The SAFE Ecosystems Project

The UNDP-GEF Sustainable Forest and Land Management in the Dry Dipterocarp Forest Ecosystems of Southern Lao PDR Project (SAFE Ecosystems Project) aims to support the government of Lao PDR to facilitate a transformative shift towards sustainable land and forest management in the forested landscape of Savannakhet Province. This sustainable management will help to secure critical wildlife habitats, conserve biodiversity and maintain a continuous flow of multiple services such as the provision of quality water and flood prevention. The project will be implemented over a period of six-years from May 2016 to May 2022 by the Department of Forestry (DOF) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Dry Dipterocarp Forest (DDF) ecosystems located in Savannakhet Province are recognized for being globally important as habitat for a number of globally significant and threatened species, and nationally important for their provision of numerous ecosystem services that benefit the people of Lao PDR. In recent decades, DDF ecosystems and the species within them have come under increasing threat from large-scale conversion of forest, degradation of forest ecosystem services, and species loss.

Recognizing their global and national importance, the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) has prioritized the conservation and sustainable management of the Dry Dipterocarp Forests landscape of Savannakhet province. As a measure of the GoL’s commitment to the DDF landscape, it has selected this area to be the site of the newest National Protected Area in the country, and as a demonstration site for testing the implementation of new national policies and processes related to Strategic Environmental Assessment, Integrated Spatial Planning, and High Conservation Value Forests. The GoL has also identified this landscape as suitable for the development and implementation of innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable forest management and protected area management, as well as community participation in protected areas management, ecotourism programs, and livelihoods programs linked to conservation outcomes through formal Conservation Agreement mechanisms.

This SAFE Ecosystems Project will seek to strengthen land and resource use planning capacities and procedures, and the policies and regulations that govern them, while simultaneously expanding and strengthening the management of resources on the ground by government agencies, local communities and private sector actors. Furthermore, the project is developing innovative financing mechanisms and programs (including ecotourism and livelihoods programs) that can ensure the sustainability of improved land use and resource management approaches.

Review and draft management plans for four NPAs within Savannakhet Province

The project will build the capacity of institutions and other partners responsible for the management of 4 National Protected Area in Savannakhet Province: the existing Dong Phou Vieng National Protected Area, Phou Xang He National Protected Area, and Se Ta Nouan – Phou Nak National Protection Forest, and the proposed Ong Mang National Protected Area (currently only listed as a Sanctuary), which together constitute 584,015 hectares.  Each of the four PA Units will have a Protected Area Manager as well as a cadre of rangers employed by the relevant Department of Agriculture and Forestry Offices (DAFO) and a cadre of community rangers hired from communities within or adjacent to the PA units; the project will work with relevant government agencies to ensure that the terms of employment for the PA managers and rangers are structured to properly define responsibilities and performance targets that relate to conservation objectives. 

Working with DOF, PAFO and DAFO, the project will support the development of PA Management Plans for each site, which will include zoning for different use areas within each site (zoning will take account of the proposed ecotourism activities and their suitability for different areas within a PA; in addition, for the Ong Mang NPA, the zoning will be closely linked to the designation of High Value Conservation Forests within the site).  In addition, a Business Plan will be developed for each PA site (in a separate consultancy), intended to propose strategic innovative and sustainable financing options among the four sites and to maximize potential revenue sources. 

It is envisaged that relevant staff from DOF, PAFO and DAFO will receive capacity building in developing management plans, as well as training in general PA management functions such as staff oversight, strategies for monitoring and enforcement of regulations (including Community Conservation Agreements [CCA] and Village Forestry Plans currently being developed by the Project) and collaboration with other agencies in this area, and outreach to local communities and District authorities. A strong focus will involve working to promote community participation in protected areas management in line with the CCAs, ranging from involvement in PA management planning and increased awareness of PA regulations to community programs such as river bank protection (tree planting to prevent erosion) and reforestation.  Capacity building for PA staff / rangers will seek to learn from the on-going LENS 2 project, which is working to strengthen PA management capacity within DOF, PAFO and DAFO.