Project News

The final draft of the revised Forestry Law — reported in F-REDD Newsletter Vol. 11 (December 2018) — was deliberated and approved in the National Assembly on June 13, 2019. After editorial modifications have been made, the revised law will be implemented by presidential decree at the end of this August. Major revisions include the reinforcement and refinement of regulations on logging and forest conversion, the establishment of a timber legality assurance system in line with FLEGT^[1], and the development of policies related to forest environmental services, including REDD+. The revised law also clearly specifies the participation of local communities in forest management, the official recognition of village forests in state-managed forests, and the creation of a village forest management planning system that includes commercial logging in village forests. F-REDD has proactively supported the revision process — through the translation and distribution of drafts, by gathering opinions from development partners, and by facilitating the exchange of opinions with the Lao government drafting team, among other activities — so that the revision is more effective and realistic. F-REDD will continue to support the preparation of the ministerial decrees necessary for the implementation of the revised Forest Law.