Mekong River from Luang Prabang to Vientiane (16630)
Laos, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2012

National site name: Mekong River from Luang Prabang to Vientiane

Central coordinates: Latitude: 18.2333, Longitude: 102.0833

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 200 to 250

Area of KBA (km²): 399.31497

Protected area coverage (%): 0.46

KBA classification: Regional

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The IBA comprises a c.300 km section of the Mekong channel upstream of Vientiane. The upper section (c.150 km), upstream of Ban Vang, is situated entirely within Lao P.D.R., while the lower section (c.160 km), between Ban Vang and Ban Thadua, forms the international border with Thailand; although parts of the Mekong channel within Thailand are not included within the IBA. The IBA contains a high proportion of mosaic stretches, where the Mekong channel, during the low-flow season, supports a variety of habitat types, including sand and gravel bars and islands, rock outcrops, bushland and braided streams. The IBA also contains significant stretches with open sandy islands. The bird communities of mosaic stretches are considered to be of the highest conservation value of all those along the upper Lao Mekong channel, and include species such as River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii, Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii and Jerdon's Bushchat Saxicola jerdoni. In addition, small numbers of Great Thick-knees Esacus recurvirostris persist in these stretches, although the remaining populations may not be viable in the long-term. The open sandy islands are important for Small Pratincole Glareola lactea, and the IBA is thought to support greater than 1% of the Asian biogeographic population of this species. Although no data are available for the uppermost section (c.80 km), north of Paklay town, from topographic maps, it seems to contain much channel mosaic habitat (Duckworth et al. 2002).

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard. The site has been reviewed and re-confirmed as a KBA in the process of compiling the revised 2011 CEPF Ecosystem Profile for the Indo-Burma Hotspot.

Additional biodiversity: While the site does not quite meet the 1% threshold for River Lapwing, the species is still listed on the basis that the site is arguably of international importance for the conservation of this species.Biome-restricted species: The site qualifies under criterion A3 because it supports one species restricted to the Indo-Gangetic Plains (Biome 12) (Duckworth et al. 1997, 2002)

Habitats

Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | urban/industrial/transport

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Shrubland	25
Wetlands(Inland)	50
Artificial - Terrestrial	25

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Shifting agriculture	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Agro-industry farming	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target)	Ongoing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing

Additional information