First cross-border World Heritage Site announced

THE HANOI TIMES — Vietnam’s famed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park has reached a new milestone in global recognition, as UNESCO on July 13 officially designated it, together with Laos’ Hin Nam No National Park, as Southeast Asia’s first transboundary World Heritage Site.

The decision, announced during the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris, marks a historic step not only for Vietnam and Laos but also for cross-border cooperation in nature conservation and cultural heritage protection.

According to UNESCO, the newly designated transboundary heritage site resulted from boundary adjustments to the existing Phong Nha - Ke Bang World Natural Heritage Site in the central province of Quang Tri, Vietnam, to include the adjacent Hin Nam No National Park in Khammouane Province, Laos.

The designation reflects their shared ecological landscape and cultural legacy.

This is Vietnam’s first cross-border heritage site and the first time it has partnered with another nation to jointly develop and submit a UNESCO nomination dossier, indicating a commitment to conservation and sustainable development in the greater Mekong region.

Previously inscribed as a World Natural Heritage Site in 2003 and 2015, Phong Nha-Ke Bang is known for its dramatic karst landscapes, extensive cave systems, and rich biodiversity. Together with Hin Nam No, the entire area now represents one of the oldest and most intact tropical karst ecosystems in Asia, with geological formations dating back over 400 million years.

Straddling the Truong Son Mountain Range and the Central Indochina Limestone Belt, the newly designated area harbors extraordinary biological and geological diversity. It includes over 220 kilometers of caves and a network of transboundary underground rivers featuring natural marvels such as Son Doong Cave, the largest cave in the world located in Vietnam, and Xe Bang Fai Cave in Laos, which is renowned for its majestic underground river passage.

The region is home to more than 2,700 plant species and over 800 vertebrate species, many of which are endemic or endangered. Hin Nam No alone is home to over 1,500 plant species and 536 animal species, including the southern white-cheeked gibbon, the black langur, wild orchids, and the giant hunting spider - the world’s largest spider by leg span, which is uniquely found in Khammouane Province.

This expanded designation is the result of sustained cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism - a partnership initiated in 2018.

Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of Vietnam’s Department of Cultural Heritage, shared that this success is grounded in strong bilateral coordination and strategic guidance from both governments.

The two countries plan to develop joint legal frameworks, promote sustainable tourism, and protect the site from environmental risks, strengthening their shared role as stewards of one of Southeast Asia’s most precious ecological legacies.