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Rapid Trade and Environment Assessment (RTEA): National Report for Lao PDR

By Sabrina Shaw, Aaron Cosbey, Sabrina Shaw, Heike Baumuller, Tom Callander, Latsamay Sylavong on December 9, 2007
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This report presents the results of the Rapid Trade and Environment Assessment (RTEA), which examines possible environmental impacts and opportunities arising from further trade liberalization in Laos, carried out in collaboration with The World Conservation Union (Laos). It provides an overview of the economic and environmental contexts in Laos, including a review of existing and planned bilateral and regional trade agreements. It goes on to identify key economic sectors that are most likely to have significant trade/investment potential and environmental impacts: hydropower, mining, construction materials, wood and wood products, garments, tourism, organic agricultural products, silk handicrafts, medicinal plants and spices and biofuels. For each sector, the report provides a preliminary assessment of the risk that continued export growth in these sectors might pose for the environment as well as opportunities for using trade policies and tools to advance environmental objectives in these sectors. The report concludes with a series of general and sector-specific policy recommendations on how such impacts could be mitigated and identifies areas where further analysis on the interaction between trade/investment liberalization and environmental sustainability would be needed.

Participating experts

Aaron Cosbey

Senior Associate

Report details

Publisher
IISD
Copyright
IISD, 2007