Lao People's Democratic Republic

There are currently three species of Asian rhino: the Indian or greater one-horned Asian rhino, the Javan or lesser one-horned Asian rhino and the Sumatran or Asian two-horned rhino. Today, all three are threatened with extinction and two, the Sumatran rhino and Javan rhino, critically so. Although the Indian rhino is to be found in greater numbers than the other two, the threats to this species nevertheless remain significant.

This publication gives an account of the challenges currently being faced by Lao PDR - an oasis of biodiversity richness nestled amid a group of countries whose biodiversity assets have been severly depleted as a result of economic and/or population pressures - as it struggles with the options between trying to ensure the equitable economic and social development of its peoples, while using its resources sustainably and ensuring that exploitation of its resources by neighbouring countries doe