PM’s decree makes Phou Khao Khuay a national park

Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh has issued a decree which categorises Phou Khao Khuay as a national park and aims to preserve its distinctive features.
The park, whose name translates as Buffalo Horn Mountain, features some beautiful scenery and a vast array of biodiversity ranging from dense jungle to cool, misty pine forests, rivers and waterfalls.

The decree will afford Phou Khao Khuay special management and protection of the landscape, which is typified by limestone outcrops, evergreen forests and considerable biodiversity. The park covers an area of 191,942 hectares.
The decree will enable better protection of the habitats of animals, plants and non-timber forest products, as well as protect traces of history and culture that are important for tourism.
The park can now expect to enjoy managed protection of its flora and fauna and ensure that aspects of development in the area are sustainable and green, according to the decree.
Phou Khao Khuay national park spreads across Xaythany and Pak Ngum districts in Vientiane, Thoulakhom and Keo-oudom districts in Vientiane province, Longxan and Hom districts in Xaysomboun province, and Thaphabath district in Borikhamxay province.
Funding for the management of the park will come from the government and other sources, including various Lao and foreign organisations.
The park’s management will be overseen by the national park management division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.  
Phou Khao Khuay contains several forest types – mostly mixed deciduous with some dry evergreen – along a plateau, while villages inhabited by Lao, Hmong, Khmu and Yao ethnic groups are located in the periphery of the park. There are only three villages inside the park itself, according to www.travelfish.org
The Information, Culture and Tourism Office in Vientiane lists the park’s wildlife treasures as white-cheeked gibbons, Phayre’s langur, civets, slow loris, the near extinct green peafowl, Malayan night-heron, fish eagles, grey peacock pheasant, Siamese crocodile, and possibly a few Asiatic black bears.
The park also has several waterfalls, of which the most visited is Tad Leuk, which is the most accessible. This is a family-friendly waterfall that is popular with locals as a weekend picnic spot.
Phou Khao Khouay National Park is located just 40 kilometres northeast of Vientiane, accessible via Road No. 13 South.

ByTimes Reporters
(Latest Update January 12, 2021)