Nam Ha National Protected Area Project

Nam Ha National Protected Area: Wildlife and NTFP Management Project
October 2005-September 2008

Set to begin in October 2005, this project will take place within the Nam Ha National Protected Area (Nam Ha NPA).  Forests form the economic base for rural communities: they provide food, fuel, medicine, and construction materials.  A significant portion of subsistence needs and income come from Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP).  WCS will work in collaboration with the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), who is currently working within seven villages on the outskirts of the Nam Ha NPA as part of the ADB Northern Economic Corridor project.  ADRA is committed to integrated rural development and seeks WCS assistance in natural resource management. WCS work in this area in the past (make link to Nam Ha NPA page) show that people hunt a lot of wild animals for food, and that most animals weigh less than two kilograms because larger mammals have been killed off or displaced by habitat destruction. 

 Together, ADRA and WCS hope to create a more sustainable way of life for villagers near the Nam Ha NPA.   The project will incorporate  village-based surveys of the abundance of NTFP and wildlife in the forest, the development of village rules to manage the harvest of these resources and the  development of a monitoring system of NTFP and wildlife harvesting.

Nam Ha National Protected Area Project

The Nam Ha National Protected Area (NPA) was established in 1993 with the introduction of the Lao PDR protected area system. Nam Ha NPA is located in Luang Namtha province in northern Lao PDR.  It spans five districts and covers 222,300 hectares of evergreen and broadleaf forests and harbors 288 species of birds and at least 38 species of mammals.  In a biological prioritization of the country’s 20 protected areas, Nam Ha ranked 3rd for birds and 5th for large mammals in a national species analysis.  Overall Nam Ha ranked third in the national management priority index.  This was based on the value of the biodiversity, watershed, eco-tourism potential, and level of pressure on the site.  Nam Ha NPA harbors the endangered Asian elephant, four large cat species of which the tiger and clouded leopard are listed as globally threatened, Sun bear and Asiatic black bear, and six ungulate species including the vulnerable guar and southern serow. 

WCS has been active in the Nam Ha NPA since 1996, and this site has become a Lao model for protected area management.  The project was initiated with participatory rural appraisals and village “buy-in”.  Village wildlife reports were followed up by a wildlife and habitat survey by a joint Department of Forestry/WCS survey team early in 1997, which concentrated on large mammals and birds.  Based on these reports, several habitat areas were identified for priority action, and in 1999 the Prime Minister tripled the size of the NPA, making it the third largest protected area in the country.   In December 2003 the Prime Ministers Office declared the Nam Ha NPA to be the only Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Park in the Lao PDR.

From 1998 to 2003, direct threats to the priority areas were determined.  Threats include hunting of wildlife for sale or food, over-harvesting of non-timber forest products, and slash and burn agriculture.  A threat assessment was used to rank the area, intensity, and urgency of the direct threats so that protected area activities could be prioritized to reduce the most serious threats to site biodiversity.  Activities, which were carried out over the next several years, included the training of a National Protected Area Unit to implement natural resource management, enforcement, and conservation education.  In 1999, a plan for research and monitoring was initiated in order to determine the effectiveness of management activities for reducing threats and sustaining species.

In 2001, with the help of WCS and UNESCO, Nam Ha NPA became the first protected area in Lao to have a thriving eco-tourism industry, with annual revenues of 3,000 USD.  This fueled increasing interest of the provincial authorities to support wildlife conservation by reducing hunting and trade.  Our activities have included:

· Raised public awareness through activities in villages and conservation education programs in many district secondary schools.
· Conservation extension training for the Nam Ha NPA management unit and support staff.
· Support for regular enforcement of wildlife trade regulations at road checkpoints and wildlife markets.
· Posting of signs demarcating the boundary areas of the NPA and 100,000 hectares of core area that is restricted to hunting and residence.
· Updated wildlife surveys and research on wildlife use, hunting and trade in NPA villages.
· Development of 7 year finance and management plan

Since the inception of the Nam Ha Eco-Tourism Project (NHEP), UNESCO has worked directly with WCS.  Together we hope to increase understanding of concepts in biodiversity conservation.  By increasing the populations of wildlife in the region, we can effectively tie village benefits with tourism. 

In the next phase, activities will focus on building decentralized district and village management.  The goals are to continue conservation extension, improve enforcement support, continue wildlife research on key species (gibbon and elephant)  and manage the human-animal conflict precipitated by predation of domestic livestock.

While the livelihoods of people within the area could be greatly enhanced by improved roads resulting from the ADB Northern Economic Corridor Project, transportation integration poses a significant risk to the environment.  It is imperative that current and future road projects educate people on risks associated with infrastructure development and establish checkpoints to monitor and enforce wildlife related laws. In cooperation with the ADB and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency we will work to establish sustainable harvest parameters for non-endangered species, and advise on ways to reduce hunting for wildlife trade. (make link to Nam Ha NPA wildlife project page)