Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area

The Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area, formerly known as the Khammouane Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area, is one of 21 National Biodiversity Conservation Areas of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Located in a limestone tower karst region of the Annamite Range in Khammouane Province, it is home to a number of rare or newly discovered species. National Biodiversity Conservation Areas are not protected by the government of Laos in any meaningful way; the budget for each is about $500.[2] The human population of the NBCA is 29,603.[3]

Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
Location	Khammouane, Laos
Coordinates	17°47′37″N 104°47′02″E[1]
Area	1,801.49 km^2 (695.56 sq mi)
Named for	Phou Hin Poun, Laotian for limestone mountain
Website

Flora and fauna

The vegetation of Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area is shaped by its tropical savanna climate, and the rugged, cave-riddled and porous karst terrain. Over 50% of the landscape is estimated to be rocky outcroppings, and most of the rest is dry evergreen forest and scrubland.[3][4] This diverse landscape is home to 113 species of mammal, 160 species of bird, 81 species of reptile, 47 species of amphibian and 145 species of fish.[3] There are 41 known species of bats in Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area, with a single cave, Tam Houay Si, used by 22 species.[4]

The most striking discovery coming from the Phou Hin Poun NBCA is the Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus), so unusual that it was first assigned to its own family and later to a family previously thought to be extinct for 11 million years.[5] Another species discovered in the Phou Hin Poun NBCA, Saxatilomys paulinae, represents a new genus of the Murinae subfamily, the Old World rats and mice.[6]

Mammals known or suspected to live in Phou Hin Poun include the Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), the Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), the critically endangered saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), the giant muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis), the Assam macaque (Macaca assamensis), François' langur (Semnopithecus francoisi laotum), and the black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor).[7] Birds found in Phou Hin Poun NBCA include the grey peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum), the hill myna (Gracula religiosa), red-collared woodpecker (Picus rabieri), the sooty babbler (Stachyris herberti), and the wreathed hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus).[7]

References

1. "Khammouane Limestone (Phou Hin Poun) National Biodiversity Conservation Area". protectedplanet.net.
2. Denis Gray (AP) (February 25, 2004). "Asia's oasis loses its forests, wildlife". Environment. NBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
3. "Phoun Hin Poun NBCA". GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Project in Lao PDR. 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
4. Robinson, Mark F.; Webber, Maurice (2000). "Survey of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in the Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Lao P.D.R." (PDF). Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society. 48: 21–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
5. "New pictures of 'living fossil'". Science & environment. BBC News. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
6. Musser, Guy G.; Smith, Angela L.; Robinson, M. F.; Lunde, Darrin P. (2005). "Description of a new genus and species of rodent (Murinae, Muridae, Rodentia) from the Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area in Lao PDR" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. 3497: 1–31. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2005)497[0001:DOANGA]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5666.
7. R. J. Timmins (1997). "Notes on wildlife and habitats in Khammouan Limestone National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Khammouan Province, Lao PDR" (PDF). Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 7 February 2010.