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Conservation Strategies
 Overharvest of wildlife, habitat loss, and fragmentation are the greatest threats to the persistence of many significant species in Lao PDR. The WCS Lao Program conducts research and compiles information to increase understanding of these threats, which is then used to design and test the effectiveness of our conservation strategies in the field. We are monitoring wildlife and threat indicators in the Nam Ha National Protected Area. We also conduct research on wildlife hunting and trade in the Nam Ha NPA and on wildlife trade and enforcement in the Vientiane Municipality. In addition, we have established a national wildlife database which is being used to identify important sites for bird conservation within protected areas.
For relevant literature, articles, and project reports on our Research on Conservation Strategies in Lao PDR please visit our library.
Vientiane Municipality Wildlife Trade
 The markets of Vientiane Municipality have an extensive variety of wildlife for sale. The Vientiane Municipal Forestry Office (VMFO) is working with WCS to address the issue of wildlife trade in Vientiane Municipality. The VMFO and WCS jointly agreed to conduct training courses for government staff from different government sectors related to the issue of wildlife trade. Vientiane is on a major trade route and if trade is controlled throughout the municipality, there will be effects in the overall trade of wildlife in Lao PDR.
WCS conducted a training course for the Vientiane Municipality on Patrolling and Monitoring of Wildlife Trade in October, 2002. A consortium of participants came together to begin a project designed to increase monitoring and enforcement of wildlife trade in Vientiane Municipality. During this training session the need for conservation and its enforcement was discussed, old regulations were reviewed and new regulations were introduced. This was followed by an afternoon of practical experience in wildlife identification, monitoring and enforcement.
The training was a success, and after a further evaluation of results, will be considered for expansion into other provinces. Activities in progress now that are a result of the training include:
Wildlife Database Project
From 1993-1998, WCS and its partners have produced 33 wildlife and habitat surveys in 16 National Protected Areas (NPA) and 3 proposed NPAs. In order to make this information more accessible and useful for further research and management, a database was built and all species records from the survey reports were entered, as well as the species accounts from the Wildlife of Lao PDR status report. This database is now populated with over 16,000 records from just over 200 sites in Laos. The first major application of the database has come at the request of Birdlife International who sought the data to identify Important Bird Areas in Laos.
 Workshops have been held on the use of the database for staff in the Division of Forest Resource Conservation and the management unit staff of the Nam Ha National Protected Area. The purpose was to teach them how to use the database to answer commonly asked questions such as "What animals found are in each NPA?" and "Which areas of the NPA had been surveyed?". Participants also learned how to modify report formats and to use the database to meet their information needs for wildlife management.
Important Bird Areas
The Important Bird Areas (IBA) project is run in  collaboration with Birdlife International (Vietnam) and the WCS Lao PDR program. The main objective of the IBA project is to support land-use planning by providing information on internationally important sites for bird conservation within protected areas and other land-use designations. The Government of Lao PDR has established a system of National Protected Areas (NPAs), representative of the country's diverse habitats and ecosystems. However, these NPAs can achieve the dual objectives of biodiversity conservation and securing human livelihoods, but it is necessary to zone them into areas of different management regime, including sustainable use areas, human settlement areas and strictly protected 'core' areas. The IBA project identifies the key bird conservation areas within each NPA. This information is a useful tool for developing land-use plans that balance the needs of conservation with those of local communities who depend upon the natural resources of the NPA.
IBAs have been defined according to internationally recognized criteria to ensure that they are comparable with IBAs defined in other countries. The four bird criteria are: globally threatened bird species, restricted-range bird species, biome-restricted assemblages, and congregations. IBAs are not only important for birds, but typically support a wide range of other important animal and plant species. Therefore, four secondary criteria are introduced, which broaden the IBA concept beyond birds to other groups. These criteria include globally threatened primate species, turtle and crocodile species, gymnosperm species, and elephant and ungulate species.
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