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1000 Miles LyricsArtist: GrinspoonAlbum: New Detention shot my family left my home went out on a killing spree coz what you did was fucked to me [Chorus] a thousand miles come get all your files put on that plastic smile a thousand miles go go go , go go go, go go go, go go go when i got down and said to me she made me part of history well i go drunk and i got stoned, left my family all alone, go go go [Chorus] a thousand miles come get all your files and all that frequent smiles and all that plastic smile [Chorus]
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Buy Tickets New Releases
Show From Series
Sunday, April 7
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New Releases
From foreign delights to must-see indies and riveting documentaries, some of the best new films show year-round at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Upcoming titles include A Tale of Winter, Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation, and Antonio Gaudi. Read more »

subset: commoncrawl


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Two weeks should be the minimum amount of notice an employee should give if he doesn't want to burn bridges with an employer. Even then, the employer won't have much time to replace the employee if that person is in a critical role. If possible, giving even more notice is preferable.
The key here is to leave on good terms with the employer. You never know when you'll need a good reference or something else that won't be provided by an angry, former employer. Employees come and go and everyone understands that. However, it is always in the employee's best interest to leave on good terms when possible. Any brief satisfaction that comes with telling an employer to "take this job and shove it" could be outweighed by the negative consequences of using that tactic.


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A multistrategy approach to theory refinement (1991)
Download Links
Venue: | In Proceedings of the International Workshop on Multistrategy Learning |
Citations: | 40 - 5 self |
author = {Raymond J. Mooney and Dirk Ourston},
title = {A multistrategy approach to theory refinement},
booktitle = {In Proceedings of the International Workshop on Multistrategy Learning},
year = {1991},
pages = {pages}
Years of Citing Articles
This chapter describes a multistrategy system that employs independent modules for deductive, abductive, and inductive reasoning to revise an arbitrarily incorrect propositional Horn-clause domain theory to t a set of preclassi ed training instances. By combining such diverse methods, Either is able to handle a wider range of imperfect theories than other theory revision systems while guaranteeing that the revised theory will be consistent with the training data. Either has successfully revised two actual expert theories, one in molecular biology and one in plant pathology. The results con rm the hypothesis that using a multistrategy system to learn from both theory and data gives better results than using either theory or data alone. 1


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Deal expired!
This deal has expired but you can still find lots of awesome Plugins deals below:
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WP Auctions makes it incredibly easy to run auctions on your WordPress site. It's easy to set up and is already in use by tens of thousands of users, and can be used for everything from auctioning off ad space to selling used or new products. Your first auction can be online in a matter of minutes. And through this spectacular deal, you can get it for over 50% off the regular price of $89 — just $39 for the single site Pro license or $132 for the multi-site Pro Plus license (instead of the regular price of $299).
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- Reserve prices: Set a reserve price so you don't have to sell if you don't reach a minimum base price.
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With this amazing offer, you'll get the WP Auctions plugin plus a full year of free updates - all for just $39 (regular $89) for the single site Pro license, or choose the multi-site Pro Plus license for $132 (regular $299). The Pro Plus license allows you to use it on an unlimited number of domains and includes support. It's never been available at such a low price before, and likely never will again!
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Botnet Called 'Practically Indestructible'
The March earthquake and tsunami in Japan were devastating, but the country's data centers were protected by giant "shock absorbers."
SMART CONSTRUCTION and good planning allowed Japan's data centers to survive the massive arthquake that rocked the country in March, a Japanese data center execu tive said last late month at the Datacenter Dynamics conference in San Francisco.
IT managers in Japan had to grapple with blackouts and shortages of generator fuel, but none of Japan's data centers was severely damaged or knocked offline by the disaster, said Atsushi Yamanaka, a general manager at IDC Frontier, which operates data centers for Yahoo Japan and other clients.
Modern data centers in Japan are built on giant "shock absorbers" — isolators made from metal and rubber on which buildings "float" while the ground beneath shakes from side to side.
Some data centers also have floorlevel and racklevel isolators, Yamanaka said, and all server racks are secured firmly to the floor. "I see some U.S. data centers with racks just sitting on the floor, and you don't see that in Japan," he said.
The shock absorbers are most effective at the building level, Yamanaka said, and some of those at the rack level did not work during the earth quake. Nevertheless, he said, only five server racks were critically damaged in all of Japan's data centers.
Disaster recovery plans generally went smoothly. Where power was cut off, unin terruptible power supplies and generators kicked in, and companies were quick to order more fuel, Yamanaka said.
– James Niccolai, IDG News Service
A new and improved botnet that has infected 4. 5 million Windows PCs is "practically indestructible," security researchers say.
TDL- 4, the name for both the bot Trojan that infects machines and the ensuing collection of compromised computers, is "the most sophisticated threat today," reported Kaspersky Labs researcher Sergey Golovanov late last month.
"[TDL- 4] is practically indestructible," Golovanov said.
"It does a very good job of maintaining itself," agreed Joe Stewart, a botnet expert and director of malware research at Dell Secure Works.
Golovanov and Stewart said TDL- 4 has traits that make it extremely tough to detect, delete, suppress or eradicate.
TDL- 4 infects the master boot record of the PC with a rootkit, which makes it invisible to both the operating system and security software designed to sniff out malicious code.
What makes the botnet indestruc-tible is the combination of its ad-vanced encryptionand the use of apublic peer-to-peernetwork for theinstructions issued to the malwareby command-and-control servers.
"The way peer-to-peer is used for TDL- 4 will make it extremely hard to take down this botnet," said Roel Schouwenberg, senior malware researcher at Kaspersky.
— GReGG KeIzeR
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Like it or not, the holidays are coming, and so is the stress.
For families and individuals also in the midst of a caregiving crisis or senior care decision-making process, that stress is magnified.
No matter how or if you celebrate any of the upcoming holidays, it is a time of year when depression among seniors runs high, as does burnout among caregivers. When it seems like everyone around you is talking about celebrating, about giving gifts and getting together with family and friends, it's difficult to avoid the overwhelming feelings of sadness and grief over recent and past losses.
As it's also the end of 2012, it means a time of reflecting on the year's losses and changes; for caregivers who have been pushing, pushing, pushing, it means slowing down and (hopefully) seeking respite, realizing that you need a break or need help to better meet your loved one's care needs in the days and years ahead.
During today's #ElderCareChat, a bi-monthly real-time Twitter conversation that we co-moderate with Denise Brown of Caregiving.com (@caregiving), we'll be sharing ways to transform the holiday trauma into tranquility. Get more information about #ElderCareChat here; hope you'll join us at 1pm ET to share your best holiday stress-busting tips!
Read more posts about handling the senior care stresses of the holiday season here.


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Tested by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute
Curel Hand & Cuticle Therapy Cream
Product Review
About GHRI Ratings
XGood Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) ratings are based on laboratory tests conducted by our scientists at the U.S.'s foremost consumer products evaluation laboratory, and incorporate consumer feedback. GHRI is situated on the 29th floor of the Hearst Tower in New York City and is staffed by chemists, engineers, nutritionists, textile specialists, culinary experts, and other scientists.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, GHRI experts test consumer products — from microwaves to mascaras — for their performance, safety, and, with the help of volunteer testers, ease of use.
Established in 1900, before there was a Federal Drug Administration or a Federal Trade Commission, GHRI has always been the most trusted source consumers can rely on to choose products that are safe and effective.
This drugstore-deal includes heavy-duty ingredients like petroleum and paraffin yet it still boasts a surprising, light texture. And when we measured its hydrating effects, it provided great moisturization in the lab even after six hours. Consumer testers generally liked this formula, particularly its subtle scent, but several commented that it made their hands feel "greasy," "slimy," or "sticky" after application.
