Laos
SPI: 66.25
Species Protection Index Average: 42
National Report Card: 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.
21%
of land currently protected
1338
total land vertebrate species
31
endemic land vertebrate species
Species of significant conservation interest
Mekong Freshwater Ray
159
amphibians / 4 endemic
615
birds / 1 endemic
300
mammals / 1 endemic
264
reptiles / 25 endemic
Information on this page was sourced from the CIA World Factbook and the Half-Earth Project Map.
