National Assembly Delegate Bui Hoai Son. (Source: National Assembly ) |
UNESCO's recognition of "Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park" as the first transboundary World Heritage Sites of Vietnam and Laos is not only a historic event, but also opens up a new model of conservation cooperation between countries in the region.
This success story highlights the importance of cross-border heritage protection in the context of globalization and climate change.
Crossing geographical boundaries
Heritage space has long been understood as a place to preserve unique values of nature and people, associated with a specific community or country. But in today's era - the era of cross-border flows, global climate change, and the desire to preserve what humanity has in common - that concept is no longer enough.
Heritage does not belong to anyone. Heritage conservation requires a new approach, beyond administrative boundaries and ownership, towards the common values of solidarity, cooperation and humanity.
UNESCO’s recognition of “Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park” as the first transboundary World Natural Heritage Sites between Vietnam and Laos is a testament to that thinking. This is both a symbolic decision and a turning point marking the maturity of conservation thinking in the Southeast Asian region – where natural values are not divided by borders, but are connected by hundreds of millions of years of geological history, by transnational ecosystems, and by a shared sense of responsibility.
In the UNESCO World Heritage system, transboundary sites are increasingly emphasized as a comprehensive solution to protect large ecosystems, ensuring the integrity and continuity of values. It is no coincidence that the world has had successful models such as the Wadden Mountains (Netherlands - Germany - Denmark), the Amazon Rainforest (many South American countries), or the Carpathian Mountains (Poland - Slovakia - Ukraine). All show that only when countries look in the same direction, working together to preserve natural and cultural values, can they protect something greater.
In that context, Vietnam and Laos have demonstrated their strategic vision by jointly building the region’s first cross-border heritage profile. This action shows that we are also partners with a shared responsibility to preserve “invaluable assets of humanity”. This event also marks the opening of a new approach in heritage policy that is not only about conservation, but also about connection, cooperation and sustainable development based on common values.
Heritage no longer exists only in museums or closed planning, but is stepping out of all boundaries, becoming a symbol of peace , cooperation and development. This is an inevitable trend, a shared responsibility of nations in the effort to protect the Earth, because heritage is a memory of the past, a witness of the present and a commitment to the future.
Connecting heritage, spreading values
On the world heritage map, there are few places that both bear the mark of geological history and firmly bond the friendship between two countries like Phong Nha - Ke Bang and Hin Nam No. This is not just a name, but an image of a seamless natural whole - where the ancient limestone karst ecosystem stretches across the Annam range, which does not know the concept of "border".
UNESCO's historic decision to recognize "Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park" as the first transboundary World Heritage Sites of Vietnam and Laos is an echo of new conservation thinking, going beyond geographical boundaries and administrative orbits, to protect the common values of nature and humanity.
At the heart of this process is Vietnam’s 2024 revised Law on Cultural Heritage – the first document to put the concept of “transnational heritage” into legal terms. The law clearly stipulates “international cooperation in building records, managing, monitoring and promoting the value of cross-border heritage” marking a leap forward in conservation thinking: it is no longer a matter of one country, but a common responsibility of humanity.
In fact, since 2018, experts, officials and managers from the two countries have overcome language, legal and procedural barriers to build a common dossier. For the first time, the Vietnam Department of Cultural Heritage supported Laos in completing nomination documents, exchanging experts, and organizing workshops to guide dossiers according to IUCN criteria - this is a perfect combination of professional thinking and international solidarity.
Phong Nha - Ke Bang has been recognized by UNESCO twice (2003, 2015), but the third time when it "joined hands" with Hin Nam No, it truly demonstrated the strategic depth: Conservation is not only about preserving material values, but also about building trust, connecting communities and expanding the area of influence for sustainable development right from the border area, which used to be a low-lying area in terms of investment and attention.
Notably, the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage also places local communities at the heart of the heritage system. Ethnic minorities in the border areas with their silent indigenous knowledge of caves, forests and conservation practices are now “protected objects”, co-authors and co-subjects in all decisions. They are both forest rangers, guides and authentic cultural representatives for each international delegation visiting.
When heritage becomes a part of community life, helping them develop ecotourism, homestay services, and forest conservation, the true value of Phong Nha - Hin Nam No is not simply "beautiful and intact" nature, but also "a prosperous community, honored knowledge, and shared responsibility".
In particular, the 2024 Law on Cultural Heritage is considered a parallel legal "backbone", creating a transparent corridor for all parties to act together: Simple things like exchanging research data, coordinating the monitoring of illegal exploitation, sharing scientific appraisal records, to developing green credit policies, and managing multi-purpose forests on a transnational basis, are all legalized.
Besides the story of heritage conservation, Phong Nha - Ke Bang and Hin Nam No are journeys of trust between nations, of respect between laws and traditions, of strategic vision for border development, where conservation, community development and international cooperation blend together. That is a living proof of the progressive heritage thinking: Open, cross-border and sensitive to the times.
Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage in 2003 and 2015. (Source: TITC) |
Symbol of friendship, peace and sustainable development
There are heritages recognized for their majestic natural beauty. There are heritages honored for their historical depth or biological uniqueness. But there are also heritages, such as Phong Nha – Ke Bang and Hin Nam No, that carry within them values that surpass all, of peace, friendship and mutual development between two nations.
This heritage is not only a geological wonder with an age of more than 400 million years, but also the crystallization of the loyal and steadfast relationship between Vietnam and Laos, nurtured by blood and bones during the resistance war, by cooperation in peace, and now by companionship in preserving the common property of humanity. The joint nomination of a transnational heritage is a professional activity, as well as a symbolic act demonstrating the profound political vision and long-term strategic attachment between the two countries.
Heritage sites like Phong Nha – Ke Bang and Hin Nam No have become soft citadels, where every cave, every underground river, every karst forest canopy... tells a story of coexistence, of choosing to connect.
In terms of policy, the formation of the first transnational heritage site between Vietnam and Laos is an important milestone in the strategy of “heritage diplomacy” – a form of soft diplomacy that is increasingly being effectively exploited by countries to enhance national status and build a friendly and responsible image of the country towards the international community. In the Resolution on Vietnam’s foreign cultural strategy in the new period, heritage cooperation activities, including the construction of cross-border profiles, have been clearly oriented as a pillar of people-to-people diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and multilateral diplomacy.
On the other hand, heritage itself has also benefited from this active foreign policy. Close coordination between heritage management agencies, scientific research organizations, forest protection forces, and communities on both sides of the border has created a sustainable operating mechanism, helping to enhance the resilience of heritage to climate change and human impacts. At the same time, bilateral cooperation agreements signed between provinces, ministries, and special-use forest management boards have also become new “social contracts” to protect not only resources, but also trust and responsibility.
Since then, Phong Nha - Hin Nam No has become more than just a scenic spot or a special ecological area. It has become a living symbol of a new model of cooperation between developing countries in the ASEAN region: Sharing knowledge, improving management capacity, and most importantly, preserving heritage for future generations.
Heritage, once again, affirms its role as a soft bridge connecting nations, a convergence point of culture, ecology, history and politics - where peace is both a goal and a process cultivated every day through each step of discovery, each handshake of cooperation and each generation of people living in harmony with nature.
One of the unique caves in Hin Nam No National Park. (Source: Laotian Times) |
Strategy for transnational heritage conservation cooperation
When Phong Nha – Ke Bang joined forces with Hin Nam No, the first transnational cooperation model in the field of conservation in Southeast Asia was officially formed. That model is symbolic and opens a new direction for Vietnam-Laos, and more broadly the whole region in the effort to preserve natural and cultural values that are threatened by uncontrolled development, climate change and global biodiversity loss.
Phong Nha – Ke Bang and Hin Nam No are lessons in proactive integration thinking: not waiting for recognition to connect, but proactive connection has created greater value for each side. It is also a testament to Vietnam's increasingly mature capacity in managing, building records and operating heritage from the national to international level with the extensive participation of specialized agencies, scientists, local communities and international organizations.
From here, we can completely think of new transnational heritage profiles, such as the Truong Son tropical forest area - a mountain range shared with Laos and Cambodia; or the Ha Giang stone plateau - a place with geological and cultural connections with Yunnan province (China). Each of these spaces is an opportunity for Vietnam to promote its pioneering role in creating a common conservation mechanism, building a regional ecological corridor, and promoting the development of sustainable transnational ecotourism.
To do that, a long-term strategy for heritage cooperation is needed, in which the revised Law on Cultural Heritage in 2024 has paved the way with provisions allowing for the establishment of co-management mechanisms, benefit sharing, sharing of research data and strengthening international cooperation in training, protection and promotion of heritage values. It is necessary to further promote “heritage diplomacy” activities – connecting embassies, international organizations, UNESCO networks in neighboring countries, to build common ground in awareness, priorities and commitments in conservation work in a volatile region.
At the same time, it is necessary to invest more heavily in interdisciplinary science, especially geology, ecology, anthropology, and heritage digital technology to improve research, assessment, warning, and management capacity. From there, the construction of heritage records will be both a registration activity and a process of creating sustainable values, bringing practical benefits to nature, people, and development policies.
In the context of ASEAN’s efforts to strengthen intra-bloc connectivity, transnational conservation will be a new pillar for regional cooperation – where heritage is the glue that connects culture – ecology – economy and people-to-people diplomacy. When countries look in the same direction in preserving the most sacred things of nature and history, peace and development will no longer be slogans, but become a reality.
UNESCO’s recognition of “Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park” as the first transnational World Heritage Sites of Vietnam and Laos, therefore, opens up a new horizon – where conservation is also an action for the future. A future in which every forest, every cave, every person is preserved, respected and developed in a world that increasingly needs sharing.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/di-san-lien-bien-gioi-thanh-luy-mem-ke-chuyen-gan-ket-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-322066.html
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