Attapeu is a province of Laos in the southeast of the country. To the north it is bounded by Sekong, to the west by Champasak Province. To the east, the Annamite Mountain Range separates Attapeu from Vietnam. It borders Cambodia to the south. It covers an area of 10,320 square kilometres Its capital city lies at Attapeu (Muang Samakkixay).

There are two biodiversity areas: Dong Ampham Forest (200,000 ha) and Xepaine Forest. A large part of the province is managed by the Dong Ampham National Biodiversity Conservation Area.

Dong Ampham National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) is the protected area which lies in Attapeu Province (on the northeastern part) and Sekong Province (on the southeastern part). It is in the southeast corner of Laos on the border with Vietnam. The NBCA is heavily forested and covers about 200,000 hectares. It is one of the 23 National Biodiversity Conservation Areas of Laos. Dong Ampham is home to “some of the last intact areas of lowland and tropical forests remaining in mainland Southeast Asia.” Topographical features include Xe Kaman and Xe Xou Rivers,  and the volcanic lake Nong Fa Lake.

The 71,400 hectare Attapu Plain is an important bird area (IBA) adjacent to the NBCA. The topography includes wetlands, such as the Xe Khaman and the Xe Xou Rivers, as well as freshwater lakes and pools.

The listed globally threatened wild life species number 14 (according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN Red List and 23 species according to the CITES. In the rural  area, the dependency on forest resources is great, concentrated in the fields of wild animals and plants, exchanged and extracted for achieving sustainable income; fish is one of main aquatic vertebrates exploited, apart from other terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates.

More recently, some Vietnamese companies expanded into Attapeu Province. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has acquired rights to grow rubber trees in the province. The company also plans to invest in electricity generation, sugar refining, and organic fertilizer production. Construction of a US$100 million sugar project including industrial facilities started in November 2011.

On May 22nd, 2007, HAGL signed an initial investment contract with the Attapeu

Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) acquiring the rights to grow rubber trees,

seedlings, and cashew nuts in Attapeu province for a period of 30 years. The contract was modified the following year giving the company land use rights to log the timber from and grow rubber on a 10,000-ha plot of land for 35 years. Curiously, these rights were awarded during a two-year period between May 2007 and May 2009 when the Lao Prime Minister, Mr. Bouasone Bouphavanh, placed a moratorium on land concessions over 100 ha for industrial trees, perennial plants, and mining. The moratorium was an attempt to prevent the negative economic, social, and ecological impacts of concession until such impacts could be prevented or at the least, minimized. In May 2009, the moratorium was repealed in a new decree that supposedly addressed the negative impacts of concessions, mostly by requiring government officials to conduct land surveys identifying the suitability of different land categories for concessionary investment. One month later, though, the moratorium was reinstated for concessions over 1,000 ha after cabinet members learned of country-wide complaints concerning the impacts of concessions on livelihoods and their encroachment into National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCA).

On 23 July 2018, The Xe Pain Xe Nam Noy (XPXN) dam collapse occurred, and caused immediate flash flooding through the villages of Yai Thae, Hinlad, Ban Mai, Thasengchan, Tha Hin, and Samong, all in Sanamxay district, of Attapeu province. Homes, roads and bridges were swept away. The  XPXN dam collapse was the collapse of Saddle Dam D, part of a larger hydroelectric dam system under construction.  The dam collapse lead to widespread destruction and homelessness among the local population in neighbouring Attapeu Province. As of 25 September, 40 people were confirmed dead, at least 98 more were missing (maybe as much as 1,100 more people), and 6,600 others were displaced.  Thousands are languishing in displacement camps in Laos a year (2019) after a dam break unleashed floodwaters.

References:

1. Wikipedia ‘Attapeu province’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attapeu_Province
2. Miles Keney-Lazar ‘Land Concession, Land Tenure, and Livelihood Change: Plantation Devvelopment in Attapeu province, Southern Laos’ Fulbright ad FoF, NUOL
3. Wikipedia ‘2018 Laos dam collapse’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Laos_dam_collapse