Mountainous, land-locked and sparsely populated (23 inhabitants/sq. km), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is somewhat of an exception in South-East Asia. It is the only country in the region where forest cover—a total of some 11 million hectares—dominates proportionally the majority of Laotian territory, accounting for roughly 47% of total surface area (IUCN 1996). However, as a result of increasing liberalization of the country’s economy and the expansion of road networks, deforestatio...