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(…) Under the Forestry law (see below) forests are classified into three categories: protection forests; conservation forests; and production forests. [75] (...) There are 139 protected forests, covering 7.99 million ha, of which: 49 are national protected areas (7.48 million ha); 5 are provincial protected areas (141,633 ha); and 85 are district protected areas (366,838 ha). In addition, there are 176 conservation areas, covering 4.89 million ha, of which: 24 are national conservation areas (3.77 million ha); 59 are provincial conservation areas (626,499 ha); and 93 are district conservation areas (420,678 ha).
[75] They include all forest types: dense forests, degraded forests, cleared forest land and village use forests. Forestry Law No. 06/NA, 24 December 2007. Viewed at: https://www.laotradeportal.net/index.php?r=site/display&id=68.

Lao PDR's commitments under the GATS remained unchanged during the review period. Its Schedule of Specific Commitments covers 79 subsectors in certain business services, communication services, construction and related engineering services, distribution services, educational services, environmental services (...)

(…) Capital-intensive growth based on mining and hydropower investments was accompanied by rising inequality and environmental degradation.[5] (…) The authorities are cognizant of these risk and are addressing them.
[5] IMF, Country Report No. 18/84.

(...) Lao PDR is an electricity exporter (26.2% of total exports in 2017) but is fully dependent on rising hydrocarbon imports. Despite the country's potential of alternative renewable energy sources and the existence of relevant policies, their utilization is rather low, except for the widely-used large hydro projects. (...)

Lao PDR also operates automatic and non-automatic licensing for exports. For goods subject to export licensing, Decree No. 114/GoL on Export and Import of Goods provides the legal basis for such controls. Specific goods subject to export licensing are stipulated in Notification No. 0076/MOIC.DIMEX on the List of Goods subject to Automatic and Non-automatic Import-Export Licensing, of 2012 (Table 3.10). Automatic export licensing is in place for statistical reasons, while non-automatic licensing is in place for public safety and national security reasons, environmental protection, and exchange rate stability. (...)

(...) The Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE) is a state corporation that holds and manages state shares in IPP projects. As at 2017, there were 63 hydropower plants, 1 thermal power plant, 4 photovoltaic plants and 2 biomass plants, with a total installed capacity of 7,076 MW; more than 88% of the capacity was owned by IPPs, while EDL and EDL/Gen represented 2.7% and 8.8%, respectively. (...)

Lao PDR prohibits or restricts the import of certain goods on the grounds of: (…) conservation of natural resources; (…) Goods prohibited for imports are listed in Notification No. 0973, Annex 1 (Table 3.6).

To warrant that the measures needed to ensure a smooth transition and its sustainable development, in 2017, Lao PDR established the National Steering Committee for SDGs implementation under the Presidential Decree, (…) There is also a mechanism allowing to engage the civil society to implement the 2030 Agenda, which covers many of the issue which have to also be addressed within the graduation process. (...) This Committee consists of the representatives from relevant agencies and would be responsible for the implementation of the short-term and long-term measures of the graduation strategy and their embedment in the SDGs 2030 Agenda. The working group would require urgent technical assistance for the elaboration of the graduation strategy as well as to strengthen the negotiation capacity of the International Department. UNESCAP is expected to continue its technical assistance to the Agenda 2030.

(…)Lao PDR is mindful that over-reliance on hydropower could lead to several problems: (…) (ii) need to install hydropower facilities along the watercourses and then transport the energy via inefficient power grid, often facing up to 20% losses in power supply, leading to the need to import electricity; (...) (iv) potential risk harm to environment and people. Recognizing the need to diversify energy generation, the Government of Lao PDR has (...) established the development of renewable energy other than hydropower as one of its main priorities, aiming to increase the share of non-hydro renewable energies to 30% of total consumption by 2025. Studies show that Lao PDR has potential to develop solar power. (...)

During the period under review, Lao PDR's domestic and foreign trade policies focused on four key priorities: (…) (d) improvement of business environment and investment climate. In its progress, Lao PDR was largely guided by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and, later, by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.