ASEAN Protected Areas

Nam Ha Protected Area

ASEAN Heritage Park, Lao PDR

Location

The park, established in 1993 with an area of 222,400 ha, is situated in the extreme northwest of the country in Luang Namtha Province and stretches as far as the Chinese border. It lies between latitude of 20° 33’ - 21°15’ N and longtitude of 10° 7’-101° 37’E.

Habitats

The park contains a mosaic of tropical and subtropical forest types including evergreen gallery forests, semi-evergreen forest, subtropical Castanopsis forest, submontane forest on the higher peaks (up to 3,094 m) and limestone forest on the karst portions of the park. There are caves and freshwater streams, also secondary scrub and village lands.

Wildlife

The park hides a wealth of plants, birds, mammals and insects. The park contains about 2000 plants including a wide range that are used by local people for medicine and other uses. Most valuable are the Aquilaria trees whose red infected heart is so prized for making incense.

There are over 288 known species of birds including spectacular great hornbill, green peacock, silver pheasant, fairy pitta, red jungle fowl and grey peacock pheasant live on the forest floor. The forest hums to the rhythmic calls of the great barbet and blue-faced barbet or the loud calls of Indian cuckoo. Lesser raquet-tailed drongo also have melodious calls, but the best songster in the forest is the white-rumped shama. Flocks of doves and pigeons scour the canopy for fruiting fig trees; serpent eagles circle in the sky over the forest giving eerie cries.

The mammal fauna also contains many dramatic species. Herds of elephant occur, as do the shy gaur. Following these large animals are rare tigers and commoner leopards. Sambar deer, red muntjac, rare Roosevelt’s muntjac and the Northern serow also occur.

The hills are the home of troops of Northern pigtail and rhesus macaques. The wilder valleys still contain families of white-cheeked crested gibbon.

Great flocks of butterflies gather around pools or the places where an animal has urinated. Swordtail swallowtails, Graphium and Papilio species, the Indian purple emperor and the amazing leaf butterfly Kallima sp.are common here. Large black and yellow birdswing butterflies Troides sp. sail over the canopy or hover around the Aristolochia vines laying eggs.

Other interests

Several minority groups, including Tay, Kmu, Hmong, Akha, Lontaen and minority Kinh live around the park, each with its own distinct culture and colourful costumes. These tribes have strong tradition in herbal medicine. The Tay are Buddhists and have small temples which are also used as school for boys. The local people have to eat a variety of insects and some new dishes are available for visitors.

There are spectacular views, caves, and waterfalls. A pilot project for an ecotrekking trail is planned for Nam Ha West, which is supported by a larger Luang Namtha province ecotourism project. Boating in the Namtha river and hiking in the hills are currently being developed.

Visiting

Tourism in this part of Lao P.D.R. is still young and facilities are few and far between. Several companies already erect lodges and organize tours for trekking, canoeing and viewing of wildlife and local culture. Planes fly to the northern town of Luang Prahbang from Vientienne or Bangkok. The park can be visited by road from Luang Prahbang via the provincial capital Luang Namtha via very poor roads in about 4-5 hours. From Luang Namtha to the southwest, there is a major road to Vieng Phoukha district and the Thailand border, which passes through the corridor between Nam Ha East and West. From Luang Namtha to the north, there is another major road to Muang Sing district, which passes through the corridor between the Nam Ha West and the Nam Kong area.

Conservation Programmes

The government is establishing the site as a conservation area. There is also some collaboration with authorities to create a transfrontier reserve with the Shang yang section of Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve in China.

UNESCO Nam Ha Ecotourism project is mounting a programme to educate, provide alter native livelihood and raise the living standards of the local minorities around the park.

Threats

Major threats are agricultural encroachment, illegal logging and hunting. Whilst hunting of elephant and tiger has the biggest impacts on those species, more widespread is the hunting of gaur and deer for food. Even monkeys and gibbons are not safe from the hunters’ muskets and traps. Other problems are forest fires and the grazing of buffalos inside the park area.