Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project Update: Resettlement August 2017 This note explains recent updates on the Project’s Resettlement Implementation Period (RIP), one of five key areas of the Nam Theun 2 Social and Environment Project. Notes about the other four areas (Revenue Management, Operations, the Nakai Nam Theun watershed and the Downstream program) will be forthcoming over the next three months. The notes provide additional detail to the World Bank’s Implementation Status and Results Report that can be found here. Questions may be posted to laos@worldbank.org. The Resettlement Implementation Period (RIP) is the period over which nearly 6,300 project affected people on the Nakai Plateau were resettled and support provided to ensure a basis of livelihoods sustainability. Physical resettlement in the Nam Theun 2 project area was completed in 2008. Resettlers were moved into 1,330 new houses which were designed in consultation with the villagers. The resettlement also involved the installation of water pumps and construction of village infrastructure such as nursery schools, primary schools, health centers, roads, markets, and warehouses. A concise overview can be found here. The RIP started from the commencement of the resettlement and was originally intended to be approximately nine years in duration. Income opportunities were developed so that the livelihoods of resettled families continue to improve on a sustainable basis. A Comprehensive Action Plan (CAP) for the RIP and Beyond was prepared between November 2015 and January 2017 in response to the Panel of Experts’ (PoE) recommendation in their 24th report in 2015 to continue the formal RIP to December 31, 2017 to ensure continued and sustainable improvement of livelihoods. The CAP was developed by a Joint Working Group (JWG) that includes representatives of the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) at the national, provincial, and district levels; the Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC); as well as several development partners including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Agence Française de Développement (AfD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Ministry of Energy and Mines chairs the JWG. The CAP benefitted from consultations with the PoE as well as stakeholder groups, including resettled households and representatives from the district, provincial and national governments. The CAP is divided into two parts. The first part is a List of Actions (LoA) that focuses on establishing the basis for sustainable livelihoods before the end of the RIP, which is scheduled for December 31, 2017. Details can be found in Table 1 below. The second part is a Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), which will begin after closure of the RIP and run until 2035 (the end of the NT2 Concession Period). It includes initiatives to support sustainable livelihoods for resettled communities over the longer-term. The MTDP uses village development priorities and is financially supported by the Nam Theun 2 Development Fund with $750,000 a year from the NTPC (a voluntary measure beyond the Concession Agreement). The MTDP also includes the Nakai Plateau Livestock Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries project (NP-LAF), which is funded by AfD, GoL and NTPC. The NP-LAF project proposes to support the development of agricultural, livestock and fishing activities and will support the district and provincial governments to develop programs which contribute to sustainable incomes through agricultural and fisheries sectors. The table below summarizes the seven areas included in the CAP. Each component contains numerous actions and objectives, also noted in the table. Table 1: Summary of Comprehensive Action Plan List of Actions Action Areas Objectives and Illustrative Activities Fisheries • Objective: Protect and manage habitat for basis of sustainable income generation. • Activities: o Strengthen local fisheries institutions o Expand marketing system o Share fisheries information on sustainable management awareness campaigns. Forestry • Objective: Manage forest resources according to community priorities • Activities: o Prepare strategic plan to determine preferred use of village forest resources, supported by a Forest Management Plan o Strengthen the enabling environment Off-farm income (Eg. • Objective: Enhance non-farming livelihood activities accessible to communities tourism, handicraft • Activities: production) o Identify means of accessing off-farm livelihood opportunities o Convert opportunities into income generating activities Agriculture and • Objective: Mobilize long-term program under the District Agriculture and Forestry Livestock Office • Activities: o Strengthen land management and address land conflicts o Improve/adapt irrigation system and farming systems to better fit the needs for agriculture. o Improve farming systems Gender • Objective: Mainstream gender in all livelihood areas • Activities: o Build capacity of district authorities o Increase women’s agency and voice Poor and vulnerable • Objective: Support vulnerable, poor and other high risk households households • Activities: o Provide sufficient support to bring vulnerable households above the poverty line o Provide support for poor and other high risk households to remain above the poverty line after closure the RIP Ethnic Groups • Objective: Facilitate full and effective participation in political, economic, and public life • Activities: o Ensure that ethnic minority households benefit, wherever eligible, from relevant social support programs o Provide skill development and education opportunities