Laos is working on a plan to hold a large-scale elephant caravan later this year to celebrate Luang Prabang’s 20 years as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Over the course of November 30 to December 17, the caravan will march 630 km across the length of Xayabouly province, widely considered the epicenter of Lao elephant culture, to Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos.

Accompanied by theatrical and musical performers, the march is intended to be a multi-cultural road show.

As a partnership between local authorities and the Elephant Conservation Centre, the event is designed to raise public awareness, both in Laos and globally, about the threats to Asian elephants.

There are only 900 elephants remaining in the wild in Laos, which is dubbed the “Land of a Million Elephants”; if current trends continue, it is expected the largest land mammal on earth will completely disappear from Lao forests within the next 50 years.-VNA