Beung Kiat Ngong

Beung Kiat Ngong is a wetland of 2,360 hectares in Pathoumphone District, Champasak Province, designated Ramsar site no. 1941 on 16 June 2010. It is the only place in Laos where peatland is found, and lies partly within the Xe Pian and Dong Hua Sao National Protected Areas^[1].

The wetland is home to a fish community that the Ramsar listing puts at 200-300 species, including walking catfish, and to the vulnerable Malayan snail-eating turtle. It is a feeding area for waterbirds, some of which may nest there^[1].

The site has seasonal and perennial flooded grasses, a rich forest on fertile soil, and over 350 medicinal plant species, along with wild vegetables^[1].

The wetland is a mosaic of lakes, swamps, peatlands and marshes fed by a tributary of the Xe Khampho River. About 400 ha is high-quality peat and about 1,000 ha seasonal semi-peatland with lower-quality peat^[2].

The climate is monsoonal, with a dry season from late October to early May and a wet season from late May to October. Annual rainfall averages about 2,000 mm, up to a third of it in August, and temperatures range from about 14.5 C in January to 38.3 C in April^[2].

About 20 villages with roughly 7,400 people lie within the site, living from subsistence and commercial fishing and gathering wild vegetables, rice and other forest products. Phou Asa temple on the western side is an important cultural site^[2].

Beung Kiat Ngong was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on 16 June 2010^[1].

The wetland itself, with its peatland, lakes and marshes, is the main feature, and Phou Asa temple stands on its western side^[2].

The sources consulted mention no visitor facilities at the site.

The Ramsar listing names peat extraction for fertiliser, unsustainable fish harvesting and conversion of marshes to rice paddies as threats. The Agriculture and Forestry District Office and the Water Resources and Environment Agency manage the site, and it helps with flood control and groundwater maintenance^[1].