Convoy of Lao trucks transports logs to Vietnam, despite ban on timber exports
Laos has continued to transport logs from its forests to Vietnam, despite a government ban on timber exports that took effect in August and a leaked report by an international environmental group two months ago, revealing huge increases in illegal logging with the implication of government collusion.
The Lao government issued a decree on 8 August prohibiting the export of logs and mandating that timber must be processed in Laos before it is exported to foreign countries. Previously, the government had banned the export of logs but exceptions were allowed only when it approved them.
