There are larger-scale worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a high-speed railway link in the country 400km long. It could transform the landlocked country, though cynics say it will mainly benefit the Chinese. It will link China's south-western Yunnan province with four Lao cities, including the capital Vientiane. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed? The vast majority of Laotians live off the land; the valleys near Thapho village are scattered with the brilliant green of the paddy fields which, with luck, will provide two crops a year. With foreign investors keen to buy up land, local people will have to be moved to make room for them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/mar/03/laos-resources-bombs-education-health
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