Fears linger for livelihoods as new villages being built for Lao victims may not be suitable for agriculture
Category: Laos
Left to fend for themselves
Victims of Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse in Laos languish in shelters, staring at an uncertain future.
Villagers in Laos Fearful of New Chinese Tourism Project
Authorities confirmed a Chinese firm’s looking to develop in Vang Vieng, but they say that land belonging to locals won’t be touched. Villagers are, however, skeptical.
Lao Protest Villager Freed, 11 Still Held
The villager was held since 2017 with a group arrested for protesting the loss of land awarded by the government to a Vietnamese rubber company. Eleven others remain in detention, with another reported to have died in custody last year.
Illegal ivory seized in raid on Luang Prabang shop
Some 73 kgs of ivory products were confiscated from a shop in Luang Prabang recently and the foreign owner detained for suspected trading in elephant ivory.
Laos doubles export of finished timber products
Wood products export increased by 107 percent in 2018 after the government banned the export of unfinished timber.
Mega First’s Laos hydropower project in final stage of completion
Don Sahong dam will have its first turbine installation in March followed by the energy test in June-July.
Chinese railway project in Laos leaves farmers in the lurch
The railway project, expected to be completed in 2021, has displaced more than 4,400 families from their land.
Lao Villagers Reject Plans For China-Invested SEZ
Villagers in the scenic Vang Vieng region north of Vientiane are blocking attempts to survey their land for foreign-invested development, fearing they will be displaced from their homes by a new Chinese tourism project.
Southern Lao flood victims call for urgent provision of housing
According to initial plans, construction of temporary houses for victims of the flood caused by the collapse of a dam at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant was to be completed in last November but construction is still ongoing.