Fragrance: Unscented
Price per oz.: $2
GHRI Tested: Lotions
- Aveda Hand Relief Cream
- Aveeno Intense Moisture Skin Relief Hand Cream
- Curel Hand & Cuticle Therapy Cream
- Eucerin Intensive Repair Extra-Enriched Hand Creme
- Jurlique Rose Hand Cream
- Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve
- Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
- Nivea Extended Moisture Hand Cream with Hydra IQ
- Philosophy Hands of Hope Hand and Cuticle Cream
- The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector Cream
- Vaseline Intensive Rescue Healing Hand Cream
- Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream
Special Offer


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Human Resource Positions Include:
Call or contact Opus Staffing now for more info and to get started! (631) 756-2400 - (212) 551-3571
Customer Service Representative Excellent opportunity for a personable and motivated Customer Service Representative to utilize their strong communication and interpersonal skills in a fast paced environment. Great opportunity with strong benefits! Public Relations Manager – Melville, NY Large well-known company has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Public Relations Manager with a Bachelor's in Communication or Marketing and a minimum of 12 years experience. Competitive salary and benefits package!!
Executive Receptionist- Great Neck, NY Great opportunity for a polished, professional and organized Executive Receptionist to work at a manufacturing company that offers a competitive salary, exceptional benefits and career advancement. Strong organization and communication skills required. Great growth potential!! Operations Assistant- West Babylon, NY Multiple opportunities available for a personable, professional and Bilingual Spanish Operations Assistant with strong communication skills. Utilize your advanced customer service, organizational and time management skills to handle the day to day office operations in a fast paced environment. Wonderful people; make a home here! Microbiology Supervisor – Plainview, NY Opus Scientific is conducting a search for a microbiology professional, with strong interpersonal skills, to supervise the microbiology department at a growing organization in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Minimum 5 years experience and BA/BS required. Great opportunity to work for a company that recognizes your talent and offers a competitive salary and great benefit
Analytical Chemist – Plainview, NY Excellent opportunity for an organized and professional Analytical Chemist with strong quantitative and communication skills to work for a growing organization with a competitive salary and great benefit packages. Minimum 2 years gas chromatography experience and a BS required. Set-Up Operator- Encapsulation – Hauppauge, NY Great opportunity for a motivated, focused and detail-oriented Set-Up Operator to work for a leader in the natural health industry. Ensure efficient and quality standards for operation of tablet press and capsule filling machinery. Minimum 3 years prior experience in a manufacturing environment as a machine operator using tablet compression and/or encapsulation machine
Junior Formulator – Hauppauge, NY Work at great manufacturing company in the natural healthy industry. Be responsible for the product formulation and troubleshooting of existing products and procedures in production; ensure physical parameters of product life cycle from inception to shelf life. BS in Pharmacy required. Great opportunity!
Search All Jobs
We have partnered with Opus Staffing's Direct Hire department consistently over the past 11 years, and find them to be professional and easy to work with. They have demonstrated the ability to find us candidates that not only meet our job requirements, but also flourish within our corporate environment. Susan, HR manager
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Gear Question
I just found my bro's old skate banana and...
I just found my bro's old skate banana and want to make it into a dedicated jib deck, but I need some relatively cheap jib oriented bindings ($160 and under at dogfunk's current sale prices). So far I'm thinking these, flux rk30s, or burton cobrasharks. What should I get? I'm open to other suggestions too.
Brandon Collett
I really don't think you'd be disappointed with any of those 3 options. I personally have ridden the contacts a bunch and they are perfect for a jib set up - comfy and soft. I have friends that ride the RK30s and cobrasharks and they seem to feel the same way about them. The unions are probably the softest option with the flux close behind and then the cobrasharks. Hope this helps!
View More Details on Union Contact Snowboard Binding


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Job Description: Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers use a variety of common and specialized hand tools and equipment to design and manufacture new pieces of jewelry; cut, set, and polish gem stones; repair or adjust rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other jewelry; and appraise jewelry, precious metals, and gems.
Training and Educational Qualifications: Jewelers usually learn their trade in vocational or technical schools, through distance learning centers, or on the job. Colleges and art and design schools offer programs that can lead to the degrees of bachelor or master of fine arts in jewelry design. Formal training in the basic skills of the trade enhances one's employment and advancement opportunities. Many employers prefer jewelers with design, repair, and sales skills.
Job Outlook: Employment of jewelers and precious stone and metal workers is expected to experience little or no change. Many employers have difficulty finding and retaining jewelers with the right skills and the necessary knowledge. Some technological advances have made jewelry making more efficient; however, many tasks cannot be fully automated.
Salary: Median annual earnings for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers are $29,750. The middle 50 percent earn between $22,390 and $40,160. The lowest 10 percent earn less than $17,760, and the highest 10 percent earn more than $54,940.
Significant Facts:
• About half of all jewelers are self employed
• Jewelers usually learn their trade in vocational or technical schools, through distance-learning centers, or on the job. Jewelry designers usually have degrees in design and in particular, jewelry design.
• Prospects for new jewelers should be excellent; many employers have difficulty finding and retaining workers with the right skills to replace those who retire or who leave the occupation for other reasons.
Which companies have the best internships in this field and are known to help launch successful careers?
Tiffany, Liz Claiborne, and small local businesses.
Where are the best cities to live to find jobs like yours?
New York is the place for corporate jobs, but smaller more art related jewelry jobs can be found in various parts of California, Massachusetts, Washington State and also abroad in Germany, London and Paris.
What is your typical day like?
I have several meetings throughout the day and lots of projects, deadlines, and waiting for approvals due to a very long list of chain of command. I work late often sometimes until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. or even midnight.
What are your job responsibilities?
Trend and color development. We work to create a "market message" and interpretation of current fashion trends appropriate for our brand. Doing that includes other aspects of my job such as sketching, research and development trips to China. I also manage freelancers and junior designers and communicate daily with the vice president, looping her into what's going on and getting approvals. I initiate designs, finding the hot items and making sure we register them in our lines.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Color palette development, designing actual groups and attending design presentations.
What do you dislike about your job?
Chains of command and pointless meetings. Lack of trust from higher levels to empower people to make the right decisions.
How did you know you wanted to pursue this career?
I sort of fell into it when I was 14 years old and started the design school back in Croatia. All my friends wanted to be in the popular departments, such as painting and graphic design. I figured I should try something different.
Describe how you got into this industry and how you got your most recent job.
I moved to New York five days before September 11, 2001. I did not have a job or anything lined up, but I answered a few ads after that horrible day and started in a customer service position at a fine jewelry company. I found my most recent job through a posting on stylecareer. com, a Web site that is geared towards fashion positions. I applied and went on six interviews. Then I had to do a design project. After that, I was hired.
If you weren't doing this job, what similar careers might you consider?
Architecture or shoe design.
To what professional associations do you belong and what professional publications do you read?
I attend Jewelry Design Professional Network (JDPN) presentations and I read Ganoskin, which is all about jewelry design
What advice do you have for others who would like to pursue this career?
There are many aspects of this career. I never thought that I would be working a corporate job, but I readily fell into it. You must be ready to try things and continue to challenge yourself. Always be open to trying/learning something new. It will keep you fresh and it will keep your views changing. Even when you must take the convoluted way to get to a point, embrace the process; the end result is that much more enjoyable.


