Upper Lao Mekong (16651)
Laos, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2012

National site name: Upper Lao Mekong

Central coordinates: Latitude: 20.3333, Longitude: 100.3833

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 300 to 400

Area of KBA (km²): 109.30625

KBA classification: Regional

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The IBA is located along the Mekong River in northern Lao P.D.R., and comprises a 377 km section of the Mekong channel, from Ban Xiangkhok on the Lao-Myanmar border to Ban Bo on the boundary between Oudomxai and Xaignabouli provinces. This section supports three basic habitat types: featureless stretches with a well defined channel but no, or negligible, exposed bed; stretches with many sandbars; and stretches of channel mosaic habitat, comprising sand and gravel bars and islands, rock outcrops, bushland and braided streams. The stretches of channel mosaic habitat support a relatively rich riverine bird community, including River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii and Jerdon's Bushchat Saxicola jerdoni. The stretches with many sandbars are important for Small Pratincole Glareola lactea; the IBA supports 5% of the estimated world population of this species, although the IBA is probably not as important as Mekong Channel from Phou Xiang Thong to Siphandon IBA (LA007) for this species. The IBA also supports large numbers of Plain Martin Riparia paludicola and significant numbers of Grey-headed Lapwing V. cinereus, and is the site of the only recent Lao records of Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Duckworth et al. 2002). Finally, there are single records of both Swan Goose Anser cygnoides and Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda from the IBA, although it is unlikely that it regularly supports significant numbers of either species.

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: The international bird conservation importance of the Upper Lao Mekong does not match that of the Cambodian Mekong. Even so, it is of different community composition (presence of Jerdon's Bushchat, abundance of Plain Martin, but absence of Mekong Wagtail). This highly distinctive and vulnerable bird community is not represented in BNCAs (Duckworth et al. 2002). The IBA, therefore, is particularly important for conservation of this distinctive bird community.

Habitats

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

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Terrestrial	33
Wetlands(Inland)	33
Shrubland	33

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Most of the IBA is easily accessible from along the banks of the Mekong River, and levels of human activity are high. Major threats to biodiversity at the IBA are active persecution, in the form of hunting and egg collection, and incidental disturbance, including boat traffic and accidental nest destruction. Another major threat is an on-going project to widen the Mekong channel for shipping, which involves blasting stretches of channel mosaic habitat. The long-term impacts of this activity on bird communities are currently unquatified. However, given the loss of habitat and potential for increased levels of disturbance in the future, they are likely to be severe. A potential threat is hydropower development on the upper Mekong River or its tributaries, which is already planned for stretches of the Mekong River within Yunnan province, China. This could result in changes in flow patterns, with severe implications for riverine bird communities (Duckworth et al. 2002).

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Ongoing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Only in the future

Additional information