1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Name

Xe Sap. Abbreviated: XSP

Status

Established by PM Decree 210, February 1996

Location

Latitude: 15 ° 56'40" - 16 ° 19'0"N
Longitude: 106 ° 41'40'' - 107 ° 28'0"E

Map Sheets

Scale I: 50,00

Scale I: 100,000

Scale I: 200,000

Scale I: 1,000,000

Provinces

Salavan
Xekong

Districts

Samuoy [Salavan]
Ta-Oy [Salavan]
Kaleum [Xekong]

Perimeter

Boundaries

The eastern boundary follows the border with Vietnam .

The southern boundary follows the rivers Nam Talon, Xe Lon and Xe Kong till the village Ban Talouy Gnai. Approximately 4 km south of Ban Talouy Gnai the NBCA boundary leaves the Xe Kong and proceeds west along the mountain slopes towards the southern loop of the Xe Lanong.

The western and northern boundary of the NBCA run mainly where the mountain slopes start to rise from the undulating land of the river valleys. The western boundary skirts the villages below the slopes east of Muang Ta-Oy running about 2 km east of Houay Takan till it reaches Huoay Tanghak. Here it turns eastwards. The northern boundary remains south of but adjacent to the road leading from Ta-Oy to Samuoy and reaches the Vietnamese border south of the national border crossing at Dane Dalai.

Area

1335 km2 (Reference: Protected Area Fact-Sheets, Annex 3 to the Mid-1995 Status Report on Protected Area System Planning and Management in Lao PDR, Forest Resources Conservation Sub-Programme of the Lao-Swedish Forestry Cooperation Programme, IUCN).
1498 km2 (Calculated by the Forest Cover Monitoring Project MRC/GTZ)

Proposed
Extensions

Access

The main access is by the unpaved road leading from Salavan to Ta-Oy and further east to Samuoy. This road runs along the northern side of Xe Sap NBCA, but it does not pass through the NBCA area. From this road, small access tracks lead to villages situated on the northern periphery and inside the northern part of the NBCA.
To the southeastern part of Xe Sap NBCA the access is very difficult. It is best by boat on the Xe Kong and its two major tributaries Xe Sap and Xe Lon, or it is a few days walk to reach the NBCA.

Stakeholder
Villages and
Population

Due to lack of information and the fact that the Land and Forest Allocation has not yet been implemented in most of the area, it is only possible to distinguish two types of villages:

1. Villages situated inside Xe Sap NBCA

2. Villages situated in the surroundings of Xe Sap NBCA.

The numbers of persons are the data of the National Population Census 1995 conducted by the State Planning Committee of the National Statistical Centre.

* For Kaleum District the population data are not complete. The NBCA staff listed village names, which could not be found in the lists of the National Population Census of 1995.

Principal Local
Resource
Uses

Ethnic
Composition

* For four villages in Kaleum District the data are missing.

Since October 1996, the Forest Management and Conservation Programme (FOMACOP), a joint undertaking of the Government of Lao PDR (GoL), the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank (WB), the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), and the Government of Finland through FINNIDA, has been assisting the Lao government in the Management of Xe Sap NBCA.

Physical
Features

The NBCA, which forms part of the Southern Annamite Mountains, is mostly steep terrain with high plateaus at about 1400 m asl. There are very steep faces on the eastern and southern sides rising from 400 m to 1400 m asl. The highest peak called Dong Be is 2066 m asl.

Elevation

Altitude between 400 and 2066m above sea level

Climate

Xe Sap NBCA lays in the Southeast Asia monsoon climate. During the winter (November - February), when the sun is to the south of the equator the climate is under the influence of the cold continental high pressure region over China. The winds are clockwise around the high and come from the northeast over Southeast Asia. This is the Northeast Monsoon, characterized by cold dry air and infrequent light rain.

For the summer (May - August), the sun is to the north of the equator and heats the land mass beneath to a degree that causes an extensive low pressure region called Intertropical Convergence Zone and the Monsoon Trough. Warm winds from the southwest carry moisture from the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand to the part of the trough in the Lao PDR region where vertical convection causes rainfall, large amounts during the height of the monsoon season. This is the Southwest Monsoon. The air is warm, and humidity high.