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Terriers snap up defender McCombe
Huddersfield Town have signed Bristol City centre-back Jamie McCombe for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.McCombe, 27, is manager Lee Clark's second signing in as many days, following the arrival of Lee Croft from Derby County on a six-month loan. Clark told the club website: "He is one that's been on my radar for a long time. He will be a massive asset. "Jamie will give us a physical presence and he's very good in both penalty areas but can also play with the ball." McCombe, who wa.... read more
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Spend just a little time paying attention to the news coming out of Washington, D.C. — or any state capitol, or any city hall — and you'll probably wonder, as I do, if anyone in the "halls of power" actually pays any attention to anything their constituents says — outside, of course, of the polls that tell them what they need to say to get re-elected.
Yesterday, Dallas Voice reader Ron Heath of Fort Worth reinforced my belief that the "leaders" don't pay any attention when he forwarded to me an email he had received in response after writing to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, one of two Republicans that represent Texas in Congress.
Heath had written to his senator about DOMA — the Defense of Marriage Act. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against DOMA, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in any way, including those same-sex marriages conducted in jurisdictions where they legally recognized. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama instructed the Department of Justice not to continue to defend portions of DOMA in court, after which Republicans in the House of Representatives promptly decided to hire their own lawyers and pay them to defend DOMA.
Also, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote today on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would effectively repeal DOMA and give legally married same-sex couples the federal benefits, privileges and responsibilities they have so far been denied.
Ron Heath was encouraging Sen. Cornyn to vote in favor of repealing DOMA. Sen. Cornyn, or whoever reads his correspondence, apparently wasn't paying any attention. Read Cornyn's response to Heath after the jump:


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Please take this quick survey so we can better understand how Protected Planet is used.
XHey friend, could you provide us a wikipedia URL with a good description of this protected area?
Please, be sure that you are suggesting an english language wikipedia URL (http://en.wiki....)
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Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng (Vietnamese: Vườn quốc gia Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng) is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Bố Trạch and Minh Hóa districts of central Quảng Bình Province in the North Central Coast region, about 500 km south of Hanoi. The park borders the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in Khammouane Province, Laos to the west and 42 km east of the South China Sea from its borderline point. Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park is situated in a limestone zone of 2,000 km2 in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone zone of 2,000 km2 of Hin Namno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 857.54 km2 and a buffer zone of 1,954 km2.
The park was created to protect one of the world's two largest karst regions with 300 caves and grottoes and also protects the ecosystem of limestone forest of the Annamite Range region in North Central Coast of Vietnam.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottos with a total length of about 70 km, of which only 20 have been surveyed by Vietnamese and British scientists; 17 of these are in located in the Phong Nha area and three in the Kẻ Bàng area. After April 2009, total length of caves and grottoes are 126 km. Before the discovery of the Sơn Đoòng Cave, Phong Nha held several world cave records, as it has the longest underground river, as well as the largest caverns and passageways.
The park derives it name from Phong Nha Cave, containing many fascinating rock formations, and Kẻ Bàng forest. The plateau on which the park is situated is probably one of the finest and most distinctive examples of a complex karst landform in Southeast Asia. This national park was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2003 for its geological values as defined in its criteria viii. In April 2009, the world's largest cave, was discovered by a team of British cave explorers of British Caving Association.
Champa inscriptions carved on steles and altars in the cave demonstrate that people had inhabited the cave long before the area was annexed by Vietnam in the Nam tiến or southward expansion. In 1550, Dương Văn An was the first Vietnamese man to write about Phong Nha cave. This cave was depicted in 9 urns in the Citadel of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Huế. In 1824, The cave was conferred the title "Diệu ứng chi thần" (妙應之神) by King Minh Mạng. It was also conferred by Nguyen kings as "Thần Hiển Linh" (神顯靈).
In the late 19th century, Léopold Michel Cadière, a French Roman Catholic priest, conducted an expedition to explore Phong Nha cave, where he discovered Champa scripts. He proclaimed Phong Nha cave "The number one cave of Indochina". In July 1924, an English expeditionist (surnamed Barton) stated that Phong Nha cave is second to none of famous caves of Padirac (France), Cuevas del Drach (Spain). In 1935, a local inhabitant accidentally discovered a beautiful cave 1 km from the mouth of Phong Nha cave, at an elevation of 200 meters. It was called Tien Son cave (lit.: Fairy-tale cave), or Dry cave because its inside landscape is similar to fairy-tales and it has no underground river.
In 1937, the Bureau of Tourism of French Resident Superior (in Huế) issued a brochure to introduce tourism in Quảng Bình and Phong Nha Cave was included in this introduction. This tour site is ranked second in French Indochina. Before 1990, several explorations were conducted by Vietnamese and foreign groups but the mystery of this area still remained. From 1990 on, there marked a turning point in discovering activities, from exploration to research, thus full documents for submission to UNESCO for World Natural Heritage nomination were made available.
IN 1990, for the first time, Hanoi University accepted the cooperation proposal of the British Cave Research Association. They combined efforts in exploring and researching caves and grottoes in the area comprehensively. The first exploration was conducted in 1990 by a group from the British Cave Research Association and Faculty for Geology and Geography of Hanoi University, led by Howard Limbert. They completed research of a large part of Vom Cave. In 1992, the second exploration was conducted by a group of 12 British scientists, six professors from Hanoi University. This time, this group completed their exploration of 7,729 m of Phong Nha Cave and 13,690 m of Vom Cave and adjacent caves and grottos. In 1994, a third exploration was carried out by a group of 11 British scientists and five Vietnamese professors of Hanoi University. In 1999 scientists from the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre also conducted zoological and botanical surveys in the Kẻ Bàng area. Based on the results of these three explorations, more information about the caves and grottoes made available to the Vietnamese and local government for the protection, planning, and tourism development of this park.
In 2005, scientists from the British Cave Research Association discovered a new cave and named it Paradise Cave (động Thiên Đường). The newly discovered cave was acclaimed by the British scientists as "the largest and the most beautiful cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng area".
On June 1, 2006, the Ministry of Culture and Information of Vietnam issued a stamp collection of depicting various landscapes found in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng.
In April 2009, a group of cave explorers from British Caving Association conducted survey in this park and adjacent areas. The biggest chamber of Sơn Đoòng is more than five (5) kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these dimensions, Sơn Đoòng overtakes Deer Cave in Malaysia to take the title of the world's largest cave. At the same time they found new caves and grottoes in the park and adjacent area. In this survey, the cave British explorers discovered 20 new caves with total length of 56 km, including world's largest cave, Sơn Đoòng.
Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park is located in the territories of communes (Vietnamese: xã): Tan Trach, Thuong Trach, Phuc Trach, Xuan Trach and Son Trach of Bố Trạch District and a small part of Minh Hóa District in the center of Quảng Bình Province, around 40 km north-west of the provincial capital city of Đồng Hới. The park is bordered by the Hin Namno karst area of Khammouane Province of Laos in the west. Road distances are about 500 km south of the capital Hanoi and 260 km north of the port city of Đà Nẵng. The geographical coordinates are 17°32′14″N 106°9′4.5″E / 17.53722°N 106.151250°E / 17.53722; 106.151250.
The park is situated around 30 km west of the South China Sea and National Route 1A, near Hồ Chí Minh Highway and 28 km west of the Hanoi–Saigon Railway, and is accessible by road or waterway through an estuary in the South China Sea. There is a small airport near the park accessible by helicopter or small aircraft (Khe Gat Airbase), an airbase used by the North Vietnamese Air Force during the Vietnam War, notably in the Battle of Đồng Hới.
