A foreign visitor points towards forested mountains to indicate the abundant nature at Namket Yorla Pa in Oudomxay province.

Lao businessmen turn forested area into green gem

Young businessmen from Laos look far and wide to invest huge amounts of money to turn the land and mountains back to their abundance to become a green and sustainable forest based on five visions: conservation; restoration of natural resources and biodiversity by connecting with the lifestyle of the local people; creating new tourism products that are diverse and meet international standards; creating jobs and income for local people; and following the policies of the Lao Party and state on sustainable and green development.

Mr Somphet Maopaseuth, President of Forest Area Conservation Ecological Tourism and the Manager of Namkat Yorla Pa.	Guests enjoy coffee, Lao drinking water and breakfast at the restaurant at Namkat Yorla Pa in Oudomxay province.

Recently, Lao media personnel enjoyed a visit to the Namkat Yorla Pa resort in Oudomxay province where they interviewed Mr Somphet Maopaseuth, President of Forest Area Conservation Ecological Tourism and the Manager of Namkat Yorla Pa, in order to promote tourism during Visit Laos Year 2024.
Mr Somphet, the manager of Namkat Yorla Pa who is a young businessman and had the idea to transform dry land, degraded forest and natural resources into sustainable green gems, told reporters that patriotism and love of his country were the inspiration for his mission of protecting and developing Laos to further the green and sustainable development policy and strategy of the Party and state to bear real fruit, which he fervently believes is the duty of every citizen.
Mr Somphet stressed that, for that reason, “Sustainable tourism development is very important, which is why I closely cooperated with Oudomxay Provincial Administration officials to study and survey the possibility and implementation of the project that I decided to call the Namkat Yorla Pa Natural Tourism Site by focusing on conservation, restoring natural resources and biodiversity by connecting to the lifestyle of local people; contributing to the creation of new tourism products that are diverse and meet international standards to inspire more domestic and foreign tourists to explore Laos; and create jobs and income for local people to help eradicate poverty in line with the policies of the Lao Party and state.”

A Lao visitor enjoys the sight of a magnificent waterfall at Namkat Yorla Pa.

The implementation of the tourism resource project was important and depended on the close cooperation of three parties: the state, investors and local people, and involved three main tasks: conservation and restoration of natural resources and biodiversity; personnel creation by creating more jobs for local people; and building infrastructure, creating tourism products, and marketing.
There was remarkable success in reducing the invasion of nature and rejuvenating forested areas, and the number of land animals, aquatic species and biodiversity increased in number. At the same time, the project contributed to the conservation of the lifestyle and customs of local ethnic groups, especially the Khmu tribe in the project area by building ethnic villages and maintaining their traditional dress and lifestyle.
“We have now opened a second branch of Namkat Yorla Pa, which is located in the Phoukhaokhuay National Protected Area in Pakngum district in Vientiane and is called Nam Phien Yorla Pa and has become more and more popular among both Lao and foreign tourists,” Somphet said.
Mr Somphet also said that over the past several years he has been closely involved in the development of Namkat Yorla Pa, which gives him the feeling of being in a home and a warm house. Not only are the surrounding green forested area and natural water sources growing more and more, but the leisure facility has created jobs and trained personnel in tourism services.
He is very impressed by the fact that more than 1,000 species have been studied and conserved around the area, including insects and butterflies, birds, aquatic reptiles, and flowers.
The most notable of these is the discovery of eight new insect species, of which two are on display in a museum. Each species will be given a unique name to attract the attention of the large number of foreign tourists who come to the centre to visit and study.
It is expected that the study of biodiversity will become another form of tourism in the future because of the huge range of biodiversity that exists within the protected area of Nam Kat Yorla Pa.
Ms Caroline Bennoy, a tourist from France staying at the hotel at Namkat Yorla Pa, told reporters: “I am very impressed to have the opportunity to visit Laos, which has beautiful nature, water and forests that have not been degraded.”

ByTimes Reporters
 (Latest Update July 29, 2024)