The Project has also benefited from the extensive consultations undertaken for the NT2 Project, the
preparation o f the Lao Environment Monitor 2005, and the drafting o f the decree for the EPF. The need
for the Project emerged from these consultations and i t s design was influenced by discussions among
government stakeholders, and with development partners (ADB, SIDA and UNEP). A series o f
consultations with local communities were conducted in the NT2 Watershed since 1996 and involved all
31 villages inside the Nakai Nam-Theun National Protect Area and a large number o f villages in the
peripheral impact zones. These consultations informed the approach in SEMFOP, which i s also the basis
for the Project approach in relation to activities in and near protected areas.