Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA) is one of the largest remaining contiguous and little-encroached forest blocks in the Indochinese peninsula and holds numerous rare, endemic and highly threatened species. It falls in the heart of one of the richest regions of Southeast Asia in terms of biodiversity and endemism and is one of the identified ‘key biodiversity areas’ within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. This is notably due to its geographical location in the Annamite Mountains with a unique climatic pattern and ecosystem characterized by a very high species richness and endemism. The Annamite Mountain range is where some of the last large mammal discoveries took place. NNT NPA is home to nine species of primates and holds over 400 bird species. In Laos, NNT NPA is ranked as the highest priority for its National and Global biodiversity importance. Illegal poaching in the area has dramatically increased in the past decades and led to the considerable reduction in wildlife populations. Thirty-one villages occur within the NPA, with a high population growth of 3.8% relying on forest products for their subsistence livelihood. Teaching levels are low and education materials are almost inexistent. Villagers are generally not aware of the National or Global status of local species and did not receive any basic environmental and natural education.

We have received two Rufford grants since 2014 to implement nature conservation workshops in village schools in NNT NPA. This led to the development of new collaboration with like-minded organizations and individuals. Two of the main lessons learn from these past projects are (1) the lack of continuity between workshop implementation and the teachers bringing back some tools learned to implement activities in their schools independently of our involvement and (2) the great lack of education resources related to the environment and nature conservation throughout the country. Therefore, we are now embarking on a new education project aimed to be a Training of Trainers workshop for teachers and educators from NNT NPA, implemented in collaboration with two expert NGOs form the US: StoneLion Puppet Theatre and Project Central specialized in conservation education through creative thinking and art. This new project includes the production of exclusive nature conservation books, games and training booklets that will not only be used at our project site but also throughout the country and possibly the region.

The main outcomes of this project are:

1. Training of Trainers for teachers

2. Development, printing and dissemination of a training booklet in En/Lao language

3. Creation, production, printing and dissemination of children’s educational resources in En/Lao language