with the government and other partners toward the common goal of promoting forest conservation in Laos.

The mission then moved on to Savannakhet Province, meeting there with their provincial counterparts, after which the mission visited Phine District and met with villagers to learn about their livelihoods and their relationship with the forest. Later, the mission also visited deforested areas detected by the Provincial Deforestation Monitoring System (PDMS) and joined in to observe forest monitoring conducted using a drone. The district government staff were able to demonstrate the skills they had gained and successfully completed the flight, taking aerial photos of the deforested areas as intended, although with a bit nervously.

The team will continue to push forward with many more activities this year. Please stay tuned.