Assessment of Forest Cover Change in Luang Prabang Province, Lao P.D.R.

Through the development policies of the Lao government, particular attention has been given to the forest sector in order to achieve the objectives of the Forestry Strategy 2020, which was implemented from 2005 to 2020. One of the main goals of this strategy was to increase forest cover to 70 percent by 2020, with the longer-term objective of maintaining or increasing forest cover toward 2035. This research concerns changes in forest cover in Luang Prabang Province, Lao P.D.R. The study aims to assess changes in forest cover over different periods. A quantitative research method was used to describe the characteristics and trends of forest cover changes. The results indicate that forest cover in Luang Prabang Province changed significantly during the period from 2002 to 2010. During this period, forest cover increased by approximately 3.11% per year, indicating significant forest recovery. Approximately 31.10% of the area had strong potential for natural forest regeneration, while the remaining areas required forest restoration and development activities, such as tree planting. During the period from 2010 to 2015, the proportion of primary forest cover increased by approximately 22.34%, representing an average annual increase of 4.47%. In contrast, the proportion of secondary forest cover decreased by approximately 18.95%, equivalent to an average annual decrease of 3.79%.

During the period from 2015 to 2019, forest cover showed an overall negative trend, with tree-cover loss occurring each year in Luang Prabang Province. The years 2016, 2017, and 2019 experienced particularly high levels of forest loss, with losses exceeding 50,000 hectares in each of these years.