The significance of the Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar site (Champasak province, Lao PDR) and its surroundings for biodiversity conservation Results of bird and mammal surveys and implications for site management J.W. Duckworth and R.J. Timmins INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE Cover photo: The designation of geographical Copyright: Elephant in tall grass near Don entities in this publication, and © 2014 International Union for Pamuang, by J. W. 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Vientiane, Lao PDR: IUCN. 104pp. The significance of the Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar site (Champasak province, Lao PDR) and its surroundings for biodiversity conservation Results of bird and mammal surveys and implications for site management J.W. Duckworth and R.J. Timmins, March 2015 About IUCN IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN‘s work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world‘s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,200 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN‘s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org About Mekong Water Dialogues (MWD) Mekong Water Dialogues is coordinated and facilitated by IUCN and supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. It was initiated to work with countries of the Mekong Region – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam – to improve water governance by facilitating transparent and inclusive decision-making to improve livelihood security, human and ecosystem health. www.iucn.org/asia/mekong_dialogues About the OECC OECC, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan, was established in 1990 by the Ministry of Environment in Japan in order to promote international cooperation in a non-governmental capacity. OECC envisions addressing environmental issues and incorporating movements in political, economic, and social fields under the progress of international mutual dependence in the 21st century. OECC seeks to promote the conservation of global environment by contributing to research study, personnel training and supporting non-government activities under international cooperation with many countries. OECC is supported by the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), among others. www.oecc.or.jp ii Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... v Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................. vi Conventions and Guidelines ................................................................................................ vii Executive summary ............................................................................................................... 8 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 10 2. Previous surveys of the Pathoumphone wetlands ........................................................ 11 3. Methodology ................................................................................................................ 12 4. Results of the survey ................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Wildlife habitat profile of the Pathoumphone wetlands ............................................... 13 4.2 Wildlife of significance to conservation in Beung Kiat Ngong and surrounding wetlands .................................................................................................................................... 23 4.2.1 Birds .................................................................................................................... 23 4.2.2 Selected species accounts .................................................................................. 23 4.2.3 The bird conservation significance of the Pathoumphone wetlands. .................... 29 4.3 Other wildlife .............................................................................................................. 32 4.4 Threats to the Area .................................................................................................... 34 5. Discussion ................................................................................................................... 38 5.1 The Ramsar site in the regional context ..................................................................... 38 5.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 39 5.3 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 40 5.3.1 Thematic direction ............................................................................................... 40 5.3.2 Habitat protection ................................................................................................ 41 5.3.3 Wildlife protection ................................................................................................ 41 5.3.4 The invasive species Mimosa pigra ..................................................................... 42 5.3.5 Tourism ............................................................................................................... 42 5.3.6 Priority zones ...................................................................................................... 42 5.4 Avenues of further survey .......................................................................................... 43 iii References ......................................................................................................................... 45 Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix 1 National and regional context for the survey‘s bird records ........................... 49 A1.1 Species strongly associated with wetlands, at least in the lowlands ..................... 49 A1.2 Species using other habitats ................................................................................ 76 Tables ................................................................................................................................. 81 Table 1. Survey areas and effort ...................................................................................... 81 Table 2. Details of wetlands visited in June–July 2013 .................................................... 83 Table 3. Birds recorded in the Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar site and surrounding wetlands, Pathoumphone district, Champasak province, Lao PDR over 28 June – 5 July 2013 and 4–8 January 2014 ........................................................................................................ 84 Table 4. Counts of wetland birds (and selected other species of local conservation interest) at individual wetland visits .............................................................................. 88 Maps ................................................................................................................................... 93 Figure 1. Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar Site and Surrounding Landscape ........................... 93 Figure 2. Current Ramsar site boundary .......................................................................... 94 Figure 3. Localities mentioned