About Lao PDR

A wealth of biodiversity

Within the huge tracts of untouched forests in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) live some of the world's most endangered species.

Here the largest population of Asian elephants in the region still roams, and tigers continue to inhabit their mountain ranges. These vast forests also harbour species unknown to science only a decade ago.

New species discovered
The astonishing discovery of 5 new species of mammals including the saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) the large-antlered muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) and the Annamites striped rabbit (Nesagolus timminsii), highlight the country's amazing and unique flora and fauna, many of which can be found nowhere else in the world.

The most diverse forests in Asia
The forests of the Saiphou Louang in Lao PDR have one of the greatest concentrations of endemic species in a continental setting. A national wildlife survey in 1999, revealed that of a total of more than 1,000 vertebrate species  (excluding fish), nearly a third were of national and global significance.

Rich aquatic life
A great part of this landlocked country lies within the basin of the Mekong River, one of the world's great rivers with a level of biodiversity comparable to that of the Amazon. An estimated 1,300 species of fish live in the Mekong. These include the giant catfish, the largest freshwater fish in the world, and a rare pod of 6 Irrawaddy dolphins, which inhabit the deep seasonal pool of the Mekong flowing through the south of Lao PDR.