A Gap Analysis in Selected Asian Countries, 3R Knowledge Hub ...

BACKGROUND
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, shortly
Laos, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia.
It has common borders with China, Cambodia,
Thailand and Vietnam. The total land area of
the country is 236,800 km 2 , the major part being
mountains and forests. The country is divided
into three geographical areas: the Northern, the
Central, and the Southern areas. Laos has a
population of about 6.5 million growing at a
rate of 2.37% under 47 different ethnic groups.
The population density is around 25/ km 2 .
The long-term national development goal of
Laos is to achieve sustained economic growth
and social development while safeguarding the
country’s social, cultural, economic and political
identity. In response to this, the government is
committed to promote the Laos Integrated
Waste Management (IWM). This includes
training of trainers approach and commitment
by the National Science Council and Laos
Union of Science and Engineering Associations
and all relevant stakeholders in building a
knowledge base. The vision of Laos’ IWM is on
the continuous support of the local community
and all relevant institutions and partners.
PRIORITY AREAS
With a per capita GDP of US$ 402, Laos is one
of the poorest countries in the East Asia and
Pacific Region. The country’s human
development ranking is 143rd among 175
countries. With this level of poverty, the
country’s natural resource is of critical
importance to poverty alleviation and growth.
However, natural resource degradation,
combined with inadequate provision of
environmental services is disproportionately
affecting the poor in Laos.
3.10
Laos
As in any developing country, waste
management is an issue to be addressed
holistically. The case in Laos is slightly different
in that the government has been taking all
possible steps in the management of urban
municipal waste. However, the management of
healthcare waste in the country is the primary
issue that has not been adequately addressed.
Considering the direct and indirect threats of illdisposed
healthcare waste, it is essential to
design, fund and implement appropriate
systems for its management.
URBAN MUNICIPAL WASTE
The generation of solid waste in Lao PDR is
already on the rise, and has started degrading
the quality of surface and groundwater.
Expanding urban population, poor waste
collection systems and largely inadequate
disposal facilities are the reasons for the
compounding solid waste problem.
The annual waste generation in 2004 was
270,000 tons. Domestic waste accounts for the
bulk of materials generated. The average urban
waste production in Laos is 0.75 kg/cap/day
Chapter 3: Country Analysis
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