Before becoming a national park, this area had been a nature reserve. The Phong Nha Nature Reserve with an area of 50 km2 was officially declared by the Vietnamese government on 9 August 1986 and was extended to 411.32 km2 by 1991. On 12 December 2001, the Vietnamese Prime Minister by Decision 189/2001 189/2001/QĐ-TTG turning then a nature reserve into a national park. The purpose of this protected area is to protect forest resources, biodiversity within the boundary of this national park and to preserve scientific values of fauna and flora in Bắc Trung Bộ region, especially rare species native to this region. The park covers a total area of 857.54 km2 which are divided into three zones, a "strictly protected zone" (648.94 km2), an "ecological recovery zone" (174.49 km2), and an "administrative service zone" (34.11 km2).
Like North Central Coast in general, and Quảng Bình Province in particular, the climate in Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng national park is tropically hot and humid. The annual mean temperature is 23 to 25 °C, with a maximum of 41 °C in the summer and a minimum of 6 °C in the winter. The hottest months in this region fall from June to August, with an average temperature of 28 °C, and the coldest months from December to February with an average temperature of 18 °C. Annual rainfall is 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm, and 88% of the rainfall is from July to December. With more than 160 rainy days per year, no month is without rain. Mean annual relative humidity is 84%.
The Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng karst has evolved since the Paleozoic (some 400 million years ago) and so is the oldest major karst area in Asia. It has been subject to massive tectonic changes, and comprises a series of rock types that are interbedded in complex ways. Probably as many as seven different major levels of karst development have occurred as a result of tectonic uplift and changing sea levels, thus the karst landscape of PNKB is extremely complex with high geodiversity and many geomorphic features of considerable significance. Like much of Vietnam, it has been subject to extensive tectonic change, and so the limestones of Phong Nha are inter-bedded with a number of other rocks. There is also strong evidence that sulphurous solution and hydrothermal action have played an important role in shaping the broad-scale landscape and the caves, though this has not yet been properly assessed. The Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng area today is a result of 5 stages of Earth's crust development and movement in this area:
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park is one of the world's two largest limestone regions. In comparison with 41 other world heritage sites which have karsts, Phong Nha has dissimilar geomorphic, geologic and biotic conditions. The karsts of Phong Nha can be traced back to Palaeozoic era, 400 million years ago. This makes Phong Nha the oldest major karst in Asia. If the Hin Namno, bordering Phong Nha on the west (in Laotian territory) was to be combined with the national park in a continuous reserve, the combined reserve would be the largest surviving karst forest in southeastern Asia (317,754 ha).
In general, there are two groups of landforms in the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng area, namely non-karstic and karstic landforms. Non-karstic landforms includes three types: The middle and low dome-block mountains developed in intrusive magmatic massifs; The middle denudation-structural mountain belts developed in terrigenous rocks of Cretaceous age; and The low block-denudational mountain belts developed in other terrigenous rocks. Karstic landforms in this area are of typical tropical karst which are divided into two groups of forms: The karstic forms on the surface including cone and tower karst, karrens, valleys and dolines, border polje, etc.; The underground karst consisting of caves.
In comparison with three other national parks listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in Southeast Asia, namely Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysia, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan of the Philippines and Lorentz National Park in West Irian of Indonesia and some other karst regions in Thailand, China, Papua New Guinea, karst in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is older, has more complicated geological structure; diverse and complex underground rivers.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng contains two dozens of mountain peaks with over 1,000 metres in height. Noteworthy peaks are the Peak Co Rilata with ta height of 1,128 m and the Peak Co Preu with a height of 1,213 m. Mounts in karstic area of the park rise at typical height of above 800 m constitute a continuous range along Laotian-Vietnamese borderline, of which notable summits above 1000 m are: Phu Tạo (1174 m), Co Unet (1150 m), Phu Canh (1095 m), Phu Mun (1078 m), Phu Tu En (1078 m), Phu On Chinh (1068 m), Phu Dung (1064 m), Phu Tu Ôc (1053 m), Phu Long (1015 m), Phu Ôc (1015 m), Phu Dong (1002 m). Inserting into these summits are 800–1000 m high summits of Phu Sinh (965 m), Phu Co Tri (949 m), Phu On Boi (933 m), Phu Tu (956 m), Phu Toan (905 m), Phu Phong (902 m) and núi Ma Ma (835 m).
Non-karstic topograhical area accounts for a low percentage, distributing mainly in outer circle of limestone in the north, northeast and southeast of this national park. The height of these summits varies from 500-1000 m with the deep divisions and high sloping level from 25-30°. There are some narrow valleys along streams such as Am creek, Cha Lo creek, Chua Ngút creek and a valley along Rao Thuong river in the southernmost edge. In the north-south direction, there exists notable summits: Phu Toc Vu (1000 m), Mã Tác (1068 m), Cổ Khu (886 m), U Bò (1009 m), Co Rilata (1128 m); The highest summit in the non-karstic area and also the highest summt of this national park is Co Preu (1213 m), a summit in the southernmost edge of the park.
Besides the grotto and cave systems, Phong Nha has the longest underground river. The Sơn and Chay are the main rivers in this national park. Most of caves here have been shaped by Son and Chay Rivers. The Son River flows into the mouth of the Phong Nha cave and keeps on underground, where it is called as the Nam Aki River. It emerges 20 km to the south near Pu-Pha-Dam Mountain. There are spectacular streams, springs and waterfalls in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, namely: Gió waterfall, Madame Loan waterfall, Mọc stream erupting from a limestone mount range, and Trạ Ang stream.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is home to the largest cave in the world and covers 300 different grottoes and caves. Before Sơn Đoòng cave was found, Phong Nha Cave was regarded by British Caving Association as the top cave in the world due to its top four records: the longest underground river, the highest and longest cave, broadest and most beautiful fine sand beaches inside the caves, and the most spectacular stalagmites and stalactites. In the survey conducted in April 2009, the British cave explorers discovered 20 new caves with total length of 56 km, including world's largest cave Son Doong. According to the assessment of UNESCO, "The karst formation of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park has evolved since the Palaeozoic (some 400 million years ago) and so is the oldest major karst area in Asia" and "Phong Nha displays an impressive amount of evidence of earth's history. It is a site of very great importance for increasing our understanding of the geologic, geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region."
The name Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is composed of Phong Nha (cave) and Kẻ Bàng (limestone forest). Phong Nha is widely explained as originating from Hán Nôm 风 牙, which means wind-tooth (wind flowing from the cave and stalactites and stalagmites inside the cave looking like teeth), but other theorires suggest that Phong Nha is the name of a nearby village and therefore, its name has nothing to do with wind and teeth as widely explained
According to Lê Quý Đôn, Phong Nha was the former name of a nearby village. Another theory suggests that Phong Nha derived its name from the imagination that mounts in this region standing in line looks similar to the scene of mandarins in front of the king in royal courts, therefore, it was named Phong Nha. Phong (峰) means "summit" and nha (衙) means "mandarin". Other names for the Phong Nha cave include: Thầy Tiên cave, Thầy Mount, and Troóc cave.
This cave, from which the name to the whole system and the park is derived, is famous for its rock formations which have been given names such as the "Lion", the "Fairy Caves", the "Royal Court", and the "Buddha". This cave is 7729 m long, contains 14 grottos, with a 13,969 m-long underground river. The scientists have surveyed 44.5 km of grottos in this cave so far, but tourists can only penetrate to a distance of 1500 m.
