Part 1 – A Rapid Participatory Biodiversity Assessment - IUCN

Part 2 – Overview of the project area: Location, People and
Landscapes
2.1 Location and physical characteristics of the study area
Savannakhet and Salavan provinces are located in Southern Lao PDR. Savannakhet has an area of
21 774km 2 , which is broken into 15 districts and lies between Khammuane and Salavan Provinces.
Salavan has an area of 10,691km 2 which is broken into 8 districts and lies directly south of
Savannakhet Province and north of Sekong Province (NSC 2005). The project area’s 5 districts,
Vilabouri, Sepon, Nong, Taoy and Samoi lie along the eastern boarder of both these provinces and
share an international border with Viet Nam – see figure 1.1.
The general terrain of these districts is characterized by undulating agricultural and fallow landscapes
interspersed with large pockets of re-growth and remnant forest, surrounded by mountains consisting
largely of secondary, evergreen, semi evergreen and montane rainforest (Baltzer et al 2001c; UNDP
1998). These landscapes were heavily impacted by use of defoliants and carpet bombing during the
American-Vietnam war (see box 2.2).
Box 2.2 - The impacts of war on people and the landscape.
The study area was a location of strategic interest during the American/Vietnam war. Lying due west
of the Viet Nam north-south de-militarized zone, this area was the home to an extensive network of
trails and roads known as the Ho Chi Minh trail used by the North Vietnamese Army as a transport
route between the north and south of Viet Nam.
Savannakhet was the site of the second biggest conflict in Laos when the US retook the area around
Sepon along national route 9 to launch an offensive called Lam Seun 719 which saw over 60 000
South Vietnamese troops supported by US aerial support and 100 000 North Vietnamese troops. The
offensive was a failure and following this the US decided to increase aerial offensives and bombing
campaigns, ‘carpet bombing’ and using an array of defoliants, most heavily on the districts lying along
the Viet Nam-Lao boarder. Between 1965 and 1973, 1.1 million tonnes of bombs were dropped on
the trail, 1,600,000 litres of herbicide, 338,237 of Napalm and between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000
tonnes of ammunition were used in this area during the war, of which 40% remain unexploded (nation
wide) (Daviau 2004). As a result UXOs are a major issue in the study area and casualties are still
extremely common.
Savannakhet Province has two main geographical areas: lowlands to the west account for 58% and
highlands to the east represent the remaining land area. The average height of the province is 100
metres above sea level. Eastern highlands rise to 1300m.
Salavan Province can be divided into three geographical areas:
• The plains region in Salavan, Toumlan Khongxedon, Vapi and Nakhonepheng districts,
covering 40% of the province and rich fertile land used for agriculture;
• The plateau region, covering 20% and lying in the district of Laongam bordering Champassak
province used for agriculture and forestry; and
• The mountainous region of Taoy and Samoi districts in the east, covering the remaining 40%
of the province and considered “ideal for short-term and mid-term industrial forestry” (DAF
2005)
The study area lies in the Southeast Asia monsoon tropical climate, dominated by the northeast and
then southwest monsoons that produce three distinct seasons. The cool dry season influenced by the
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