User:Luisah/Oudomxay Province

Oudomxay (also Udomxay, Lao &#3757;&#3768;&#3732;&#3771;&#3745;&#3780;&#3722;) is a province located in the northwest of Laos. The province capital is Muang Xai.

Geography
Oudomxay borders with the following provinces: Phongsali, Luang Prabang, Sayaburi, Bokeo und Louang Namtha. In the northwest there is a 15 kilometer border with the autonomous area of Xishuangbanna of the People's Republic of China.

Oudomxay expands over 15,370 square kilometers and therefore is the ninth biggest province in Laos.

Topography
The topography of Oudomxay is very mountainous. Altitudes vary between 300 and 1,800 meters above sea level.

Watercourses
Approximately 60 rivers flow through Oudomxay Province, as for example Nam Phak, Nam Sae, Nam Beng, Nam Kor und Nam Nga.

The Nam Kor flows through the province capital Muang Xay.

History
The province was created in 1976, when it was split off from Louangphabang. Around 1987 the capital of the province was moved from Ban Nahin to Muang Xay.

In 1992, the districts Paktha and Pha Oudom were reassigned to Bokeo province.

Ethnic Minorities
The exact proportions of the approximately 14 different ethnic groups living in Oudomxay are still not precisely known. According to the province administration, the following estimations can be assumed:
 * Khmu (among them Khmu Lu, Khmu Khong, Khmu Am, Khmu Bit) 60–80 %
 * Lao Loum 25 %
 * Hmong (among them Hmong Khao, Hmong Dam und Hmong lai) 15 %

In minor percentages, these ethnic groups also live in the province:
 * Akha
 * Phouthai (Thai Dam & Thai Khao)
 * Phou Noy (Phou Xang, Phou Kongsat, Phou Nhot)
 * Lao Houy (also „Lenten“)
 * Phouan
 * Ly
 * Yang
 * Ikho
 * Ho

Climate
Oudomxay Province has got a moderate monsoon climate. Due to high altitudes there are more variations in temperature during the year and a colder dry season in northern Laos as in the rest of the country. The yearly amount of rain is about 1,900mm–2,600mm. Temperatures in Febuary and March average between 18 and 19 °C, from April to May temperatures climb over 31 °C.
 * April to September: Rainy season
 * October to January: Cold dry season
 * Febuary to March: Warm dry season

Infrastructure
Due to the particular topographic conditions in Oudomxay, improvements of infrastructure are very difficult and costly. Therefore for example the expansion of the road networks are only very slowly pressed ahead. Many villages do not have any access to roads - a condition, which impedes an access to important social facilities as schools or hospitals. The population of these villages is furthermore cut off the regional markets, where otherwise they could sell their agricultural products. It is also very difficult or even impossible for administrative institutions to reach the people living in remote areas.

The extremely limited accessibility of the mountain villages additionally impedes economic development of rural regions.

In many areas, electricity supply of households is under 10 %. Only in the few bigger towns like Muang Xay a sufficient supply of electricity is garanteed.

Agriculture and Forestry
Approximately 40,000 hectares of land are cultivated in Oudomxay, with rice being the main crop.

Subsistence Agriculture
In Oudomxay province, most of the population still practices subsistence agriculture. Predominantly "slash-and-burn"-agriculture is used, often linked with growing mountain rice – 45 % of rural villages in Oudomxay depend on swidden agriculture, due to the province's mountainous topography. This form of agriculture is very labour-intensive and takes up huge areas of land, as soils need a long time until their original productivity is recovered.

Cropping rice using the wet-field paddy system is just possible in plain lowlands, which, in Oudomxay, are scarce.

Both mountain rice grown at the mountain sides, aswell as most of the few cultivable areas in the lowlands are merely irrigated by natural rainfalls. Very few rice fields in the lowlands have artificial irrigation systems.

Besides rice, other important crops are corn, soybeans, fruits, vegetables, cassava (maniok), sugarcane, tobacco, cotton wool, tea and peanuts.

In cooperation with international organisations, the government is working to increase production intensity proposing a sustainable usage of natural ressources.

Besides the use of land for agricultural purposes, approximately 40,000 hectares of land are aforested or used as meadows. Lifestock breeding, above all of water buffalos, pigs, cattle and chickens, is an important component for the livelihood of rural population. According to estimations of the IUCN, approximately 12% of Oudomxay forests are primary forests, 48 % secondary forests. For the population, the forests are not only source of wood, but also contribute to family incomes providing fruits, herbs and meat.

Cash Crops
The region, which was merely dominated by shifting cultivation and subsistence agriculture for a long time, now opens more and more for using the uplands for multifunctional and commercial purposes.

Besides traditional subsistence agriculture, "Cash Crops" got more important in the past years, corn and sugarcane being the most important export products: In 2004, approximately 10,000 tons of sugarcane and 45,000 tons of corn were produced. Besides, also onions, watermelons and tobacco are exported. Amounts of production vary strongly from year to year, as world market prices change and give different impulsions for the farmers choosing between different crops.

This is especially to consider when talking about sugarcane and corn - agricultural products, which are mainly exported to China, where they are processed to industrial sugar or alcohol. Further processing in the region, Oudomxay, is not practiced - a lost opportunity to open up new possibilities to create added value.

Often individual farmers agree to contracts with Chinese investors who offer better emblements as usual, but who also determine the product to be cultivated, aswell as its price. Thereby, a certain dependence is created, which is common practice on the world market. It is also common that Lao cultivable land is rented to Chinese, which then is tilled by Chinese migratory labourers.

Biota
Vegetation in Oudomxay is rich by virtue of the monsoon climate. Several kinds of bamboo and a broad range of bloomy plants (for example orchids) are to find in the region. Also hardwoods like teak and mahogany trees grow in Oudomxay and are important sources of income for the population.

Mineral Resources
Oudomxay disposes of salt, bronze, zinc, antimony, brown coal, kaolin and iron deposits.

Administration
The province consists of the following districts:

Weblinks

 * Information about Oudomxay, Tourism Department Oudomxay

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