What China's Belt And Road Means For Elephants In Laos

[TomSea]

What China's Belt And Road Means For Elephants In Laos
Ashley Westerman Twitter

Laos is known as the "Land of a Million Elephants." But after decades of loss of habitat, there are fewer than 1,000 left. Now those remaining may be endangered by a Chinese-backed rail line.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now let's look south of China's capital 1,600 miles to Laos. China is building a railway in Laos, and our producer, Ashley Westerman, visited.

Ashley, what'd you learn?

ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE: I learned that locals are concerned about one of China's global projects. And the nickname of Laos is a clue to what that problem is.

INSKEEP: The nickname.

WESTERMAN: Yes. Laos is known as the land of a million elephants. But elephants are getting scarce. And at the Elephant Conservation Center, I learned more about how the railway could make things worse.

Read more at:  https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/717389591/what-chinas-belt-and-road-means-for-elephants-in-laos