Developers and business owners have been told that they must comply with Laos ' environmental law in order to safeguard the long term environment.

Deputy Director of the Water Resource and Environment and Administration, Mr Noulinh Sinbandhit issued the caution at the opening of a national workshop on environmental law and sustainable development in Vientiane last week.

Mr Noulinh said according to a report from international climate change experts, since 1900 the world's average temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius and it is expected to increase by between 1.8 and 4 degrees during the next 100 years.

Climate change and global warming are the biggest threats to people's living standards in many countries, especially developing ones. It is hard for poor people to adjust, because they do not have the resources to change their circumstances, workshop participants were told.

Climate change may increase poverty and affect sustainable development, making it harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The workshop was told it was necessary for countries to cooperate with each other to battle climate change by reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere.

Developed countries should encourage building the technology, skills and abilities of developing countries to improve their economies without causing further harm to the global environm ent, the workshop heard.

The Kyoto Protocol was a treaty made during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC) by the international community to encourage its members to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, a number of major greenhouse emitters from both the developed and developing world refused to sign.

The Kyoto Protocol became legally binding on the signatories in 2005 As of 14 January 2009, a total of 183 countries and one regional economic organisation have ratified the agreement.

Under the treaty, the international community has been researching and discussing a second agreement for a new climate protocol expected to be put to a conference in Copenhagen , Denmark in December, 2009.

Laos has agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions under either a 1995 Climate Change treaty or the 2003 Kyoto Protocol. The country's targets and achievements were reported in the First National Communication on Climate Change in 2000, self-assessment under the Rio convention, and the convention about desertification and biodiversity.

Currently the country is drafting a strategy plan on climate change. This is an important process to enable the agriculture, forest, energy, public health, and natural resources sectors to adapt.

All of these environment problems demonstrate that complying with the environment protection laws are important in producing sustainable development. It is necessary for projects to be assessed for their negative impacts on the environment and ensure they do not release more greenhouse gases than Laos ' environment laws permit.