Indufor signed a new project with the Lao Department of Forestry regarding technical assistance for the Lao Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (LLL). This project started in March 2022 and will continue until 2027.
The LLL project will promote sustainable forest management in production and protection forests, improve protected area management, promote nature-based tourism, strengthen law enforcement and enhance livelihood opportunities in selected landscapes in Lao PDR.
The LLL project will provide multiple benefits to diverse beneficiary groups at the local, provincial, national, regional, and global levels. Direct project beneficiaries live in an estimated 600 forest-dependent villages in the targeted landscapes. About 72 000 households with nearly 400 000 people reside in these villages. Local women and men from a wide range of ethnic groups will gather both monetary and non-monetary benefits from more sustainable management of the project area where new livelihoods and job opportunities are created.
The total value of the LLL-project is USD 57 million, which consists of financing from the World Bank Group, Canada Clean Energy and Forest Climate Facility Trust Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
Indufor has a long-term continued presence in Lao PDR since the company has implemented five multi-million consecutive Sustainable Forest Management (SUFORD) Projects in the country, financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the World Bank since 2003. The technical assistance part of the LLL project will be led by Mr Esa Puustjärvi, who has been working in Lao PDR since 2009 as Chief Technical Adviser for several SUFORD projects.
More information from: Esa Puustjärvi, Leo Eerola
