Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector of the Lao PDR

The document analyzes how trade liberalization, including WTO accession and ASEAN agreements, affects the wood sector in Lao PDR. It identifies a critical tension between high processing capacity and unsustainable raw material extraction, noting that forest cover declined from 47% in 1992 to 41.5% in 2002. The paper argues that shifting from low-value exports to high-value processed goods, supported by forest certification and chain-of-custody systems, can mitigate environmental degradation. Key recommendations include reforming substandard factories, implementing scientifically-based logging quotas, and scaling up FSC certification to meet international market demands.

• Lao PDR has experienced a significant decline in forest cover, dropping from 47 percent in 1992 to 41.5 percent by 2002, with projections suggesting it could approach 30 percent by 2020.
• The domestic wood-processing industry suffers from low efficiency and a lack of value addition; for example, high-value exports like furniture remained extremely low, between 1.7 and 3.2 percent of exports.
• There is a dangerous imbalance between the high installed capacity of wood industries and the sustainable supply of timber, creating pressure on authorities to increase raw material supplies at the expense of sustainable forest management.
• Trade liberalization presents 'scale effects' where rising regional demand, particularly from China, may accelerate forest decline and the conversion of native forests to plantations.
• The document identifies a potential 'structural effect' where channeling wood currently exported as low-value (such as sawn wood) into domestic processing could reduce the burden on forest resources and increase government revenue.
• Forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has been piloted in Savannakhet and Khammouane provinces, but the lack of chain-of-custody (CoC) verification prevents these products from being marketed as certified in export markets.

APA

Sayakoummane, S., & Manivong, V. (2007). Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector of the Lao PDR. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_wood.pdf

Chicago

Sayakoummane, Sousath, and Vongxay Manivong. Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector of the Lao PDR. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_wood.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sayakoummane |first1=Sousath |last2=Manivong |first2=Vongxay |title=Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector of the Lao PDR |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rtea_lao_wood.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sayakoummane2007environmental, author = {Sayakoummane, Sousath and Manivong, Vongxay}, title = {{Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products 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_wood.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }