The Lao Government plans to submit documents by February 2017 to request that the Hin Nam Nor National Protected Area be listed as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.

“To prepare our proposal we had to complete many tasks including providing maps, legislation, the bio-diversity in and management of the area, information on tourism, and other work to meet the criteria necessary for submission to UNESCO,” according to Head of Khammuan Forestry Division, Mr Sisomphone Soudthichack.

“The proposed documents for the listing of the Hin Nam Nor National Protected Area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site are currently being considered by the National Secretariat,” said Mr Viengkeo Souksavatdy, Deputy Director of the Heritage Department, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

If the Hin Nam Nor National Protected Area is added to the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO, it will be the third in Laos and will attract additional tourists to the area, contribute to economic growth, and provide employment opportunities for people living in and around the area thereby improving their living conditions.

This was the statement made by Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Mr Bouagnuen Saphouvong at a meeting on preparations being made to list the area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site held in Vientiane Capital on 11 October.

The Hin Nam No National Protected Area is where the Central Indochina Limestone meets the Annamite Mountain Chain. It is one of the original National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NPAs) of the Lao PDR established in 1993 by Decree 164 of the Prime Minister.

 It encompasses 82,000 ha of a large, dissected karst plateaus which continue across the border into Vietnam where a large portion of the contiguous Phong Nha – Ke Bang karst has been designated as a national park and Natural World Heritage site.

The majority of Hin Nam Nor is limestone karst.  The area is estimated to be 31% forested, with 20% of dense or mature forest. The area closest to the Lao-Vietnam border is mainly mountains.  Phou Chuang is the highest point (1492 m) in the area.

Source:
courtesy of KPL NEWS AGENCY

by KPL

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