| Nakai-Nam Theun National Park | |
|---|---|
  Location of Nakai-Nam Theun in Laos | |
| Location | Oudomsouk Village, Nakai District |
| Coordinates | 17°54′30″N105°18′45″E / 17.9084°N 105.3125°E /17.9084; 105.3125 |
| Area | 4,270 km2 (1,650 sq mi) |
| Designated | 15 February 2019 |
| Administrator | Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
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Nakai-Nam Theun National Park inNakai District,Khammouane Province,Laos, is one of the last remaining wildernesses inSoutheast Asia. Nakai-Nam Theun covers approximately 4,270 km2 of theAnnamite Range and the adjacent Nakai Plateau inKhammouane andBolikhamsai Provinces. It was designated a national park on 15 February 2019 by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 36, 15 February 2019.[2] It is managed by theMinistry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). It is adjacent to theVu Quang National Park ofVietnam.
The terrain of the park is rugged, and the crest of the Annamite Range runs along the eastern edge of the park on the border with Vietnam.Phou Laoko (2,286 meters elevation) is the highest peak in the park.
From north to south, riversheds in the park consist the following rivers:[3]
All are tributaries of theNam Theun to the southwest in the Nakai Plateau.
A series of surveys conducted since 1994 by the co-operative programme of theWildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Lao Department of Forestry, and theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have revealed that the area has a high biodiversity value.[citation needed] Semi-evergreen forest, deciduousdipterocarp forest and stands ofpine are all found on the Nakai Plateau and in the Annamite foothills. Dry evergreen forest predominates on the slopes of the Annamites below 1800 meters elevation, with patches ofFokienia hodginsii forest, a commercially valuable cypress-likeconifer, from 1,400 to 1,700 meters elevation. Wet evergreen upper montanefagaceous forests occur above 1,800 meters elevation, and include species ofoak (Quercus),Castanopsis, andLithocarpus.[4] Above c. 2,000 m thefagaceous forest gives way to more stunted,rhododendron-dominatedericaceouscloud forest.
Species of plants listed asthreatened by IUCN include coniferCephalotaxus mannii. The only known population ofVietnamese White Pine in Laos is in Nakai-Nam Theun.[5]
Species of mammals, some discovered relatively recently, include the following:[3][6]
More than 400 bird species have been identified in Nakai-Nam Theun and the adjacent northern extension. This is by far the highest avian species richness of any site yet surveyed in Laos and is the highest recorded in a single protected area in Southeast Asia.[citation needed]
The park is home to Indochina's largest population ofrufous-necked hornbill (Aceros nipalensis). Birds present in the park's upper montane forests include the threatenedbeautiful nuthatch (Sitta formosa), along with species characteristic of the wet evergreen rain forests on the eastern slope of the Annamites, like theVietnamese crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata) andshort-tailed scimitar babbler (Napothera danjoui).[4]
Many endangeredVietic languages are spoken in the Nakai-Nam Theun area. The Vietic peoples are the indigenous peoples of the Nakai-Nam Theun area, and have deep knowledge of the local ecology. TheSaek language, which preserves many archaic phonological features not found in any otherTai language, is also spoken in the area, often alongside Vietic languages in the same villages. Saek speakers had lived in the area for about 300 years, and had originally come from Vietnam. Bru speakers had moved to the area in the 1800s and 1900s, and now make up the majority of the population. Lao and Vietnamese speakers, most of whom are recent migrants, are also found in the vicinity.