The Nam Theun 2 Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA) is responsible for the management and protection of the watershed of the Nam Theun above the reservoir formed by the Nam Theun 2 hydro-electric dam. WMPA is a new style of Lao government agency governed by a board of directors and managed by an Executive Secretariat. The area covered by WMPA is approximately 4,090 square km and borders Vietnam.

Article 1 of Prime Ministerial Decree 39 (2005) defines the NT2 Watershed as: the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA); and the two Corridors set out in PM Decree 193 (2000) between NNT NPA and – Phuo Hin Poun NPA and Hin Nam No NPA. The Concession Agreement between the power company and the Government of Lao PDR also identifies the thousand islands areas of the Nakai Dam, the embayments of the tributaries of the Nam Theun River and the Nam Theun River connecting with the Reservoir as special conservation areas (CA Volume 2A Schedule 2 Part 4 clause 17(b)). The area of land administered by WMPA, therefore, includes the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA) (340,651 ha), the NNT NPA-Phuo Hin Poun NPA corridor (65,056 ha) and the NNT NPA-Hin Nam No NPA corridor (3,273 ha). This amounts to 408,980 ha of area protected for biodiversity conservation and livelihood development for residents of the 31 enclave villages.

Objectives of WMPA

The Nam Theun 2 Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA) was formally established under Prime Ministerial Decree 39 of 2005, a revision of an earlier decree in 2001.

The objectives of WMPA are defined in PM 39 as being:

1. protection and rehabilitation of forest cover in the Nam Theun 2 watershed Area to assure adequate water flows with low sedimentation to or away from the Nam Theun 2 Reservoir;

2. conserve, maintain, protect and promote the biological diversity of the NT2 Watershed Area;

3. build and strengthen its capacity and the capacity of Stakeholders contributing to the management and implementation of the Authority’s activities;

4. contribute to and facilitate the improvement of the livelihood of communities and peoples residing in the NT2 watershed Area and PIZ through activities and programs focusing on poverty reduction and environmentally sustainable development;

5. for the purpose of paragraph 5 here above, avoid any involuntary resettlement for communities and peoples residing in the NT2 Watershed Area and the PIZ; and protect the customary use rights of Ethnic minority Groups residing in the NT2 Watershed Area and the PIZ to access the natural resources of said area and zone; and

6. manage, in a prudent and effective manner, its funds and resources for the purpose of the above-defined objectives.

The Authority is governed by a Board of Directors, chaired by the Minister for Agriculture and Forestry and with deputy chairs being Vice Governors of Khammouane (also the Standing Member providing an accessible source of BoD governance and guidance between BoD meetings) and Bolikhamxay Provinces. A list of the 16 directors and their affiliations is provided in Appendix A. Other instruments that regulate the activities of the WMPA are the Nam Theun 2 Concession Agreement and other relevant laws of Lao PDR.