A team of Chinese researchers left Phongsali Province in Laos for Jinghong in early July. They had just finished a first-ever field study training program aimed at understanding the rare and endangered species along both sides of the China-Laos border.

In order to build up the experience of the field workers, their training is an important step to ensure the success of the cross-border survey on rare and endangered wildlife. These animalsincluded Asian elephants and Indochinese tigers.

Ten field workers from different Lao national nature reserves and wildlife authorities, as well as 25 Chinese colleagues, took part in the six-day training period on a number of topics. These included field monitoring methods, infrared camera installation skills, field patrols, community protection and others.