Laos

Laos is a forested, mountainous country in Southeast Asia. Terrain is rugged and also includes plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms part of Laos’s western border with Thailand. Laos has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rainfed agriculture. Challenges to biodiversity include deforestation; soil erosion; and water pollution.