According to information from the Department of Cultural Heritage, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park were recognized as Transboundary Heritage thanks to three criteria. First of all, the two national parks belong to the largest intact tropical wet karst systems in the world. The special terrain and diversity of the karst landscape are formed from the complex interweaving of limestone karst with slate, sandstone and granite.
3 unique features put Phong Nha - Ke Bang and Hin Nam No on the list of UNESCO Transboundary Heritage.
To date, the diversity of polygonal karst features recorded has been unmatched anywhere else in the world . Underground, the extraordinary variety of caves (including dry caves, terraced caves, tree caves and cross-cut caves) provides evidence of past geological processes, from ancient river channels, abandonment or alteration of river routes, to the deposition and subsequent re-dissolution of giant stalactites.
Of particular importance are the Son Doong and Xe Bang Fai caves, which contain the world's largest recorded cave passage in terms of diameter and continuity and the largest active river passage and single cave reservoir (water formed by calcite sediments), respectively.
Together, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park protect globally significant ecosystems in the Northern Annamite Rainforest terrestrial ecoregion, the Northern and Southern Annamite Freshwater ecoregions and the priority Annamite Wetland Forest ecoregions.
The complexity and relative integrity of the limestone landscape has resulted in the creation of many ecological niches, providing opportunities for ecological processes and species evolution. The two national parks are home to highly specialised and endemic flora and fauna both above ground (such as some orchids and Begonias) and underground (with some invertebrates and fish restricted to single cave systems).
Large black squirrel (Ratufa bicolor) at Hin Nam No National Park (Photo: Ryan Deboodt)
In addition, a rich biodiversity of terrestrial, freshwater and subterranean biodiversity can be found in this area. More than 2,700 species of vascular plants and 800 species of vertebrates have been recorded in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, over 200 of which were globally threatened at the time of its inscription in 2015 and 400 species endemic to Central Laos and Vietnam.
Over 1,500 vascular plant species (from 755 different genera) and 536 vertebrate species have been recorded in Hin Nam No National Park, including many globally threatened and endemic species, including the Giant Hunting Spider, the largest spider by leg span globally and endemic to Khammouane Province (Laos).
Species richness at the site is likely to exceed that of the two national parks alone due to differences in topography and ecological niches. The site is also home to 10-11 primate species, four of which are endemic to the Annamese Mountains, and the largest remaining populations of the endemic Southern White-cheeked Gibbon and Black-cheeked Langur.
Hong Phuong/ News and People Newspaper
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/van-hoa/3-diem-doc-dao-dua-phong-nha-ke-bang-va-hin-nam-no-vao-danh-sach-di-san-lien-bien-gioi-unesco-20250714055905130.htm
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