Main Forest
Types

• Hill Evergreen Forest (dominant)

• Semi - Evergreen Forest

• Pine Forest
  

Forest
Cover

This calculation was realized by the Forest Cover Monitoring Project (FCMP) MRC/GTZ. It is based on interpretation of 1996/97 Landsat TM with the NBCA boundaries as shown on topographical maps 1:100 000 provided by FOMACOP project. Verification with the original documents has not taken place. Therefore the data might be only approximate.

Other Habitat
Features

• Numerous water falls

• Some mountains have rocky cliff faces.

• Rhododendron forests at high elevations
  

Recorded
Vertebrates

* Not yet described

Biodiversity

Values

• Nationally significant population of two species of bears

• Regionally significant population of gaur, one of the more important species for conservation

• Significant population of dholes

• Significant population of serow

• At least one species of muntjac, large antlered muntjac

• Presence of tigers

• Pine Forest and Hill Evergreen Forest here support Pinus dalatensis, a species of pine

previously thought to be endemic to Vietnam, and Kinabaluchloa sp., a genus of bamboo not previously recorded from Lao or Vietnam (only provisionally identified).

Because of it's geographical position in the Southern Annamites, it's altitude range and variation, and it's undisturbed old-growth evergreen forest types, as well it's extensive areas of high elevation, Xe Sap has unique importance in the NBCA system in Lao PDR.

Watershed Values

Two major watersheds:

1. Northwards encompassing Xe Lanong and Xe Pon rivers, which flow into the Xe Banghiang

2. Southwards with Xe Lon and Xe Sap rivers as the main tributaries flowing into the Xe Kong river

Both are important watershed systems supporting human communities as well as biodiversity and endangered wildlife species. In the Xe Kong River, e.g., live at least part of the year Irrawaddy Dolphins, one of the most endangered species of Lao PDR. The Xe Banghiang, which is bordering Dong Phou Vieng NBCA is known for it's wealth in fish with respect to species diversity and quantity.

Cultural
Values

• Indigenous Lao Teung culture with strong spiritual ties to the land

• Five different "Lao Teung" languages are spoken in the NBCA, of which at least one is in danger of extinction.

• Many funeral and sacred forests

• Indochina War relicts

• Part of the Ho Chi Min Trail

Security|
Values

Recreation &
Tourism
Values

Principal
Threats

• International animal trade encouraging the poaching of animals from the NBCA

• Unsustainable resource use by outsiders, e.g. over-harvesting of rattan

• Upgraded road and bridges on the north side of the NBCA leading to increased unsustainable resource use in some areas.

• Increased human population causing further clearings for crops

Reasons for
Extensions or
Excisions

Contact

Mr. Bounthong Outensakda
Manager of Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area
Forest Management and Conservation Programme (FOMACOP)
National Biodiversity Conservation Areas Management Sub-Programme
Provincial Agricultural and Forestry Office (PAFO)
Salavan, Salavan Province; Tel: 034 - 211 068

Staffing

Staff is from the Province Agriculture and Forestry Office (PAFO) and the District Agriculture and Forestry Office (DAFO).
A United Nations Volunteer (UNV) started as Conservation Management and Operations Advisor in February 1999.

Organization

Buildings

• Provincial offices in Salavan and Xekong (with PAFO)
• Field stations including offices and dormitories in Ta-Oy and Samuoy districts

Equipment

• Two 4WD vehicles
• Five motorcycles

Current
Management
Priorities

• Training of staff
• Development of procedures for:
  1. atrolling
  2. Monitoring
  3. articipatory management of natural resources by the local villagers

Other
Management
Opportunities

• Development of sustainable practices for NTFP use by the local villagers
• Development of small scale enterprises
• Development of tourism based on the tourist values of:
  1. Landscape
  2. Undisturbed nature
  3. Rare "exotic" animals and plants
  4. Authentic indigenous cultures
  5. Historical war relicts
• Participation of local villagers in monitoring of:

Wildlife populations

Habitat changes

Trends in NTFP presence

Trends in NTFP use

Poaching

7. Documentation of the indigenous knowledge

Stabilization of Slash and Burn Agriculture

Coordination of the biodiversity conservation efforts with the corresponding Vietnamese institutions on the other side of the border.

