Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Medicinal Plants & Spices Sector of the Lao PDR

The report examines how increasing international demand and trade liberalization are affecting the medicinal plants and spices sector in Lao PDR. While the sector offers poverty reduction and economic growth opportunities, it faces significant environmental risks due to unsustainable wild harvesting and a lack of scientific management. The author contrasts the unsustainable extraction of berberine from Coscinium sp. with the more sustainable cultivation of Aquilaria sp. (agarwood). The document recommends strengthening legal enforcement, improving resource statistics, and encouraging private sector certification and cultivation to protect biodiversity.

• Trade liberalization and international demand, particularly from China, Vietnam, and Thailand, are driving the growth of the medicinal plants and spices sector, which is identified as a key growth sector in the National Export Strategy 2006-2008.
• Increased market demand has led to the over-harvesting of certain species, such as Coscinium sp. and the rare orchid Anoectochilus sp., causing processing factories to move further south as resources diminish in the north.
• The extraction of berberine from Coscinium sp. serves as an example of unsustainable harvesting, where villagers sometimes collect roots along with the liana, which is described as very destructive to forest biodiversity.
• The agarwood (Aquilaria sp.) industry provides a positive model for sustainability through the use of plant tissue culture and seed propagation to ensure a sustainable supply for domestic and international markets, including Brunei.
• The sector is hindered by several systemic weaknesses, including a lack of scientific harvesting approaches, poor enforcement of laws and regulations, and limited environmental awareness among rural populations.
• To ensure sustainability, the document recommends implementing certification systems, improving resource statistics, and providing private sector incentives such as lower taxes for medicinal plant plantations to reduce wild harvesting.

APA

Sydara, K. (2007). Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Medicinal Plants & Spices Sector of the Lao PDR. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_plants_spices.pdf

Chicago

Sydara, Kongmany. Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Medicinal Plants & Spices Sector of the Lao PDR. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_plants_spices.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sydara |first1=Kongmany |title=Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Medicinal Plants & Spices Sector of the Lao PDR |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_plants_spices.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sydara2007environmental, author = {Sydara, Kongmany}, title = {{Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Medicinal Plants \& Spices Sector of the Lao PDR}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2007}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_plants_spices.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }