INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

The conservation context: What are the natural assets of Lao & the region?

Integrating business skills into ecotourism operations

05 June 2012

Latsamay Sylavong

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Outline of the presentation

• Background of Natural Asset - NPA

• Conservation and Tourism

• Links between Conservation (NPA) and Poverty

• Natural Asset of the region

• Priority of actions

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Natural Asset - NPA Background

• Formally established in 1993 by PM’s Decree 164

• 24 National Protected Areas + 2 Corridors – 3,899,000 ha

• “NPA is covered almost 16% of land surface area of Lao”

• Provincial PA (57 PPA) – 932,000 ha• District PA (144 DPA) – 504,000 ha

• Beside 24 NPAs – Lao still has 2 other forestry categories: Protection and Production Forests

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• Aware that NPAs play the important roles in socio-economic development

• Identifies the problems PAs are facing in providing these benefits

• Sets out policy options for each sector to recognise and help maintain the PA development services and products they

receive

Benefits of NPAs in Lao PDR

• Rural livelihoods (food, medicine, construction)

• Land and water systems (watershed protection, flood and erosion control)

• Biodiversity reservoirs (species, genetic resources)

• Sustainability of national and local economies (hydropower, timber, agriculture, poverty alleviation)

NPA Background

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Natural Assets for Tourism

• Most NPAs display significant landscape and geological features:

– waterfalls, – limestone kart formation, caves

and scenic forest landscapes– Including species (dolphins,…)

• The Lao National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan (2005-2010) places great importance on promoting sustainable tourism that involves NPAs and rural communities.

• It is highly significant that of the total 1,493 tourist sites in Lao PDR, 849 are natural sites - sites of attraction within many NPAs Lao National Tourism Administration (2010).

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Natural Assets for Tourism

• In 2008, over 1.7 million tourists arrived in Lao PDR generating a total income of US$276 million (18% increase compared to 2007). 2008, tourism was the second largest revenue earner for Lao PDR after the mineral production sector.

• A specific case of ecotourism with relevance to an NPA

• Ban Na and Ban Hatkhai villages of PKK NPA

• Xe Pian NPA ecotourism experience in southern Laos

• Gibbon experience in Nam Kan NPA

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Natural Assets

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Conservation and Tourism

• Current forest cover is about 40%

• Home to a wide variety of plants and animals (60 globally threatened species of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles)

• Natural heritage and scenic beauty – one of prime destinations for nature and cultural based tourism

• Many natural & cultural sites attract tourists are found within & around NPAs

• Increasing potential for tourism development

• Tourism development – a way to assisting poverty alleviation and sound management of NR

• Tourism depends on quality natural environments = human environments, resources and cultures

• Tourism needs to consider and address a range of different developmental and environmental issues; therefore need to combine NRM with poverty alleviation

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Natural Assets of the region

Regional Cooperation on tourism & natural assets:

– Trans-national PAs (Phong Nha-Ke Bang and Hin Nam No NPA, Dong Khanthung and Pha Tem, …

– Cultural – Watershed– Others

• Preparation for Asian Community and WTO

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Tourism can bring revenue for nature conservation

Ecotourism involving NPAs also overlaps with cultural diversity, given that most Lao population (80%) are rural and consist of multi-ethnic groups, many of whom also reside in or close to the NPAs.

There are many cases of successful ecotourism undertakings in NPAs which benefit both nature protection and the local economy.

Need management funding to protect and enhance the resource base on which ecotourism depends, whereas the ecotourism still lacks proper mechanism by which to enhance visitation and re-invest a portion of the revenues into NPA management.

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NPA and Poverty

HUAPHANH

VIENTIANE

XAYABURY

SAVANNAKHET

KHAMMUANE

PHONGSALY

LUANGPRABANG

BORIKHAMXAY

CHAMPASACK

OUDOMXAY

ATTAPEU

BOKEO

SEKONG

SARAVANE

XIENGKHUANG

LUANGNAMTHA

XAYSOMBOUN

VIENTIANE M.

Myanmar

Thailand

Vietnam

Cambodia

China

100°E

100

°E

105°E

105

°E

15°N 15°N

20°N 20°N

Map Produced by WFP VAM-Unit Lao PDR 2004

Spatial Files from Global Discovery Digital Mapping by Europa Technology LTD 2001,& ESRI World Data 2002. In country files

produced by National Geographic Department. Agricultural Census Data

1997/98 from Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry

Projected Coordinate SystemUTM, WGS 84, Zone 48N

The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or accceptance by the United Nations

¯LegendFood & Forest Analysis

Not priority intervention area

Area for potential intervention

National Biodiversity Conservation Areas

Food & Forests AnalysisWorld FoodProgramme

0 10 205 Kilometers

Potential Food Aid Intervention to Promote Forest Conservation

Poverty Reduction :

• About 2,482 poor villages (WFP) as a result of declining forests (areas shaded red)

• NPAs -forest conservation in Lao PDR (areas shaded green)

• There is an overlap of food security concerns and forest conservation interests.

• Major causes for poverty in the uplands (NHD):

• declining productivity of Shifting Cultivation

• declining productivity in NTFPs• failure of alternative income

sources to transform the rural economy

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

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Priority of Actions

• A better use of economic analysis and instruments in integrating PAs in local and national development planning

• Greater collaboration within communities and sectors in rural development planning and management of PAs

• An innovative financing scheme of payment for ecosystem services (PES) is needed to consider.

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Thank You