4. Energy and Environment

This section covers the following topics: energy infrastructure, air quality, water, waste and soil

Indice

• 4.1. Energy
• 4.2. Air
• 4.3. Water
• 4.4. Waste
• 4.5. Soil

4.1. Energy

Laos intends to exploit its enormous hydropower potential to become the “battery of the Mekong sub-region” and supply electricity to neighboring countries.

In 2018, the installed energy capacity amounted to 7422 MW, of which 74% from Hydroelectric, for a production of 34,656 GWh , of which 83% exported.

Internal energy consumption is destined to 42% for industrial uses, 22% for Services and 35% for residential uses, with consumption growing: from 2018 to 2019 the growth was 18%, the estimate for 2030 is that consumption will grow at a composite rate between 11% and 12% per year.

The Ministry of Energy still estimates a huge potential for hydroelectricity, but the goal is to increase production by balancing sources, using coal in part, but also renewable sources: the 2030 scenario foresees a total installed capacity of 27,697 MW, of which 20,773 MW (75%) from hydroelectricity, 2,406 MW (8.7%) from photovoltaic, 600 MW (2.2%) from wind, 40 MW (0.1%) from biomass and 3,878 MW (14%) from coal.

As for wind power production, a Thai-Japanese joint venture has already opened construction for the installation of 133 wind turbines for a capacity of 600 MW, the park should start operating in 2025, reaching the quota planned by the Laotian government for 2030, however in December 2022 negotiations began for a second large wind farm of 250 MW, with a Vietnamese investment, giving a glimpse of the possibility of a reduction in the weight of coal in the energy mix.

The Laotian Government promotes the construction of plants in Public Private Partnership; for renewable energy plants there are financial incentives but not a feed -in tariff .

4.2. Air

4.2.1. domestic pollution

According to the UNEP-GRID observatory 1, in Laos more than 4,400 people die every year due to household air pollution, with an economic impact, calculated by the World Bank 2, equal to 5.69% of GDP.

According to the World Bank, as of 2017, over 93% of the population in Laos uses solid fuels as their primary cooking fuel, with 67% of the population relying on wood and over 26% on charcoal (wood charcoal).

Less than 7% of the population cooks with clean energy ( electricity, LPG and gas/biogas), the lowest percentage by far in Southeast Asia: 67% of the population in Vietnam and 75% of the population in Thailand cook with clean energy, in Cambodia, whose GDP per capita is about half that of Laos, the use of clean energy for cooking is about three times higher than that of Laos.

As of 2017, about 94% of Laos' population has access to electricity, a commendable achievement given the mountainous terrain, low population density, and many remote populations. However, in 2017, only 2.2% of the national population, 5.3% of the urban population, and 9% of the population of the capital Vientiane used electricity as their primary cooking energy.

These are roughly the same percentages as in 2011, but they represent a sharp decline from 1995, when over 10 percent of the urban population and 22 percent of the population of Vientiane used electricity for cooking. The decline is attributed to rising residential electricity tariffs for cost recovery and financial sustainability of the utility company.

Nearly 49% of households in Laos use a manufactured solid fuel stove, 21% use a traditional solid fuel stove, and 22% light an open fire in the center of three stones, only 1% of households have a fireplace or ventilation system.

4.2.2. Environmental pollution

Every year, approximately 2,700 Laotians die from air pollution, with an economic impact, calculated by the World Bank, equal to 3.5% of GDP.

Laos has no heavy industries and has mainly small scale industries, for this reason the air quality in Laos is relatively good and considered acceptable by national standards.

However, economic growth also leads to an increase in air pollution, due to the transport of goods and people, the burning of solid domestic waste (which is still a widespread practice), the progressive deforestation with forest fires, the agricultural practices applied by farmers who, between January and April, proceed with slash-and-burn, which added to the fires in the forests produces a blanket of smoke that persists for months and which also extends to the north of Thailand.

There is no active national air quality monitoring system.

In Laos, the fight against air pollution is mainly linked to the development of a greater collective awareness of the environment and health risks, the identification of alternatives to the use of solid fuels for cooking, the adoption of more modern cultivation techniques, the control of wild deforestation and the development of infrastructure for waste management, especially in rural areas.

4.3. Water

Water pollution is rapidly increasing in urban and rural areas. Most urban areas lack sewage treatment facilities, so inadequate sewage facilities have accelerated the discharge of domestic liquid waste into water bodies. Due to haphazard urbanization, the discharge of domestic sewage, fecal sludge, industrial effluents and solid waste discharge into water bodies and the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural practices have seriously deteriorated the water quality in rivers. In mountainous areas, the installation of hydropower plants poses additional problems or risks to water quality.

According to the World Bank, the cost of inadequate water management and its impact on the environment and health is equivalent to approximately 2.92% of GDP.

