The first cross-border heritage
According to the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was ranked as a Special National Scenic Site by the Prime Minister in 2009, recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage for the first time on July 3, 2003 (at the 27th Session) and recognized for the second time on July 3, 2015 (at the 39th Session), with a core area of 123,326 hectares and a buffer zone of 220,055 hectares.
Phong Nha - Ke Bang (Vietnam) and Hin Nam No (Laos) will be destinations for tourists to explore caves, study geology, geomorphology and biodiversity.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park shares a natural boundary with Hin Nam No National Park of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The dossier of Hin Nam No National Park for UNESCO recognition, as an extension of the World Natural Heritage of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, was jointly submitted by the Lao and Vietnamese Governments to UNESCO in February 2024, for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at this Session.
Through the appraisal process, UNESCO's Advisory Body, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), submitted a Decision to the World Heritage Committee at its 47th Session to approve the adjustment of the boundary of the World Natural Heritage Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Quang Tri Province, Vietnam), expanding to Hin Nam No National Park (Kham Muon Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic), with the name: "Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park" according to the criteria of geology, geomorphology (criterion viii), ecosystem (criterion IX) and biodiversity (criterion X).
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park are among the most outstanding and intact karst landscapes and ecosystems in the world. Located at the junction of the Annam Mountains and the Central Indochina Limestone Belt, straddling the border of Vietnam and Laos.
The karst formation has been developing since the Paleozoic period about 400 million years ago and can be considered the oldest, large-scale karst area in Asia.
The diversity of ecosystems found in this complex landscape includes dry karst forests at high altitudes, moist and dense forests at low altitudes, and extensive underground cave environments.
Among these underground structures are more than 220km of caves and underground river systems that are recognized as globally significant. The unique biodiversity with some endemic species living in tropical mixed ecosystems also creates special values, of global significance.
The management of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park is proposed in two separate Management Plans (Hin Nam No National Park Management Plan and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Strategic Management Plan).
The joint management of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park has been signed by localities of Vietnam and Laos for many years, which includes joint activities on law enforcement and development of action plans to protect the values of the heritage.
The importance of cooperation in nominating common heritage
According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the coordination process between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in researching, developing and completing the nomination dossier from 2018 to present has been really accelerated after the two governments agreed on the policy (in early 2023) on developing a dossier to nominate Hin Nam No National Park (Laos) as a cross-border World Heritage Site with the World Natural Heritage Site Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Vietnam).
On that basis, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung had direct working sessions with Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket to implement the following contents: Agreeing on the plan to develop a nomination dossier, assigning the specialized agencies of the two sides, the Department of Cultural Heritage of Vietnam, to directly coordinate, guide and support the Department of Cultural Heritage of Laos in the entire process of developing the dossier, along with the enthusiastic support of the People's Committee of Quang Binh province (now Quang Tri province), the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Management Board of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and relevant agencies to develop a nomination dossier, and agree to send it to UNESCO in February 2024.
According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, the event of “Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park” becoming the first transboundary World Heritage Sites of Vietnam and Laos, shows the importance of global cooperation through the nomination of common heritage, contributing to the promotion of peace and security from the perspective of UNESCO, further tightening the friendship and solidarity between the two countries.
The fact that Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Hin Nam No National Park were listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO is considered a symbol of cooperation between the two countries in the field of cultural heritage, thereby contributing to further strengthening and consolidating the friendly, united and close relationship between Vietnam and Laos.
Up to now, Vietnam has 9 World Heritages, including 2 inter-provincial World Heritages: Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago (Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city) and Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex (Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city), along with the first inter-border World Heritages Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Quang Tri province - Vietnam) and Hin Nam No National Park (Kham Muon province - Laos).
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/icon-hop-tac-viet-nam-lao-trong-linh-vuc-di-san-van-hoa-10310409.html
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