Xe Pian National Park is a national park in Champasak and

Attapeu Attapeu ( lo, ອັດຕະປື), also written as Attopu or Attapu, is the capital of Attapeu province, Laos. Its official name is Muang Samakhi Xay. It is the southernmost of provincial capitals in Laos. Most of the inhabitants are Lao Loum ...

provinces in southern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. This forested, hilly park is home to significant wetlands and a great diversity of animal, bird and fish species. It is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

destination.

Geography

Xe Pian National Park is about south of

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Loc ...

in Pathoumphone and Khong districts of Champasak and Sanamxay District of Attapeu. A large part of the park's boundary follows the border with Cambodia. The park's decreed area is but there have been recent higher estimates of size. Elevations range from to the park's highest point at . Three significant rivers have portions in the park:

Xe Pian Xe Pian National Park is a national park in Champasak and Attapeu provinces in southern Laos. This forested, hilly park is home to significant wetlands and a great diversity of animal, bird and fish species. It is an ecotourism destination. Geo ...

, which joins the Xe Kong, and Xe Khampho.

Flora and fauna

The park's main forest type is mixed evergreen covering about 80% of its area. Deciduous forest constitutes a further 17% of the park. Pangolin borneo

Threatened animal species include

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

, yellow-cheeked gibbon, gaur, dhole,

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...

, sun bear,

banteng The banteng (''Bos javanicus''; ), also known as tembadau, is a species of cattle found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between . Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are otherw ...

and the critically endangered Sunda pangolin. Reptiles include

Siamese crocodile The Siamese crocodile (''Crocodylus siamensis'') is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered an ...

and

Cantor's giant softshell turtle The Asian giant softshell turtle (''Pelochelys cantorii''), also known commonly as Cantor's giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to South ...

, both endangered. Masked Finfoot

A part of the Xe Khampho–Xe Pian Important Bird Area (IBA) overlaps the park. of the IBA's approximate area of lies in Xe Pian. Bird species of important conservation status in the common IBA and park area include

white-winged duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyt ...

masked finfoot The masked finfoot or Asian finfoot (''Heliopais personatus'') is a highly endangered aquatic bird that was formerly distributed throughout the fresh and brackish wetlands of the eastern Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Li ...

and

white-rumped vulture The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures di ...

. Elsewhere in the park important species include giant ibis, sarus crane,

red-headed vulture The red-headed vulture (''Sarcogyps calvus''), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of So ...

, woolly-necked stork and

green peafowl The green peafowl or Indonesian peafowl (''Pavo muticus'') is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2009 because the global population has been declining r ...

Threats

Xe Pian faces a number of environmental threats. A fertiliser plant and a hydropower project have been constructed in the park. There is hunting and poaching of animals for international trade and local consumption. Agricultural activity is taking place in ecologically sensitive areas including park wetlands. Since 2015 an additional threat is the Golden Apple Snails eating the rice and grass (the elephants feed on). The locals collect and boil these now to sell at the markets but the sheer numbers are a growing problem.

References

{{Reflist , 30em , refs = {{cite web , title = Xe Pian NBCA , url = http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/directory/protected_areas/xepian.htm , publisher = Greater Mekong Subregion Ecotourism Laos: Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR , access-date = 12 December 2014 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141027025216/http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/directory/protected_areas/xepian.htm , archive-date = 27 October 2014 {{cite book , last1 = Ray , first1 = Nick , last2 = Bloom , first2 = Greg , last3 = Waters , first3 = Richard , title = Lonely Planet Laos , edition = 8th , publisher =

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

, date = February 2014 , pages = 232 , isbn = 978-1-7432-1825-9 {{cite web , url = http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/xe-khampho-xe-pian-iba-laos/text , title = Birdlife Data Zone: Xe Khampho / Xe Pian , date = 2003 , publisher =

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

, access-date = 5 June 2017 National parks of Laos Protected areas established in 1993 Geography of Champasak province Geography of Attapeu province 1993 establishments in Laos

Geography

Flora and fauna

Threats

See also

References