To fully implement the Environmental Protection Planning Project, one of the "Eight Major Projects Aiding Laos" proposed by President Xi Jinping, with the approval of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and support from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO)/Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center (LMEC) of MEE dispatched a Chinese expert team of "Environmental Protection Planning and Engineering Technical Assistance Project for Lao PDR" (hereinafter referred to as the “Project”) to conduct the first survey mission in Vientiane Capital of Laos. The survey was carried out under the management, coordination and guidance of the Chinese Embassy in Laos, the Lao-China Cooperation Committee and the Bureau of International Economic Cooperation of MOFCOM.
In accordance with the project implementation plan, the expert team has successively conducted in-depth docking on ambient air quality work with multiple institutions of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), including the Department of Planning and Cooperation, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Inspection, and Biotechnology and Ecology Institute. Focused discussions were held on topics such as Laos' ambient air pollution monitoring system, emission source inventory, and current status of pollution control. Additionally, the team shared China's practical experience targeting issues of key concern to Laos.
With the support of Yunnan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the expert team carried out mobile air pollution monitoring in Vientiane Capital, and its surrounding areas. Focusing on air pollution sources from industrial activities, domestic life, transportation and other sectors, the team identified the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of core local pollution sources in Vientiane Capital, laying a scientific foundation for the subsequent establishment of an urban air pollution monitoring and control system tailored to Laos' socio-economic development status and medium-to-long-term industrial development planning.
In the next step, the Chinese and Lao teams will focus on in-depth cooperation to address the haze challenges caused by biomass burning in Laos during spring. They will jointly advance the joint air pollution monitoring campaign in northern Laos in the spring of 2026, and comprehensively improve Laos' ambient air quality governance capacity in areas including air pollution monitoring network planning, air pollution prevention and control system construction, and comprehensive utilization of agricultural resources.
