The first transboundary world heritage site between two Southeast Asian countries

UNESCO has approved a decision to adjust the boundary of the World Natural Heritage Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, expanding it to the Hin Nam No National Park area (Kham Muon province, Laos).

The first cross-border heritage of Vietnam and Laos

This historic decision marks the establishment of the first transboundary World Heritage Site between two Southeast Asian countries, called "Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park".

According to the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam), the expansion of the heritage boundary is based on the joint nomination dossier of the two countries, sent to UNESCO in February 2024. This is the result of many years of close cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in researching, preserving and promoting heritage values.

Based on the assessment of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - UNESCO's advisory body, the common heritage site was recognized according to three outstanding criteria: geology - geomorphology (criterion viii), ecosystem (criterion ix) and biodiversity (criterion x).

Phong Nha - Ke Bang was recognized as a World Natural Heritage for the first time in 2003, and for the second time in 2015, with a core area of over 123,000 hectares and a buffer zone of about 220,000 hectares. This area shares a natural border with Laos' Hin Nam No National Park - one of the oldest karst limestone areas in Asia, formed in the Paleozoic period more than 400 million years ago.

The undisturbed limestone karst landscape stretches across the Annamese Range and the Central Indochina Limestone Belt, forming a unique ecosystem of dry karst forest in the highlands, wet jungle in the lowlands and an extensive underground cave network – including over 220km of caves and rare underground river systems. The area is also home to many endemic species of flora and fauna, of global biodiversity value.

The recognition of "Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park" as World Heritage is not only an achievement in conservation work, but also a symbol of the friendship, solidarity and deep cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

Since 2018, the authorities of the two countries have started to build nomination dossiers, under the direct guidance of Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung and Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket.

During this process, the Vietnam Department of Cultural Heritage coordinated, guided and supported the Lao Department of Cultural Heritage to complete the dossier contents, with active participation from Quang Binh province, the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Management Board of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and many related agencies.

Prospects for sustainable tourism development

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, this event is a testament to the role of international cooperation in protecting heritage, promoting peace, security and sustainable development. At the same time, this is also a great opportunity to develop community-based ecotourism in the Vietnam-Laos border area, thereby contributing to improving the livelihoods of local people.

Notably, the two countries have agreed on a common management mechanism for the transboundary heritage site over the years, with the development of two separate management plans for each national park. Localities on both sides have signed cooperation agreements on law enforcement, forest protection, prevention of illegal logging, as well as the development of action plans to preserve heritage values.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Standing Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council, Head of the Vietnamese Expert Group at UNESCO, in the coming time, the two countries need to promote cooperation in scientific research and deploy solutions to protect heritage from the risks of impacts from climate change and human activities.

In particular, assessing the tourism carrying capacity and ecological tolerance of the entire heritage site is a key factor. Vietnam can also support Laos in building a legal system, improving management capacity and heritage conservation according to international standards, aiming to promote the long-term value of Hin Nam No National Park in particular and the entire heritage site in general.

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/di-san-the-gioi-lien-bien-gioi-dau-tien-giua-hai-quoc-gia-dong-nam-a-10302771.html