PM CALLS ON PEOPLE TO TAKE ACTIONS IN SOLVING GLOBAL WARMING

Vientiane, June 7 (KPL) -Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh called on people of all social strata and international community to take serious action to tackle the global warming which poses a threat to human-beings. Human actions are the main cause to the climate change which has a direct severe impact on the livelihood of human-beings over the world and tends to grow more severe. Importantly, these problems will hit harder on least developed countries and poor people with low capacity to cope with and adapt themselves to the changes, thus aggravating poverty and affecting the capacity of achieving the UN millennium goal. This is a statement of Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh made on the World Environment Day on 5 June in Vientiane Capital. Today, the Lao People's Democratic Republic is focusing on materialising the resolution of the 8th Party Congress at all levels and Lao ethnic people are pleased to join hands with the international community to mark the World Environment Day on 5 June and environmental conservation. The Lao PDR also holds this opportunity as a significant event by disseminating, raising awareness and launching an environmental protection campaign with an aim to mobilise all social strata in the management of environmental conservation. This year, Laos will launch three national hygiene movements, with a focus on building a green city through the reduction in plastic bag use, the launch of a tree-planting campaign (with a target of planting one million trees), waste disposal and urban cleaning, and other environmental protection campaigns nationwide. On behalf of the Lao Government, I would like to congratulate all sectors, local authorities and Lao people who have contributed to the environmental protection and national construction, said the Prime Minister. This is to ensure the balance between the economic growth and the environment protection and the sustainable utilisation of natural resources, he continued. On the occasion, he also urged local authorities, business units and local people in the entire country to fulfil their obligations in the environment safeguarding as stipulated in the constitution that all organisations and citizens are obliged to protect the environment, natural resources, either land, forest, wild life, water sources and air. The Lao Government plans to expand the forest coverage by 70 percent by 2020.