Now the stake holders of the project are building another overnight stay opportunity within the protected area. It will, most likely within this year still, offer a completely new experience within the Lao jungle. To accommodate more visitors the camp will be opened together with the exploration activities within the protected area. The construction of the camp, which we are thinking to name “The Nest”, is being funded by AFD and the trails were funded by GEF. The Nam Nern Night Safari us a joint project with local communities, the Wildlife Conservation Society, WCS, and Lao governmental institutions.
What is very unique about this benefit sharing is that the money that the 12 communities received will be based on the number of photos of rare wildlife taken by camera traps, which we will put at the Poung Nyied salt lick and along the trail to Phou Louey Peak and the Cloud Forest. The tourists will help us to check the camera traps and look for the photos of wildlife while at the camp at night time. Tourists will receive electronic copies of the wildlife photos from their trip. This activity will not only be interesting and unique for tourists but will give the villages an incentive to protect wildlife.
Nam Nern Safaris mixes cultural experiences, inviting visitors to enjoy a Lao picnic dinner and Khmu ethnic folk tales told by village guides, before setting off on a river night safari to spot wildlife and staying overnight in bungalows all built with local materials. Nam Nern involves tourists in conserving wildlife by asking them to keep a record of the animals that they see. Each animal is allocated a value, according to its endangered status: the more animals tourists see, the more money villagers get, which contributes to the process of eradicating poaching, which was an invaluable source of income for many people in the past. It’s a simple model, and it works. Average sightings per boat have doubled from two to four in four years of operation and 90% of the tour revenue goes back to the communities. In addition, the project gives work to 38 individuals from 38 families.
A contract was signed with each village regarding the distribution of ecotourism benefits and was signed by every family in fourteen villages. Between 2010 and 2013, there have been 370 visitors and the revenues have been shared by over a thousand families. The village development fund generated $2,860 in 2013, roughly $200 per village. It has been used by villages to improve their well-being through small projects. Which is a win-win for everyone, and everything, and makes Nan Nern a winner for two years in a row also.
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