Nam Ha National Protected Area is a national protected area in

Luang Namtha Province Luang Namtha (, ; literally 'royal sugar palm' or "'royal green river') is a province of Laos in the country's north. From 1966 to 1976 it formed, together with Bokeo, the province of Houakhong. Luang Namtha province covers an area of . Its pr ...

in northern

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. This mostly forested park is home to a variety of ethnic groups and diverse animal and plant species. The park is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

destination.

Geography

Nam Ha National Protected Area is located about southwest of

Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district and the capital of Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos. The city lies on the Tha River (''Nam Tha''). The Luang Namtha Museum is in the town. Histor ...

and covers parts of all five of the province's districts. The park's area is . The park encompasses the Nam Ha Important Bird Area with an area of . Elevations range from about to the park's peak at . The park incorporates three rivers which drain into the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

: the

Nam Tha The Tha River (Nam Tha) is a river in northwest Laos, and one of the 12 tributaries on the Mekong River. It gave its name to the town of Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district a ...

, Nam Fa and Nam Long. The Nam Tha is the Mekong's first major tributary after entering Laos.

History

In 1980 Nam Ha was identified as a Provincial Protected Area. In 1993 Nam Ha National Protected Area was initially decreed to cover . This was extended in 1999 to cover the present area of . In 2003 Nam Ha was designated an

ASEAN Heritage Park ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) are selected protected areas in the ASEAN region that are known for their unique biodiversity and ecosystems, wilderness and outstanding values in scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism. Its vi ...

, the only one in Laos. In 2006 the Nam Ha Ecotourism Project (a joint

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

–Lao project to sustainably manage the park) won the

Equator Prize The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme,

Flora and fauna

The park's main forest type is mixed secondary

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest including secondary evergreen forest. At the park's lower elevations, in the Luang Namtha plain, human modification of the forest is evident and habitats include

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and scrub areas. Animal species include

Assam macaque The Assam macaque (''Macaca assamensis'') or Assamese macaque is a macaque of the Old World monkey family native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as it is experiencing significan ...

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

and a possibly unique species of

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

. The frog species ''

Amolops akhaorum ''Amolops akhaorum'' is a species of true frogs (family Ranidae) discovered in 2007 in the Nam Ha National Protected Area, north-western Laos. It is still only known from its type locality. The specific name ''akhaorum'' refers to the local Akh ...

'' is only known from the park. It is named for the local

Akha people The Akha are an ethnic group who live in small villages at higher elevations in the mountains of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Yunnan Province in China. They made their way from China into Southeast Asia during the early 20th century. Civil war in ...

who helped with the fieldwork of the team who discovered the species in 2007. The park is host to diverse bird species: about 300 species are recorded here. A few species are unique in Laos to Nam Ha:

crested finchbill The crested finchbill (''Spizixos canifrons'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in south-eastern Asia from China and India to Indochina. Taxonomy The crested finchbill was formally described in 1845 by t ...

white-bellied redstart The white-bellied redstart (''Luscinia phaenicuroides'') is a species of bird of the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, where its natural habitat is temperate forests. ...

and

white-necked laughingthrush The white-necked laughingthrush (''Garrulax strepitans'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Yunnan, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical ...

Threats

Nam Ha faces a number of environmental threats. The most significant is

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture. Harvesting of forest products, including timber, is also a threat. Hunting of wildlife is conducted by both residents and outsiders. Domesticated animals roam freely, disturbing wildlife and damaging wild habitats. Clearance of forested land for rubber plantations has occurred. File:Forest Nam Ha NPA Laos.jpg, Park forest File:Village Nam Ha NPA Laos.jpg, Village within NPA

References

{{ASEAN Heritage Parks National Biodiversity Conservation Areas Protected areas established in 1993 Geography of Luang Namtha province ASEAN heritage parks Important Bird Areas of Laos

Geography

History

Flora and fauna

Threats

See also

References