The LAO PDR National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to 2020 is a cross-sectoral policy, whose overall goal is to protect biodiversity resources and to ensure their sustainable use, and to maintain the country's diverse biodiversity as key to poverty alleviation and protect the current asset base of the poor as support to the implementation of the government's priority programmes.
The LAO PDR National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to 2020 is a cross-sectoral policy, whose overall goal is to protect biodiversity resources and to ensure their sustainable use, and to maintain the country's diverse biodiversity as key to poverty alleviation and protect the current asset base of the poor as support to the implementation of the government's priority programmes. The policy seeks to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable by supporting and maintaining biodiversity. To this end, the policy efforts will be focused on improving biodiversity data and filling data gaps through basic and applied research, improving biodiversity management and monitoring, planning and implementing a biodiversity specific human resource development programme, increasing public awareness of and encouraging participation in the sustainable management of biodiversity, adjusting national legislation and regulations related to biodiversity and harmonizing them with Multilateral Environmental Agreements, securing the NBSAP's implementation, and promoting country needs driven international cooperation. Further, ecologically sustainable management practices for eco- tourism will be promoted.
The policy also seeks to reduce rural poverty through recognizing and ensuring the contribution of the ethno-biological knowledge of Lao PDR's local and indigenous peoples in the conservation of biodiversity. To this end, efforts will be focused on promoting the participation of local and indigenous people in research programmes and the management of their resources, assessing the potential of the knowledge and practices of local people for nutritional and medical uses, as well as for wildlife and PA management, and promoting equitable use and equitable sharing of the benefits which may arise from the use of their knowledge and practices. Further, legislation will be drafted and enacted on access and benefit sharing for the social and economic benefits from the use of genetic material and products originating in the LAO PDR.
To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural systems, efforts will be focused on promoting the industrial, energy and mining development by minimizing the impact on biodiversity during industrial development processes.
Regarding governance, Science, Technology, and Environmental Agency and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are directly responsible for cooperation and coordination with concerned agencies including both central and local administration authorities and international agencies, and also for identifying sources of funding in order to support the implementation of the NBSAP. All sectors, both at the central and local level have the responsibility to translate the NBSAP into their action plans, which are to be implemented effectively.