Republic of the Philippines

Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau

06 December 2019

MEMORANDUM

FOR : The Undersecretary

Legal, Policy, Planning and International Affairs

FROM : The Director

SUBJECT : 2ND PHILIPPINES-LAOS JOINT COMMISSION FOR

BILATERAL COOPERATION

This refers to the proposed Official Visit to the Philippines of Lao Prime
Minister Thoungloun Sisoutith in January 2020 and the 2nd Philippines-Lao Joint
Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) on 03-06 February 2020 in
Vientiane, Laos.

As a background, statistics from the Laotian government and the World

Bank indicated that in 2015, forests covered roughly 81.3% of the country's
territory. Some of the most common trees in Laos include the ironwood,
redwood, and pine which are mainly used to produce timber. Forests in Laos
are used for a variety of purposes such as providing firewood and timber for
building. The Laotian forests are also home to several unique varieties of
wildlife. Despite their great economic importance, Laotian forests face several
major challenges such as deforestation and the declining quality of the trees
due to slash and burn farming method.

More so, Laos' most important natural resources are its minerals which
include coal, copper, and gold. The mining industry is one of Laos' most
important industries as it contributed approximately 7% of the country's GDP in
2012.1

In lieu of the above stated premises and as the Department’s principal

research and development unit, we recommend the following topics to consider
for discussion:

1 Sawe, Benjamin Elisha. "What Are The Major Natural Resources Of Laos?" WorldAtlas, Feb. 27, 2019,
worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-major-natural-resources-of-laos.html.
 Decoupling the degradation of forest resources from industrialization to
enable inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as well as meeting
the energy needs of increasingly urbanized settlements;

 Development of National Protected Areas (NPAs) intended to protect

forests, wildlife, and water; maintain natural abundance and
environmental stability; and protect natural beauty for leisure and
research;

 Possible research collaborations;

For your information.

SOFIO B. QUINTANA, Ph.D., CESO III

College, 4031, Laguna, Philippines

Tel Nos: (6349)5363628; 5362229; 5362269 Fax No. (6349)5362850
E-mail: erdb@denr.gov.ph