Phou Xang He National Protected Area

Phou Xang He National Protected Area
Phou Xang He National Protected Area
	IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
	Location in Laos
Location	Savannakhet Province, Laos
Nearest city	Savannakhet
Coordinates	16°49′1″N105°44′6″E / 16.81694°N 105.73500°E Coordinates: 16°49′1″N105°44′6″E / 16.81694°N 105.73500°E
Area	1,060 km2 (410 sq mi) (decreed), 1,180 km2 (460 sq mi) (current estimate) [1]
Designated	29 October 1993

Last updated May 02, 2019

Phou Xang He National Protected Area is a national protected area in Savannakhet Province in central Laos. This mostly pristine forested park is home to a large variety of important animal and bird species.^[1] The park is home to the Phu Tai and Katang ethnic groups and is an ecotourism destination.^[1]^[2]

A National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) is an environmentally protected area in Laos. There are all together 21 different NBCAs in Laos, protecting 29,775 square kilometers. Another 10 NBCAs have been proposed, many of them being treated by authorities as though they were already officially protected.

Savannakhét (Lao:ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ) is a province of Laos. The name derives from Savanh Nakhone the province's original name. It bears the same meaning as Nakhon Sawan, a city in Thailand.

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, commonly referred to by its colloquial name of Muang Lao, is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Located at the heart of the Indochinese peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand to the west and southwest.

Geography

Phou Xang He National Protected Area is located about 100 kilometres (60 mi) east of Savannakhet, near the village of Phalan and covers parts of Assaphone, Thaphalanxay, Phin, Xepon and Viraboury districts. The park's area has been estimated at 1,180 square kilometres (460 sq mi).^[1]

Assaphone is a district (muang) of Savannakhet Province in southern Laos.

Thaphalanxay is a district (muang) of Savannakhet Province in southern Laos.

Phine is a district (muang) of Savannakhet Province in southern Laos.

Flora and fauna

The park's main forest types are evergreen, mixed deciduous and dry dipterocarp forests. Mixed deciduous forest has the largest coverage at 44% of the park's area.^[1]

Threatened animal species in the park include elephant, tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, black crested gibbon, François' langur, giant muntjac, gaur, pygmy slow loris, dhole, Asian black bear, sun bear, banteng and large-spotted civet. Phou Xang He's large area and relatively pristine state make the park important in conserving these species in an undisturbed habitat. Other park species include macaque and douc langur.^[1]

The Asian elephant, also called Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.

The Indochinese tiger is a tiger population in Southeast Asia. This population occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and southwestern China. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the population seriously declined and approaches the threshold for Critically Endangered. It is considered extinct in Cambodia. As per 2011, the population was thought to comprise 342 individuals, including 85 in Myanmar, and 20 in Vietnam. The largest population unit survives in Thailand estimated at 189 to 252 individuals.

The Indochinese leopard is a leopard subspecies native to mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. In Indochina, leopards are rare outside protected areas and threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation as well as poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. The population trend is suspected to be decreasing. As of 2016, the population is thought to comprise 973–2,503 mature individuals, with only 409–1,051 breeding adults. The historical range has decreased by more than 90%.

Bird life includes the threatened red-collared woodpecker. Other less vulnerable species include ratchet-tailed treepie and mountain fulvetta.^[1]

The red-collared woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, and Vietnam.

The ratchet-tailed treepie is a species of bird in the crow and jay family Corvidae. The species is also known as the notch-tailed treepie. It is monotypic within the genus Temnurus.

The mountain fulvetta is a 14 to 15.5 cm long species of bird in the Old World babbler family. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Threats

Phou Xang He faces a number of environmental threats. Local poverty has resulted in hunting and forest product harvesting in the park. Some habitat loss has resulted from expansion of lands for agriculture. Road development and improvement may increase opportunities for illegal trade in wildlife and forest products.^[1]

Related Research Articles

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Phou Xang He NBCA". Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
↑ Ray, Nick; Bloom, Greg; Waters, Richard (February 2014). Lonely Planet Laos (8th ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-7432-1825-9.

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[Eco1-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Phou Xang He NBCA". Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

[LPBook-2] Ray, Nick; Bloom, Greg; Waters, Richard (February 2014). Lonely Planet Laos (8th ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-7432-1825-9.