Ecotourism in Laos
 
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Lao Ecotourism Projects
LNTA-ADB Mekong Tourism Development Project: With financing from the Asian Development Bank, the Lao government is developing 20 new community-based ecotourism products in Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, Khammouane and Champassak provinces. This project is fostering collaborative links with tourism partners in Vietnam and Cambodia, promoting cultural and environmental protection, constructing tourism-related infrastructure, strengthening local stakeholders' management capacity and the role of women and ethnic minorities in the tourism industry, and intensifying public and private sector efforts at marketing and promoting Lao ecotourism products.
Kone Papeng Falls on the Mekong River is <a href=
   
UNESCO-LNTA Nam Ha Ecotourism Project: First launched in 1999 with primary financial support from the Government of New Zealand, the UNESCO-LNTA Nam Ha Ecotourism Project is the first and longest running community-based ecotourism program in Laos . The Nam Ha Project is currently working to strengthen conservation-ecotourism linkages in the Nam Ha NPA, stimulate and support private sector investment in the ecotourism sector, strengthen the capacity of tourism and protected area managers in Luang Namtha and working with local partners to create district and provincial tourism management plans to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of tourism's benefits. For the project's contribution to poverty alleviation and heritage protection in Lao PDR, the Nam Ha Project Team was awarded the 2001 United Nations Development Award and a British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award in 2002.
Surveying the Nam Ha River valley to develop community-based treks
CUSO Community Based Ecotourism Development in Attapeu Province: CUSO is working with the Provincial Tourism Authority to develop various ecotourism initiatives in the region. This includes homestay programs, eco-trekking with local guides to Dong Ampham and Xepian National Protected Areas and village visits to ethnic Lavae, Taliang, Oy and Alak groups. The focus of this program is job creation, capacity building and eco-cultural conservation through the use of sustainable ecotourism strategies.
Kone Papeng Falls on the Mekong River is <a href=
SNV-Lao National Ecotourism Advisory Program: SNV's (Netherlands Development Organization) work in the Lao tourism sector benefits from some fifteen year's experience in almost 20 developing countries. In Laos, SNV delivers advice on policy, strategy, management and product development issues to a range of clients. At the national level these include the Lao National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Division of Forestry Resources. At the provincial level, SNV works with the Mekong Tourism Development Project in Luang Prabang and Khammouane, and has recently initiated a sustainable tourism program in Houaphan Province. Savannakhet is also one of the provinces that receive direct advisory services from SNV.
SNV is working in many Lao provinces to develop sustainable ecotourism practices
Savannakhet Ecotourism Program: The Savannakhet Ecotourism Program has a number of operational community-based ecotourism tours that venture into the Phou Xang Hae and Dong Phou Vieng Protected Areas, as well as a shorter excursion to the sacred Dong Na Tad forest just outside Savannakhet town. To book a tour online, contact the Savannakhet Ecoguides. SNV is working with the Provincial Tourism Office and local guide service to build capacity and develop new ecotourism products and services.
DED Ecotourism Program in Phou Khao Kouay: Besides trekking, river trips, village home-stays and handicraft exhibitions, the DED (German Development Service) Ecotourism Program in Phou Khao Khouay has recently finished construction of Laos' first wild elephant observatory, where you  see wild elephants frolic in a watering hole/mineral lick beneath you. The focus of this program is to raise awareness about the importance of protecting a local herd of  wilds elephants and provide villagers with alternative sources of income by generating ecotourism revenue. The site is only about 1 hour from Vientiane.
Wild Elephants Observatory
   
GTZ Ecotourism Program in Muang Sing: GTZ and the tour operator Exotissimo are working together in this innovative Public Private Partnership project with Akha communities in Luang Namtha to create a community owned and operated ecotourism program, which includes village lodges, eco-cultural trekking tours and village home stays. The program aims to provide an intimate look into the life of the AKha in the forest, in the fields and in the village. The project has refurbished a historic building in Muang Sing that now serves as a tourist information center as well.
Akha communities own a  ecotourism program in Luang Namtha
   
EU Ecotourism Program in Vieng Phoukha: Part of the EU's wider rural development project in Luang Namtha's Vieng Phoukha District, this ecotourism program focuses on poverty alleviation and job creation by training local guides and villagers to develop and operate ecotourism products that sustainably utilize and protect the area's unique cultural and natural heritage. Multiple day treks operate regularly in the Nam Ha National Protected Area, where you can see the rare Black-Cheeked Crested Gibbon and Guar. If you are interested in caves Vieng Phoukha has a variety of easily accessible but little known caves, all under the careful management of local villagers.
Luang Namtha's Vieng Phoukha District is an up and coming ecotourisn destination
DED Ecotourism Advisory Program in Oudomxai: DED is working with the Oudomxai Provincial Tourism Department to help develop ecotourism products and services around the expanding tourist hub of Pakbeng and the provincial capital, including the Nam Kat Waterfall. The program is also concentrating on the Nam Chat Provincial Protected Area, an area with untouched old growth forests and remarkable waterfalls.
DED is working to develop sustainable tourism in Udomsai
Wildlife Conservation Society Laos Ecotourism Support Program: WCS is supporting the Nam Ha Protected Area Management Unit to work with local trekking and rafting guides to monitor and evaluate impacts on biodiversity conservation along established tourism routes in Luang Namtha. WCS is also working on formulating a strategy to use ecotourism to help strengthen biodiversity conservation and protected area management in Bolikhamxay's Nam Kading National Protected Area.
The Wildlife Conservation Society is using tourism to strengthen wildlife conservation
WWF Ecotourism Program in Champassak: World Wildlife Fund is starting a community-based ecotourism project to support the protection of cultural heritage and biodiversity in and around the Xe Pian National Protected Area, which runs through Laos ' southern provinces of Champassak and Attapeu.
The World Wildlife Federation is using tourism to support protect of biodiversity

Trekking in Pongsali's Nam Lan Conservation Area: With initial support from the EU, local guides and communities in Bountai district have set up 1- 3 day treks in and around the Nam Lan Conservation area in Pongsali Province. These treks visit Akha and other ethnic minority communities and offer excellent opportunities to see a number of resident and migratory birds.

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The European Union supports community-based ecotourism activities in Laos' northern most province
 
 
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