In recent years, with the support of UNESCO and other international agencies, the Lao Government has made strenuous efforts to safeguard the country's two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luang Prabang and Wat Phu Champassak, and the ancient heritage of the Plain of Jars.

However, it must be borne in mind that the great majority of the country's monuments and sites are managed by local authorities, most of which have very limited expertise and few financial and material resources with which to carry out the essential tasks of heritage conservation. In many parts of the country ancient buildings continue to be restored or reconstructed using inappropriate materials and sub-standard techniques, while the need to generate tourist dollars often results in unregulated and inappropriate commercial development in close proximity to important historic sites.

Another serious problem facing the Lao heritage sector is the theft and illegal trafficking of antiquities. In 2000, for example, hundreds of Buddha images were stolen from Luang Prabang, including over 100 from Ting Cave at Pak Ou. Although many of these were subsequently retrieved, customs officials report that hundreds of illegally trafficked artefacts are seized at various border checkpoints every year. The Lao Government is not yet a signatory to the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and there are as yet no criteria for classifying various kinds of antiques, nor do regional customs staff have the relevant training to help them identify valuable artefacts.

The situation is compounded by the fact that no conservation training programmes are currently available in Laos. Most senior officials of the Department of Museums and Archaeology were trained overseas; some older staff attended universities and colleges in the former Soviet Union, while younger staff have been trained mostly in neighbouring countries such as Việt Nam, Thailand and Malaysia.