Phong Nha Cave, like most of the caves in this area, has been continuously shaped by the Chay River. As one gets farther into the cave, the more illusory the stalactites and stalagmites look as they glitter when bright light is shone on them. The Son River flows into the mouth of the cave and keeps flowing underground, where it is referred to as the Nam Aki River, then this river emerges at a site 20 km to the south near Pu Pha Dam Mountain. The main Phong Nha cave includes 14 chambers, connected by an underwater river that runs for 1.5 km. Secondary corridors branch off in all directions. The Outer Cave and some of the Inner Caves have roofs that tower between 25 and 40 meters above the water level. From the 14th chamber there may be other corridors leading to similarly large chambers, but this area proves more dangerous for explorers because of the ongoing erosion of the limestone of the cavern. The Shallow Cave is located 800 meters from the cave mouth, where there is a spectacular landscape of sand and rock. Stalactites and stalagmites jut out like strange trees, exciting visitor's imaginations.
Notable caves and grottoes in the Phong Nha Cave system include:
Tiên Sơn cave is located in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park. The cave was discovered by a local inhabitant by accident in 1935. It is located in Sơn Trach Commune in Bố Trạch. The entry mouth of Tiên Sơn is 1 km from Phong Nha cave, at an altitude of 200 m. This cave is 980 m in length. A 10 m deep hole is situated 400 m from the entry mouth, then a 500 m long underground cave, dangerous for tourists and open to professional expeditionists only. Like Phong Nha cave, this cave features spectacular stalactites and stalagmites shaped like several fairy-tales. Stalactite and stalagmite columns and walls here create strange sounds like that of gong and drum if they are knocked with the hand. According to British cave scientists, Tiên Sơn cave was created tens of million years ago when a water current holed this limestone mount in Kẻ Bàng. Following a series of landforms and movement of rocks, this mass was levered or lowered, blocking the current and creating what is now Tiên Sơn cave while the underground river redirected its current to Phong Nha cave. Although Phong Nha and Tiên Sơn caves are located next to each other, there are no linking grottos between them.
Thiên Đường "Paradise" Cave is a newly found cave in this area. Prior to the discovery of Sơn Đoòng cave, it was regarded as the largest and longest cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng. Some of the most beautiful and spectacular stalactites and stalagmites in the park are found within Thiên Đường. The cave was discovered by a local man in 2005. The first 5 km of this cave was explored by explorers from the British Cave Research Association in 2005; later they in 2010 the whole 31 km was explored and announced by the association.
At 31 km long, Thiên Đường cave is longer than Phong Nha cave, previously considered the longest cave in this national park. The height can reach to 100 m and 150 wide. The limestone formation is also more spectacular than that of Phong Nha Cave. The British cave explorers was impressed by the beauty of the rock formation inside the cave, they named it "Paradise Cave" (Thiên Đường in Vietnamese). Access road and tourist facilities was built by Truong Thinh Group, it was opened up to tourists on 3 September 2010 with a 1.1 km path to see the formations.
Sơn Đoòng cave (in Vietnamese: Hang Sơn Đoòng, meaning Mountain River Cave) is a relatively recently discovered cave in the national park. Found by a local man and explored and publicly announced by the British cave scientists of the British Cave Research Association, it is regarded as the largest cave in the world. The biggest chamber of Sơn Đoòng is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these tremendous dimensions, Sơn Đoòng overtakes Deer Cave of Malaysia to take the title of world's largest cave. Because the fast flowing underground river in the cave deterred the explorers from going farther, they were only able to estimate the length of the cave using a flashlight.
The cave was found by a man named Hồ-Khanh in 1991. The local jungle men were afraid of the cave for the whistling sound it makes from the underground river. However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng from 10–14 April 2009. Their progress was stopped by a large calcite wall.
According to the Limberts, this cave is five times larger than the Phong Nha Cave, previously considered the biggest cave in Vietnam. The biggest chamber of Sơn Đoòng is over five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide. With these dimensions, Sơn Đoòng overtook Deer Cave in Malaysia to take the title of the world's largest cave.
The park is part of the Annamites eco-region. By far the largest vegetation type is tropical dense moist evergreen forest on limestone under 800 m above sea level. 96.2% of this national park is covered with forest, 92.2% of which is intact primary forest. 74.7% (1104.76 km2) of the park is covered with evergreen tropical wet forest on limestone rocks at the elevation of under 800 m; 8.5% (126 km2) is evergreen tropical wet forest on limestone rocks at an elevation higher than 800 m; 8.3% (122.2 km2) evergreen tropical wet forest on soil mounts at the elevation of under 800 m; evergreen tropical wet forest on limestone rocks at the elevation of under 800 m; 0.7% (10.7 km2) evergreen tropical wet forest on limestone rocks at the elevation of above 800; 1.1% impacted evergreen tropical wet forest on limestone rocks; 2.8% (42.12 km2) impacted evergreen tropical wet forest on soil mounts; 1.3% (1,925) grass, bush on limestone rocks; 2% (29.5 km2) grass, bush on soil mounts; permanent wetland forest: 1.8 km2; rattan and bamboo forest: 1.5 km2; and agricultural plants: 5.21 km2 or 0.3%. According to the results of initial surveys, the primary tropical forest in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng consists of 140 families, 427 genera, and 751 species of vascular plants, of which 36 species are endangered and listed in the Vietnam's Red Data Book.
The most common tree species in this park are Hopea sp., Sumbaviopsis albicans, Garcinia fragraeoides, Burretionendron hsienmu, Chukrasia tabularis, Photinia aroboreum and Dysospyros saletti. Seedlings can only grow in holes and cracks in the limestone where soil has accumulated, so in general regeneration after disturbance is slow. The forest type in this national park is dominated by evergreen tree species with scattered deciduous trees such as Dipterocarpus kerri, Anogeissus acuminate, Pometia pinnata and Lagerstroemia calyculata. In this park, the dominant plant families are the Lauraceae, Fagacaeae, Theaceae and Rosaceae, with some scattered gymnosperms such as Podocarpus imbricatus, Podocarpus neriifolius, and Nageia fleuryi.
In the park is a 50 km2 forest of Calocedrus macrolepis on limestone (Calocedrus rupestris) mounts with about 2,500 trees, 60,000 per km2. This is the largest forest with this tree in Vietnam. Most of the trees here are 500–600 years old. These trees are listed in group 2A (rare, precious and limited exploitation) of the official letter 3399/VPCP-NN dated 21 June 2002, an amendment to the Decree 48 by the Government of Vietnam. Hanoi National University, in combination with the Research Center of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, has discovered 1,320 additional species in this park, of which some groups are assessed as specially rare and precious. Biologists have discovered three rare orchid species. Orchids found here include: Paphiopedilum malipoense, Paphiopedilum dianthum, Paphiopedilum concolor. In 1996 IUCN classified these orchid species in danger of extinction in the near future.
The forest is also home to 98 families, 256 genera and 381 species of vertebrates. Sixty-six (66) animal species are listed in the Vietnam's Red Data Book and 23 other species in the World Red Book of Endangered Species. In 2005, a new species of gecko (Lygosoma boehmeiwas) was discovered here by a group of Vietnamese biologists together with biologists working for the park, Cologne Zoo in Germany and the Saint Petersburg Wild Zoology Institute in Russia. The Gaur and one species of eel have been discovered in this park. Ten new species never seen before in Vietnam were discovered by scientists in this national park.
The park is home to significant populations of primates in Vietnam, with ten species and sub-species. These include the globally vulnerable Pig-tailed macaque, Assam macaque, Stump-tailed macaque and White-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys and Nomascus leucogenys siki). The Park is probably home to the largest population of François' langur in Vietnam, including two different forms of the species. The area is highly significant for its population of Hatinh langur and Black langur. It is undoubtedly the largest population of these species in the world, and probably the only population represented in a protected area. Other endangered large mammals include the Mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), Giant muntjac (Megamuntiacus vuquangensis) and possibly the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). The Asian black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) and Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are confirmed. Other smaller mammals include Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) and the recently discovered Striped hare, called locally "tho van" (Nesolagus timminsii). Ten bat species listed in the IUCN List of Threatened Species have been recorded in this park.