Other Relevant
Project
Initiatives

1. Development Activities implemented by the Forest Management and Conservation Project (FOMACOP)

• Construction of a village school in Ban Kappe, Ta-Oy District

• Training of village health workers in Birth Spacing and Primary Village Health Care in Ta-Oy District for Ban Kappe and Ban Sanang.

2. Other Project Initiatives

• Mines Advisory Group (MAG): unexploded ordinance (in Ta-0y and Samuoy districts, Salavan province)

• Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF): improve the health situation for the minorities (in Kaleum district, Xekong province)
  

Caffery, B. (1999). Conservation and Development. Final report of the period of consultancy from 8.9.2024 to 11.6.1999. FOMACOP (76 pp.).

Costello, N. A. and Sulavan, K. (1993). Katu Folktales and Society. Ministry of Information and Culture. Institute of Research on Lao Culture and Society.

Duckworth, J. W. (1997). Small Carnivores in Laos: A Status Review with Notes on Ecology, Behavior and Conservation. Small Carnivore Conservation, The Newsletter and Journal of the IUCN / SSC Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Specialist Group, 16, 1 - 21.

Duckworth, J. W. (1997). A Survey of Large Animals in the Central Annamite Mountains of Laos. International Journal of Mammalian Biology, 63: 239 - 250.

Duckworth, J. W., Timmins, R. J. and Evans, T.D. (1997).The Conservation Status of the River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii in Southern Laos. Biological Conservation, 84 (3): 215 - 222

Falke, M. (1999). The Geological Conditions of Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Salavan and Xekong Provinces (4 pp.).

Johnston, J. B. (1999). Inception Report: Conservation Advisor, Xe Sap NBCA. FOMACOP National Statistical Centre, State Planning Committee (1999). Population Census Results 1995, Saravane Province, Districts: Taoy and Samuoy, Sekong Province, District: Kaleum.

(These data, which are available normally only on diskette, have been printed out for Xe Sap NBCA)

Robichaud, W. G. (1998). Physical and Behavioral Description of a Captive Soala, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis. Journal of Mammology, 79 (2): 394 - 405.

Schaller, G.B. (1995). A Wildlife Survey in the Annamite Mountains of Laos, Dec. 1994 -Jan. 1995. Unpublished report to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Vientiane.

Schaller, G.B. (1995). A preliminary survey of the northern Xe Sap region, Salavan Province, April

25 - May 11, 1996. Unpublished field report. Wildlife Conservation Society.

Showler, D. A., Davidson, P., Vongkhamheng, C. and Salivong, K. (1998). A Wildlife and Habitat Survey of the Southern Border of Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area and the Dakchung Plateau, Xe Kong Province, Lao PDR. Final Report. Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management / Wildlife Conservation, Society Cooperative Program, Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR. WCS Wildlife Conservation Society.

Steinmetz, R., Stones, I. and Chan-Ard, T. (1999). An Ecological Survey of Habitats, Wildlife and People in Xe Sap NBCA. WWF Thailand.

Sulavan, K. and Costello, N. A. (1994). Belief and Practice in Katu Agriculture. The Ministry for Education and Culture. The Institute of Research on Lao Culture.

Sulavan, Khamluan, T. Kingsada and N. A. Costello (1994). Aspects of Katu Traditional Medicine. Ministry of Information and Culture. Institute of Research on Lao Culture (534 pp.).

Sulavan, K, Kingsada, T. and Costello, N. A. (1996). Katu Traditional Education for Daily Life in Ancient Times. The Ministry for Education and Culture. The Institute of Research on Lao Culture.

Timmins, R. J., Evans, T. D., Khounboline, K. and Sisomphone, C. (1998). Status and Conservation of the giant muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, and notes on other muntjac species in Laos. Oryx 32(1): 59 - 67.

Timmins, R. J. and Vongkhamheng, C. (1996). A Preliminary Wildlife and Habitat Survey of Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area and the Mountains to the South, Salavan Province, Lao PDR. Wildlife Conservation Society New York.

Wagenbreth, I. and Vongsaly, S. (1999). Xe Sap National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Population Census Data 1995 (9 pp.).