logging

A British-based NGO, Global Witness, warned that the countries in Mekong Sub-region will face with more flooding in rainy-season and severe drought in dried-season if these governments do not take tough measures against illegal logging.

The Global Witness said Burma is leading the group in illegal logging activities, following by Cambodia and Laos, while China, Thailand and Vietnam is the market place for the illegal timbers to be transformed into finished-products for the re-exports.

From the survey, the Global Witness found that in the last 10 years, the Cambodian forest density has dropped from 64 percent to 35 percent and Laos also reduced to the same level with Cambodia. Most of illegal timbers from Cambodia and Laos have exported to Vietnam which totaling more than 500,000 cubic meters every year, while Thailand and China have imported more that 30 million cubic meters of Burmese logging in the past 3 decades.

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Lao officials, however said the Lao government takes very seriously about environmental protection and forestry resources and thinks these are joint-problems of the countries in the Mekong Sub-region.

Listen to our report for more details in Lao.