Of the 59 recorded reptile and amphibian species, 18 are listed in Vietnam's Red Data Book and 6 are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Further research has increased the species numbers markedly, and the number of recorded amphibian species is now 50 and that of reptile species 101. The 72 fish species include 4 species endemic to the area, including Chela quangbinhensis. The park is home to over 200 bird species, inclusive of several rare birds such as: Chestnut-necklaced Partridge, Red-collared Woodpecker, Brown Hornbill, Sooty Babbler and Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler. There is good evidence for the Vietnamese Pheasant (Lophura hatinhensis) and Imperial Pheasant (Lophura imperialis) species at Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng area. An initiative survey conducted by Russian and Vietnamese scientists from Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre (funded by WWF) recorded 259 butterfly species of 11 families. Almost all major butterfly taxa in Vietnam can be found in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng park.
The oldest evidence of human occupation of the area are Neolithic axe heads and similar artifacts found in some of the caves. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is home to archeological and historical relics, such as an ancient hieroglyphic script of the Cham ethnic minority. In 1995, the Archeological Institute of Vietnam remarked that Phong Nha cave is probably an extremely important archeological site. This organization suggested that what remained in Bi Ky grotto may have been a Champa mosque from the 9th to 11th century. Inside Phong Nha cave, many Champa style ceramics, earthware vases with lotus-shaped ruby-colored, slight pink mouth.
In 1899, a French missioner, Léopold Cadière surveyed the customs and culture of the local inhabitants living along the Son River. In the letter to École française d'Extrême-Orient, he stated that: "What remains here proves to be valuable for history. To keep it is to help science". In early 20th century, cave explorers and researchers from France and the UK discovered several ancient Champa and Vietnamese relics, such as altar, steles, hieroglyphic script, sculptures, stone statues, Buddha statues, and Chinese artifacts. King Hàm Nghi built a base for the Vietnamese resistance against the French colonialists in the late 19th century.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park was first nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. Dossiers was first submitted by Vietnamese government to UNESCO for recognition of Phong Nha nature reserve as a world natural heritage under the name "Phong Nha Nature Reserve". The reason given for the nomination was that this nature reserve satisfied criteria of biodiversity, unique beauty and geodiversity (criteria I and iv).
In 1999, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) conducted a field survey in January and February. At the meeting in July 1999, Evaluation Bureau concluded that Phong Nha Nature Reserve would meet with criteria I and IV as a world heritage nominee on the condition that this nature reserve was expanded to include the larger Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng parkland with an associated fully integrated management structure. This bureau stated that the site was part of an extremely complex and ancient karst plateau with high geodiversity which also encompasses Kẻ Bàng and Hin Namno karsts. The reserve is largely covered in tropical forest with a high level of biodiversity and endemic species. Lack of research means that the true significance of the biodiversity and geology of the area cannot be fully assessed. The evaluation bureau concluded that the nominated area on its own is not considered to meet World Heritage criteria. The Bureau decided to defer the nomination of Phong Nha Nature Reserve.
In 2000, the government of Vietnam submitted a revised nomination with a much larger area. At this time, however, the National Assembly and government of Vietnam also announced that it would be constructing the north-south Hồ Chí Minh Highway and a link road between the Highway and Route 20 that bisects part of the core area of the Phong Nha Nature Reserve. The news of this road construction raised concern over its impacts on the Phong Nha Nature Reserve, and many international organization like IUCN, Flora and Fauna International called on Vietnamese government to reconsider its plan. They also advised of the negative impact of these road and construction activities on biodiversity. Due to this plan of road construction, the evaluation bureau did not proceed further consideration of nomination from Vietnamese government at that time. The government of Vietnam provided the bureau with additional information in May 2002, announcing the decision of the Prime Minister of Vietnam (December 2001) on upgrading Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng to the Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park with a total area of 857.54 km2; providing information on projects for the conservation and development of the park and revised maps. The revised nominated site has a smaller area than the 2000 nomination.
It was recognized as a world natural heritage site at the UNESCO's 27th general assembly session being held in Paris, from 30 June to 5 July 2003. At the session, delegates from over 160 member countries of UNESCO World Heritage Convention agreed to include Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng parkland and 30 others worldwide in the list of world heritage sites. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park meets with criteria viii in accordance with UNESCO's appraisal scale as it displays an impressive amount of evidence of earth's history and is a site of very great importance for increasing human understanding of the geologic, geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region.
The National Council for Cultural Heritage, an organization under the Ministry of Culture and Information of Vietnam (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) recommended the Vietnamese prime minister that Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park be submitted to UNESCO second time for recognition as a world natural heritage for biodiversity. In 2003 this park was listed in UNESCO's world heritage sites for criteria viii "outstanding geological, geomorphical, and geographical values". Vietnamese and international experts believed that if Vietnam timely submits the proposal documents to UNESCO and meet this UNESCO's criteria, this national park will be recognized for a second time in 2008. Since the recognition by UNESCO in 2003, the government of Vietnam has continued to compile scientific documentation to seek recognition of the park as a world natural heritage in terms of biodiversity in addition to geographical values. According to World Wildlife Foundation report in 2000, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park is one of 200 biodiversity centres of the world and one of the 60 significant sanctuaries of Vietnam. It has a unique forest type in the world: green tropical forest. The park also has 15 other types of forests.[citation needed]
At the final conference of the National Council for Cultural Heritage held in Vietnam in 2007, scientists attending the meeting highly praised the scientific documentation of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng park. Accordingly, the park is second to no other national parks listed in UNESCO's world heritage sites as far as biodiversity is concerned.
The park is accessible by road (National Route 1A or Hồ Chí Minh Highway 450 km south of Hanoi, 50 km north of Đồng Hới, 210 km north of Huế); by rail at Đồng Hới Railway Station on Hanoi–Saigon Railway; by air at Đồng Hới Airport 45 km south of the park. Tourists are served at the Tourism Service Center at Sơn Trạch commune of Bố Trạch District, the entrance of this center is located by Hồ Chí Minh Highway. Tourists are required to buy entrance ticket for package services, including entrance fee, boat service. Ecotourism tour (if needed) requires additional service fee. Tourists then are transported by boat along the Sơn River upstream to the Phong Nha and Paradise caves. The number of tourists has increased dramatically since the park was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Quảng Bình Province has invested in upgrading the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng visitor site to turn it into one of Vietnam's major tourist destinations.
Numerous ecotourism projects have been licensed for development and the area is being heavily developed by the province to turn it into a major tourist site in Vietnam. Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng is part of a tourism promotion campaign, "Middle World Heritage Road", which includes the ancient capital of Huế, the Champa relics of Mỹ Sơn, the city of Hội An, Nhã nhạc and the Space of gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Tourist activities in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park are organized by local travel agencies and vary:
Đồng Hới is the closest city to Phong Nha. To facilitate the increasing flow of tourists to the site, the Đồng Hới Airport was constructed and put into operation in May 2008 with air link with Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport and air link with Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport beginning from 1 July 2009. Besides Đồng Hới, Huế is another base city which tourists begins their journey from. Day tours running from Huế are highly common.
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, together with Hạ Long Bay and Fanxipan, is listed as a candidate for seven new world natural wonders vote. On 12 February 2008 it was ranked 10th in the voting list In January 2009, the United States-based Los Angeles Times listed Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in its recommended world's 29 destinations to visit in 2009.
