Laos to begin recognizing NGO's

Communist country Laos will begin to recognize Non-Governmental organizations who are doing work within the country. The aid groups can begin to apply for recognition in November, and these may free them to be able to do more good.

From AFP News via Yahoo, we see reaction to the news from NGO's in other parts of the world.

More than 100 local organisations of various types already exist in the country but are not centrally registered, said Luke Stephens, country director of the Irish-based NGO Concern Worldwide.

The decree provides a clear legal framework for membership-based groups, in contrast to the existing situation under which registration is done on a more ad hoc basis, said Stephens, whose group backed the drafting of the decree.

"Now it's a much more transparent process," he said. "With the former system you could only register if you had connections."

Stephens added that "it's hard to understate the significance" of the decree signed on April 29 by Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh.

"It means anyone can register and then they have a secure and legal way to work and not be hindered by someone that doesn't like them."

Groups would, for example, be able to join together to work on poverty, development, health and other issues facing the country, he said.

"At least we have a decree to set up local NGOs, and that's a big step in Laos," said Isabelle Decout, of the INGO Network, a coordinating body of 65 international aid groups in the country.

Poppy cultivation in Asia growing

The United Nations office on Drugs and Crime says that Asian poppy production for opium is on the increase. In the countries of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand poppy production was next to nothing since 1998, but an increase in opium prices a big decrease in other crops have led to the rebound.

In this story from IRIN, we learn more about rebel groups within Myanmar who have returned to poppy cultivation, and the economic factors behind it.

This reduction has been largely the result of pressure on two of the largest opium producers in Myanmar's Golden Triangle (bordering China, Laos and Thailand) - the Kokang and the Wa.

Both are rebel ethnic groups, with large guerrilla forces, who have ceasefire agreements with the Myanmar government.

The Kokang virtually ceased opium production in 2003 and the Wa in 2005. But in the past two years both poppy cultivation and opium production have begun to grow again.

"The trend is certainly upwards with a significant increase in the land under cultivation in Myanmar," said Leik Boonwaat, UNODC chief in Laos, who has also been stationed in Myanmar.

"Former opium farmers who already live in dire poverty are facing twin levers of increasing opium prices and falling commodity prices that may encourage them to resume poppy growing," he said.

The prices of most commodities grown or produced in Shan Sate in Myanmar, and in Laos, as alternatives to poppy - including maize and rubber - have fallen by more than 50 percent, according to the UN's annual drug report.

Most of the Wa and Kokang alternative crops - tea, rubber and fruit - are sold to traders across the border in China where demand for these products has all but dried up.

Planning to provide water and sanitation in Asia

Money has been raised to help draw up plans for a major water and sanitation project.

The Asian Development Bank helped to pool together several loans to help fund the project. The total money that will be loaned is 1.5 million dollars.

The money will be used to draw up plans for water and sanitation for an area in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. As the local governments don't have the money to do a big project themselves.


200,000 people in 9 different towns will benefit from the project. The bank believes those towns could become tourism or transportation hubs when the right infrastructure is in place.

Again, this is just for drawing up the plans, I imagine more fund raising will have to be done to actually install the water works.

Here is a snippet from the ADB's press release that details the poor condition of the towns, and some more details about the project.

The towns identified for the planned project have high poverty levels and poor, or even non-existent, water supply and sanitation services. With improved infrastructure, they have the potential to develop into transport and tourism hubs.

The technical assistance will be used to determine the services needed for each town, the appropriate level of user charges, and the financial and technical capacity of participating public utilities and local governments, in order to design a project that is both realistic and sustainable.

At present, many local governments are unable to provide potable water and sanitation services 24 hours a day because of the high investment costs involved. At the same time, consumers face high tariffs that many cannot afford, or are unwilling to pay, making the rollout of new services financially unsustainable.

Major emphasis will also be given to improving sanitation services as few local governments in developing towns consider it a priority. Sanitation plans will be drawn up for each town, identifying cost-effective technologies, investment requirements, implementation and operating needs, and other actions needed to improve sanitation and promote hygiene.