4.3.1. Drinking water

In 2017, about 84 percent of the population had access to a source of drinking water, compared to 74 percent in 2011, but the most common source was bottled water, used by as many as 48 percent of the household population. There is a gap of almost 20 percentage points between the urban and rural populations: almost 97 percent of people living in urban areas use improved sources of drinking water compared to 78 percent in rural areas.

The use of bottled water for drinking is particularly widespread in the two richest quintiles of households, 83% and 82%, respectively. From 2011 to 2017, the use of bottled drinking water more than doubled in the second richest quintile and quadrupled in the middle quintile. The use of bottled water is minimal in the two poorest quintiles, 14% and 2%, respectively.

About 37% of the household population reported treating water before drinking. The main treatment methods were boiling water (33%) and filtering water (4%). This represents a dramatic decline from 2011, when 57% reported treating water before drinking.

The prevalence of drinking water treatment is particularly low among the top two quintiles of households, which coincide with these households that primarily use bottled water for drinking. Drinking water treatment also declined among the bottom two quintiles from 2011 to 2017.

However, the Social Indicator Survey conducted by the Lao Government in 2017 includes the results of a survey for Escherichia coli bacteria (an indicator of fecal contamination) in the drinking water of over 3,000 households. As many as 86% of the household population had Escherichia coli in their drinking water, and as many as 38% had very high concentrations (>100 Escherichia coli per 100 ml). The prevalence of Escherichia coli did not differ significantly for households using potable sources compared to those using nonpotable sources.

The prevalence of Escherichia coli in major drinking water sources was also quite similar, with slightly lower prevalence among households using tap water and bottled water. However, the situation for bottled water (which should be treated with reverse osmosis) was not significantly better than for other types of drinking water, with 85% of users having Escherichia coli in their bottled drinking water and 29% of users having high concentrations. Interestingly, 29% of all households using bottled drinking water had an Escherichia coli concentration above 100 per 100 ml, while only 20% of the richest quintile of households had this concentration. This suggests that the richest quintile of households obtain better quality bottled water than other households, either because of their location in the country or the companies from which they purchase bottled water.

Particular attention has been paid to the concentration of Arsenic in wells. Laos conducted a first survey in 2008 on 61 wells, then other surveys were conducted in 2011, at the conclusion of which it was estimated that about 400,000 people in the central and southern provinces used well water with Arsenic concentrations higher than the WHO guidelines (10 μg / liter); in the 2017 study the estimate was lowered to 300,000 inhabitants, due to the fact that a greater percentage of the population has stopped using well water in favor of bottled water.

4.3.2. Sanitation and wastewater treatment

In 2017, approximately 71% of the population had access to non-shared toilet facilities, up from 57% in 2011.

The predominant type of sanitation facility is a flush toilet connected to a septic tank or well. Less than 3% use other types of sanitation facilities such as a dry pit, ventilated pit latrine, composting toilet or bucket/hanging toilet. In 2017, 24% still practiced open defecation, although this was down from 38% in 2011.

Access to improved sanitation varies significantly by household standard of living. Nearly 100 percent of the richest quintile of households have improved sanitation, compared to 25 percent of the poorest quintile.

In urban areas, a large volume of wastewater is discharged directly into the environment, into road ditches, rice paddies, ponds, etc., before entering rivers and streams. This is the main cause of water contamination and a major concern in Laos, as only a very small portion of urban areas in large cities are served by sewerage systems.

As a result, water in the drainage system is invariably contaminated with fecal matter and coliforms from latrines and septic tank effluents.

There have been several NGO-supported pilot programs to improve wastewater and sanitation management in urbanized areas through improved drainage systems and development of stabilization ponds, however most of these programs have not been successful due to inadequate technical and financial means to operate and maintain the facilities.

The Department of Water Supply within the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) is responsible for water management, sanitation and wastewater treatment. However, apart from the general standards set by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, there are no clear regulations on wastewater treatment or discharge of heavy metals. For this reason, wastewater sanitation and treatment projects funded by multilateral development agencies such as the World Bank (WB) or the Asian Development Bank (ADB) must adhere to good practices and international standards as defined in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) guidelines.

Asia Development Bank 3supports the implementation of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS), which use natural physical processes combined with aerobic and anaerobic activities of microorganisms, which grow naturally in wastewater, possibly supported by a phytoremediation phase. These systems are based on the principles of decentralization, simplicity and reuse of treatment products, simplicity is achieved through on-site treatment without chemicals or electrochemical equipment or energy inputs and with low maintenance requirements, treating up to 1000 cubic meters of wastewater per day (about 2,500 households).

4.4. Waste

Among the countries in Southeast Asia, Laos is the country that generates the least solid waste, with an average of 0.15 kg per capita per day in 2015, which is expected to increase to 0.18 kg in 2030 and 0.22 kg in 2050; but despite its low generation, Laos faces significant challenges in addressing a lack of waste collection systems and disposal methods.