The Park Management Board includes just 115 people, composed of zoologists, botanists, silviculturalists, and socio-economists. This management staff lacks the authority to fine violators and lacks equipment like helicopters and sufficient funds, thus it's hard to efficiently deal with natural and human threats to the park.
A semi-wild zone of 0.18 km2, surrounded by electrical wire fence, saved for the primate species was created in this park. This project is sponsored by Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt (Germany) in order to provide a sanctuary for 10 species of primates, including Trachypithecus francoisi hatinhensis, Red-shanked Douc langur or Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus. This protection zone is suitable for primates habitat.
There are two villages of Arem an Ma Coong ethnic groups in the core zone of the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park. Within the buffer zone, there is a population of 52,000. They are mainly Kinh people and other minority groups of Chut and Van Kieu, many of them exploit forest products as part of their livelihoods. The increase of visitors to this park is also a problem to the park since unexpected pollution (water pollution, rubbish), human impacts on caves and grottos may cause damage to them and especially threaten biodiversity. Hunting is a significant threat to the wildlife because local people have a great consumption demand on wild meat and this has contributed to the significant decrease of species such as the wild pig, binturong and primates. While local authorities have taken no legal action, nevertheless, some civil servants and policemen are the owners of restaurants that serve wild animal meats hunted in this national park. Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park is currently not meaningful for protection of tigers, Asian elephants, and wild bulls.
Rare eels like Anguilla marmorata and Anguilla bicolor have been caught and consumed in large numbers by the local residents and served as specialities in restaurants because local inhabitants believe they are "natural Viagra".
Excessive exploitation of rare wood such as Go Mun wood (Diospyros spp.) and Go Huế wood (Dalbergia rimosa) and oils from trees such as Cinnamomum balansea, rattan has cause an exhaustion of these plants in many areas of the park. Bat population in caves and grottos also face disturbance by human activities. Hồ Chí Minh Highway, Road 20 crossing the edge zone and the connection road linking these two roads crossing the core zone also contribute danger to the wildlife in this national park, especially populations of Hatinh langur and Black langur. During the construction of this road, blasts and other activities kept several primates away from their regular habitat.
Due to poor management by the local government, many areas of forest in the buffer zone were cleared heavily, some completely. Limestone in the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng area has been exploited for commercial purposes by local inhabitants, but the local authority has taken no countermeasures to prevent this.
The provincial government approved a 3600MW coal-fueled thermalelectrical plant in Vĩnh Sơn village, Quảng Đông commune, Quảng Trạch District, 40 km northeast of this national park. This project has deeply concerned many environmentlists as it will probably cause air and water pollution to the park. Wildfire during the dry season is a recurring threat to the forest.
The land management and regulation of the commercial activities in the area surrounding the park have been carried out by the provincial authorities in a disorganized manner. Blocks of land have been sold to local investors and inhabitants for building service utilities in a haphazard way, resulting in the formation of a slum at the entrance of the park. This has been compounded by some investors who do not develop their lots but hold them for future sale. The planning scheme for 2 km2 of land adjacent to the park was criticized by many experts as having been done "without future vision". Quảng Bình's provincial government responded by declaring their intention to recruit internationally recognised planners to help draft tourism development plans for the adjacent areas.
On November 3, 2005, the German government announced funding valued at 12.6 million euros for the park's management board for the purpose of protecting the biodiversity of the park. In 2007, the German government donated a further 1.8 million euros to Vietnam for protection of the park.
Fauna and Flora International donated USD 132,000 to Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park Management Board for the protection of primates in this national park as well as in the buffer zone. In 1998, FFI conducted a training project for the management staff of the park. The British Commission for International Development sponsored a fund for the WWF to protect the biodiversity in the park and in the adjacent Hin Namno Nature Reserve in Laos. FFI received environmental funding from the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to implement a campaign targeted at increasing awareness about biodiversity protection among tourists and locals.
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baothien commented on the Site
4 months ago
"It is not a good news on the update of protected area within Phong Nha - Ke Bang Park. The local government approved a project to construct a cable car system within the Son Doong Cave (the world's largest cave) in Phong Nha - Ke Bang Park. Please have a look and check the latest news from tuoitrenews. We already open a petition to gather signature to demand the government to stop this project. We launched our petition on Oct. 23 and up to Oct 26, we've got more than 2.000 signatures. Please help us to raise our voice and to save Son Doong Cave, and to protect Phong Nha - Ke Bang Park. Thank you. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/956/103/062/"
Protected Area updated by IUCN, facilitated by UNEP-WCMC
almost 3 years ago
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1st row: Milton Obote • Alek Wek 2nd row: Salva Kiir Mayardit • Daniel arap Moi | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Nile Valley, African Great Lakes, southwestern Ethiopia | |
Languages | |
Nilo-Saharan languages | |
Religion | |
Traditional faiths, Christianity |
1st row: Milton Obote • Alek Wek 2nd row: Salva Kiir Mayardit • Daniel arap Moi | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Nile Valley, African Great Lakes, southwestern Ethiopia | |
Languages | |
Nilo-Saharan languages | |
Religion | |
Traditional faiths, Christianity |
Nilotic peoples or Nilotes refers to related ethnic groups mainly inhabiting the Nile Valley, and parts of Central Africa and East Africa, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan family. These include the Kalenjin, Luo, Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Ateker and the Maa-speaking peoples, all of which are clusters of several ethnic groups.[1]
Nilotes form the majority of the population in South Sudan, an area that is believed to be their original point of dispersal. They also today constitute the second-largest group of peoples inhabiting the African Great Lakes region (after the Bantu peoples), with a notable presence in southwestern Ethiopia as well.[2]
Most Nilotes practice pastoralism.[2] They primarily adhere to Christianity and traditional faiths, including the Dinka religion.
The terms Nilotic and Nilote were previously used as racial sub-classifications, based on anthropological observations of the distinct body morphology of many Nilotic speakers. These perceptions were later widely discarded by 20th century social-scientists,[3] but today they again find support in population genetics.[4]
These terms are now foremost used to distinguish "Nilotic people" based on ethnic/linguistic affiliation. Etymologically, the terms Nilotic and Nilote (also spelled Nilot) derive from the Nile Valley; specifically, the Upper Nile and its tributaries, where most Sudanese Nilo-Saharan-speaking people live.[5]
A Proto-Nilotic unity, separate from an earlier undifferentiated Eastern Sudanic unity, is assumed to have emerged by the 3rd millennium BC. The emergence of the Proto-Nilotes may have been connected with the domestication of livestock. The Eastern Sudanic unity must have been considerably earlier still, perhaps around the 5th millennium BC (while the proposed Nilo-Saharan unity would even date to the Upper Paleolithic about 15kya). The original locus of the early Nilotic speakers was presumanbly east of the Nile in what is now South Sudan. The Proto-Nilotes of the 3rd millennium BC were pastoralists, while their neighbors, the Proto-Central Sudanic peoples were mostly agriculturalists.[6]
By about the 12th century, Luo peoples occupied the area that now lies in eastern Bahr el Ghazal. A "Nilotic expansion" southward, accompanied by ethnic and linguistic diversification, took place from about the 14th century. The reason was presumably the Islamization of Sudan and the eventual collapse of the Nubian Christian kingdom of Alodia. The Luo moved to nearly all the countries neighbouring Sudan, resulting in many separate groups with variation in language and tradition as each group moved further away from their kin. A branch of the Luo, the Shilluk (or Chollo) nation, comprising more than one hundred clans and sub-tribes, was founded by a chief named Nyikango sometime in the middle of the 15th century. They evolved a nation with a feudal-style system. Nyikango and his nation moved northward along the Nile, towards Kush. The rest of the Luo groups rejected Nyikango's idea and kept a south and westwards migration.
