Xe Bang Nouan



Habitat: Evergreen, dry dipterocarp and
mixed deciduous forest. The eastern portion
of the NPA is flat to gently rolling terrain under
400 m north and south of the Bang Nouan river. The flats are bounded by low hills to the north and the south. In the central portion the river breaks through a large block of steep hills. East from the hills the river flows in a wide valley rising north, south, and east to hills the crest of which demarcates the edge of the Bang Nouan catchment. Elevation is from 200 -1,000 m.

Access: Not easily accessible.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Name

Xe Bang Nouan. Abbreviated: XBN

Status

Established by PM Decree 164, 29 October 2024

Location

Latitude: 15º44' - 16º01' N
Longitude: 105º33' - 106º18' E.

Map Sheets

Scale I :100,000

Scale I :200,000

Scale I :500,000

Provinces

Salavan
Savannakhet

Districts

Songkhon
Tha Pang Thong
Salavan
Toumlan
Vapi
Lakhonpheng

Perimeter

km

Boundary

Generally following the outside base of the hills forming the Xe Bang Nouan watershed.

Area

as decreed: 1,260 km²

Proposed
Extensions or
Excisions

Access

Road access is possible on rough all weather roads to within 1-15 km boundary in the west, north and south. Seasonal branch roads provide access to near the boundary and to Ban Nalan in the heart of the NBCA.

Stakeholder
Villages &
Population
No. of villages by type
District
Villages
I
II
III
IV
Persons
.
.
.
TOTAL

Principal Local
Resource
Uses

Residents of some 65 villages within 3 km of the boundary use forest products especially damar, fish, sticlac and medicinal plants. Three enclave substist mainly on sale of damar, livestock and shifting cultivation

Ethnic
Composition

2. BRIEF HISTORY

1993

NBCA declared

3. ECOLOGY

Physical
Features

The eastern portion is flat to gently rolling terrain under 400 m north and south of the Bang Nouan river. The flats are bounded by low hills to the north and the south. In the central portion the river breaks through a large block of steep hills. East from the hills the river again flows in a wide valley rising north, south, and east to hills the crest of which demarcates the edge of the Bang Nouang catchment.

Elevation

<200 m - >1000 m

Climate

Main Forest Types

About 87% of the area is forested, with 51% dense/mature forest:
Evergreen forest 39 %
Dry dipterocarp forest 21%
mixed decidous forest 27%
other natural forest 12%
Most of the lowland evergreen forest has been logged. Forest cover toward the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries is increasingly sparse and open due to drier conditions

Other
Habitat
Features

  • Rocky flats or grass and shrub on thin soils are frequent on the western rise to the central hills.

  • Saltlicks

Recorded
Vertebrates

Vertebrate Class No. of Species No. of Key Species
Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish /td>

Survey Efforts

4. EVALUATION
Principal Contributions to the NBCA System

Biodiversity
Values

Watershed
Values

Security
Values

Cultural
Values

Recreation
and Tourism
Values

Principal
Threats

  • Forest degradation as a result of damar collection and the attending clearing and fire

  • Intensive fishing with indigenous poison of virtually all accessible streams

  • Fishing with explosives

Reasons for
Proposed
Extensions or
Excisions

5. CURRENT MANAGEMENT

Contact

Staffing

Organization

Buildings

Equipment

Financial
Support &
Training

Current
Management
Priorities

Other
Management
Opportunities

Other Relevant
Project
Intiatives

6. REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS

IUCN (1995). Protected Area Fact-Sheets. Annex 3 to the mid-1995 status report on protected area system planning and management in Lao PDR. Vientiane .