Scarce economic resources limit the organization of collection services to urban areas, leaving many remote locations underserved or without services. Collection rates reach 60% in urban areas and 35% in rural areas.

Poor waste collection systems and lack of awareness push citizens to burn waste in the open, bury it, dump it on vacant land or dump it in waterways. Only 30% of waste is disposed of in landfills and only 10% is recycled.

Most of the country's landfills are uncontrolled, open-pit, do not meet sanitary standards, and lack leachate collection systems and monitoring wells. Hazardous waste is not collected or treated separately from general waste, resulting in toxic materials and medical waste being disposed of with municipal waste.

In the capital Vientiane, the City Office for Management and Service (VCOMS) offers annual contracts to private companies for collection services, specifying the districts in which they can operate. Private companies charge a collection fee directly to their customers. In 2017, the fees were increased from 25,500 KN/month to 41,550 KN/month (from 3 US$/month to 5 US$/month).

Households and the commercial sector are charged different rates. As of 2015, offices were charged KN 30,000–50,000 per month (from USD 3.5 per month to USD 5.8 per month); markets were charged KN 150,000–180,000/container (US$ 17.4–21.2/container).

Collected waste is taken to a transfer station that serves only as a loading and unloading point, where recyclables can be collected by station workers. Seventeen small municipal waste collection trucks (3 tonnes/unit) enter the transfer station area twice a day, where neither informal collectors nor private companies are allowed. The facility has two mixing machines used to transfer waste from the small vehicles to three larger trucks (20 tonnes/unit) that transport the waste two or three times a day to a landfill located 32 km from the city centre; this landfill does not meet operational standards.

Preliminary estimates indicate that plastics constitute about 12 percent of municipal solid waste in Vientiane. In 2016, the city's recycling rate reached 10 percent, including plastics, paper, and metals.

Data on the extent of plastic waste pollution in the country is not available, however, estimates suggest that most plastic is burned, contributing to air pollution, or dumped in the open, often near waterways. As a result, plastic waste clutters riverbanks, clutters of plastic waste float in waterways and pollute waterways and ultimately oceans, and clogs the flow of canals and rivers, leading to increased flooding. An estimated 30 million people depend on the Mekong Basin for their livelihoods. However, the river, which flows through Laos, is increasingly burdened with plastic pollution and is among the top ten waterways contributing to plastic pollution in the ocean.

Since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018, the amount of plastic waste imported by Laos has increased significantly, from 7,800 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes in 2019 alone, and the Lao government has responded by banning the establishment of new plastic waste processing facilities, although it acknowledges that this amount is set to increase further in the coming years.

In 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment ( MoNRE ) began a collaboration with the World Bank to develop a National Plastic Action Plan (NPAP). In addition to implementing an analysis of plastic pollution, an assessment is made of potential policy measures needed to clean up Laos from plastic and how to implement a new approach to waste management, with a shift to a circular and sustainable model.

4.5. Soil

Seventy-eight percent of the total land area of Laos is mountainous and the current forest cover is estimated at 62%. Land degradation challenges in Laos include soil erosion due to natural disasters, land use change due to development projects, excessive use of chemicals in agriculture and industry in northern and central parts of Laos, drought events that reduce crop productivity, deforestation and land use change.

The country is subject to seven major hazards: floods, droughts, storms, landslides, epidemics and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Since most people living in rural areas depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, the presence of unexploded ordnance makes it dangerous to use land for agricultural and community purposes, which in turn negatively affects the socio-economic development of the country. The presence of unexploded ordnance has also caused food and livelihood shortages and widens the disparity between urban and rural areas.

Land pollution comes mainly from illegal land use, uncontrolled mining, electronic waste and chemical waste from agricultural production. Soil can be contaminated by a wide range of pollutants, including pesticides, lead and cadmium. Laos has limited productive agricultural areas, however there is no organization to control the soil for chemical residues. Agricultural land is also limited by unexploded ordnance (UXO) risk areas and areas with dioxin contamination from Agent Orange (defoliant) used during the Vietnam War.

Laos is endowed with huge deposits of untapped mineral resources in over 570 locations 4across the country, especially gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, alumina, potash and other minerals. Mining has been a key driver of economic growth since production began in 2002. Since then, foreign investment has helped develop rich mineral resources, which account for about 30 percent of total foreign direct investment in Laos. The government hopes to increase mineral processing capacity to reduce the number of raw minerals exported and add value by exporting processed minerals.

The Laotian government is making efforts to push mining companies to comply with environmental regulations, also through international cooperation programs (for example with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany 5), for this reason these companies are looking for consultancy services and assistance, especially regarding soil stabilizers, dust collection systems, ventilation systems, water filtration and erosion control.