The further spread of the Nilotes to their modern territories was a process spanning about the 15th to 18th centuries. Thus, the Maasai, according to their own oral history, migrated south from the lower Nile valley north of Lake Turkana in about the 15th century, arriving in a long trunk of land stretching from what is now northern Kenya to what is now central Tanzania during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Linguistically, Nilotic people are divided into three sub-groups:
Nilotic people constitute the bulk of the population of South Sudan. The largest of the Sudanese Nilotic peoples is the Dinka, which includes as many as twenty-five ethnic subdivisions. The next largest group is the Nuer, followed by the Shilluk.[7]
The Nilotic people in Uganda include the Luo (Acholi, Alur and Adhola), Ateker (Teso and Karamojong), Lango and Kumam.
In East Africa, the Nilotes are often subdivided into three general groups:
Most Nilotes practice pastoralism.[2] Some tribes are also known for a tradition of cattle raiding.[9]
As with some Bantu groups, Nilotes in East Africa have through interaction adopted many customs and practices from neighboring Southern Cushitic groups. The latter include the age set system of social organization, circumcision, and vocabulary terms.[10][2]
In terms of religious beliefs, Nilotes primarily adhere to traditional faiths and Christianity. There is a pantheon of deities in the Dinka religion. The supreme, creator god is Nhialic, who is the god of the sky and rain, and the ruler of all the spirits.[11] He is believed to be present in all of creation, and to control the destiny of every human, plant and animal on Earth. Nhialic is also known as Jaak, Juong or Dyokin by other Nilotic groups, such as the Nuer and Shilluk). Dengdit or Deng, is the sky god of rain and fertility, empowered by Nhialic.[12] Deng's mother is Abuk, the patron goddess of gardening and all women, represented by a snake.[13] Garang, another deity, is believed or assumed by some Dinka to be a god suppressed by Deng whose spirits can cause most Dinka women, and some men, to scream. The term "Jok" refers to a group of ancestral spirits.
In the Lotuko mythology, the chief god is called Ajok. He is generally seen as kind and benevolent, but can be angered. He once reportedly answered a woman's prayer for the resurrection of her son. Her husband, however, was angry and re-killed the child. According to the Lotuko religion, Ajok was annoyed by his actions and swore to never resurrect any Lotuko again, and in this manner, death was said to have become permanent.
A Y-chromosome study by Wood et al. (2005) tested various populations in Africa for paternal lineages, including 26 Maasai and 9 Luo from Kenya and 9 Alur from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signature Nilotic paternal marker Haplogroup A3b2 was observed in 27% of the Maasai, 22% of the Alur, and 11% of the Luo.[14] Haplogroup B, another characteristically Nilotic paternal marker according to Gomes et al. (2010),[15] was found in 22% of Wood et al.'s Luo samples and 8% of the studied Maasai. The E1b1b haplogroup was also observed in 50% of the Maasai,[14] which is indicative of substantial gene flow into this population from Cushitic males.[16] In addition, 67% of the Alur samples possessed the Sub-Saharan E2 haplogroup.[14]
Another study by Hassan et al. (2008) analysed the Y-DNA of populations in the Sudan region, with various local Nilotic groups included for comparison. The researchers found the signature Nilotic A and B clades to be the most common paternal lineages amongst the Nilo-Saharan speakers, except those inhabiting western Sudan, where an appreciable North African influence was noted. Haplogroup A was observed amongst 62% of Dinka, 53.3% of Shilluk, 46.4% of Nuba, 33.3% of Nuer, 31.3% of Fur and 18.8% of Masalit. Haplogroup B was found in 50% of Nuer, 26.7% of Shilluk, 23% of Dinka, 14.3% of Nuba, 3.1% of Fur and 3.1% of Masalit. The E1b1b clade was also observed in 71.9% of the Masalit, 59.4% of the Fur, 39.3% of the Nuba, 20% of the Shilluk, 16.7% of the Nuer, and 15% of the Dinka. Hassan et al. attributed the atypically high frequencies of the haplogroup in the Masalit to either a recent population bottleneck that likely altered the community's original haplogroup diversity or to geographical proximity to E1b1b's place of origin in North Africa, where the researchers suggest that the clade "might have been brought to Sudan from[...] after the progressive desertification of the Sahara around 6,000–8,000 years ago".[17] Henn et al. (2008) similarly observed Afro-Asiatic influence in the Nilotic Datog of northern Tanzania, 43% of whom carried the M293 sub-clade of E1b1b.[18]
Unlike their paternal DNA, the maternal lineages of Nilotes in general show low-to-negligible amounts of Afro-Asiatic and other extraneous influences. An mtDNA study by Castri et al. (2008) examined the maternal ancestry of various Nilotic populations in Kenya, with Turkana, Samburu, Maasai and Luo individuals sampled. Almost all of the tested Nilotes belonged to various Sub-Saharan macro-haplogroup L sub-clades, including L0, L2, L3, L4 and L5. Low levels of maternal gene flow from North Africa and the Horn of Africa were also observed in a few groups, mainly via the presence of mtDNA haplogroup M and haplogroup I lineages in about 12.5% of the Maasai and 7% of the Samburu samples, respectively.[19]
The autosomal DNA of Nilotic peoples has been examined in a comprehensive study by Tishkoff et al. (2009) on the genetic affiliations of various populations in Africa. According to the researchers, Nilotes generally form their own Sub-Saharan genetic cluster. The authors also found that certain Nilotic populations in the eastern Great Lakes region, such as the Maasai, showed some additional Afro-Asiatic affinities due to repeated assimilation of Cushitic-speaking peoples over the past 5000 or so years.[20]
Physically, Nilotes are noted for their typically very dark skin color and slender, tall bodies. They often possess exceptionally long limbs, particularly vis-a-vis the distal segments (forearms, calves). This characteristic is thought to be a climatic adaptation to allow their bodies to shed heat more efficiently.
Sudanese Nilotes are regarded as one of the tallest peoples in the world. Roberts and Bainbridge (1963) reported average values of 182.6 cm (71.9") for height and 58.8 kg (129.6 lbs) for weight in a sample of Sudanese Shilluk.[21] Another sample of Sudanese Dinka had a stature/weight ratio of 181.9 cm/58.0 kg (71.6"/127.9 lbs), with an extremely ectomorphic somatotype of 1.6-3.5-6.2.
In terms of facial features, Hiernaux (1975) observed that the nasal profile most common amongst Nilotic populations is broad, with characteristically high index values ranging from 86.9 to 92.0. He also reported that lower nasal indices are often found amongst Nilotes who inhabit the more southerly Great Lakes region, such as the Maasai, a fact which he attributed to genetic differences.[22]
Additionally, it has been remarked that the Nilotic groups presently inhabiting the African Great Lakes region are sometimes also smaller in stature than those residing in the Sudan region. Campbell et al. (2006) recorded measurements of 172.0 cm/53.6 kg (67.7"/118.2 lbs) in a sample of agricultural Turkana in northern Kenya, and of 174.9 cm/53.0 kg (68.8"/116.8 lbs) in pastoral Turkana.[23] Hiernaux similarly listed a height of 172.7 cm (68") for Maasai in southern Kenya, with an extreme trunk/leg length ratio of 47.7.[22]
Many Nilotic groups also excel in long and middle distance running. It has been argued that this sporting prowess stems from their exceptional running economy, which in turn is a function of slim body morphology and slender legs.[24] A study by Pitsiladis et al. (2006) questioning 404 elite Kenyan distance runners found that 76% of the international-class respondents hailed from the Kalenjin ethnic group and that 79% spoke a Nilotic language.[25]


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