CIVIBADemocracy and Civic Practices

Project

Nam Ha Ecotourism Project

Luang Namtha · North · Laos

Commons and belonging1999

A pioneering model of community tourism in Laos, launched in 1999 in the Nam Ha protected area: guides from minority groups, village lodges, sites the village looks after in return for part of the entry fee, and 8% of revenue for a village fund. It won the Equator Prize and was copied in other provinces. A 2024 study speaks of "participatory exclusion": it requires giving up hunting and gathering, and the provincial office manages the fund. Today it has dissolved into that office and private agencies.

Led by
UNESCO and the Lao National Tourism Authority with New Zealand funding; today the provincial tourism department and private operators
Status
Transformed
Participation
Institution led, participatory
Visitable
No, it was a programme; treks are now booked through private agencies
Website
namha-npa.org/luangnamtha-ecotourism ↗
Contact
No public contact on record
Last reviewed
1 October 2026

Verification

Verified

This place is backed by at least one primary and one secondary source, reviewed within the last twelve months. The sources appear below with their consultation dates.

  • Verified two sources including a primary one, or first-hand knowledge of the place
  • Partial one source on record
  • Unverified starting knowledge, sources pending

Sources

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