Dynamics of rubber expansion in Lao PDR: policy making under uncertainty

The government of Laos long term policy is aiming at reducing rural poverty and stabilize shifting cultivation by creating permanent job for local people, in order to increase forest cover while avoiding negative impacts on deforestation. The overnment of Laos promotes foreign investment in developing tree plantation to increase income sources for rural households and for government as export earnings. The rubber has been seen as a miracle crop, liable to transform the landscapes and rural livelihoods. Within a few years, the rubber industry has become an important sector in the Lao economy thanks to high market demand. The research was designed to provide knowledge that is relevant to policy making in the current context of rubber expansion in Laos, to characterize rubber-based production systems and to understand the conditions of emergence of different types of rubber regimes (smallholder, contract farming and concession). The study sites were selected in seven villages of three different districts namely Sangthong district, Nalae district and Thakeak district. Our analysis of the ‘rubber boom’ started with a literature review, followed by series of meeting with key stakeholders and surveys with local leaders and villagers based on semistructured questionnaire. The study points out important challenges related to the management of agricultural diversity and information available to the various stakeholders. Local farmers face great uncertainty in relation with all aspects of rubber production: i.e. technical, economical, ecological. Integrated planning of resources use is currently being developed to address the complexity of the rubber socio-technical system. Analysis developed along hisresearch showed that the information provided to the decision-makers and village communities should be improved and impact of the rubber expansion on landscapes and livelihoods should be monitored carefully

Policy implications of land use changes in the uplands of northern Lao PDR

The 2000s decade has seen a lot of changes in the northern uplands of Lao PDR that where driven by three main drivers or agents of change: government policies, foreign private investors and development assistance led by bilateral or multilateral organizations or international NGOs. These three spheres of influence are intimately connected and constantly interacting as they depend on each other’s to reach their goals or fulfill their mandate. They have brought new rules, opportunities, and also risks to rural populations who had to cope with very rapid changes. This paper explores possible adaptations to existing policies that would facilitate a smoother agrarian transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture; i.e. avoiding external chocks and maintaining the resilience of rural communities. Indeed, farmers capacity to adapt to changes and to adopt technical and institutional innovations should be harnessed by providing a supportive policy environment

Managing the transition from farmers’ groups to agricultural cooperatives in Lao PDR

In a time of transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture, small farming households need to be better organized in order to match the market demand in terms of product volume and quality. However, spontaneous initiatives are often discouraged by the lack of proper support in terms of credit, infrastructures, legal framework or relevant information. After a period of collectivization, then the dismantlement of former State-cooperatives, the recent legislation related to farmers associations and agricultural cooperatives is difficult to translate into concrete collective action. Active informal associations in Laos tend to be credit groups or small income generating groups. Small farmers’ groups and agro-enterprises have been created - in most cases with the help of international projects - that could lay the foundation of future cooperatives. However, policy distortions tend to favor large-scale enterprises and create unfair competition for small agro-enterprises in mobilizing capital. The conditions for the emergence of larger associations or cooperatives from existing groups were investigated. Our study revealed the importance of social networks and power relations as a factor of cohesion within groups. Local leadership plays a crucial role in connecting the group members to the village and district institutions. Recommendations are provided to improve group management rules as a pre-requisite to up-scaling into larger associations, e.g. monitoring and alert system for the compliance of group members and managing committee to the internal rules, reporting procedures to group members, transparency of group decision making processes

Geochemical characteristics and groundwater quality in the Vientiane Plain, Laos

Groundwater from the shallow aquifers of the Vientiane Plain, Laos is used for domestic needs including to some extent for drinking and for household gardening. The objective of this study is to assess the groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation activities and to determine the processes that lead to the presence of major ions in groundwater. Twenty groundwater samples were collected from a village on the Plain in December 2014, January 2015, and May 2015, and analysed for major ions and selected suite of minor ions and heavy metals. Groundwater is largely acidic, fresh and soft in nature. Geochemistry showed dominant Ca–Mg–HCO3 and mixed Ca–Na–HCO3 groundwater. Sodium impacts the suitability of water for irrigation to some extent. Hydrogeochemical processes identified and verified through factor analysis indicate weathering, carbonate dissolution, ion exchange, and anthropogenic sources including salinisation, due to irrigation and use of fertilizers as sources for the occurrence of major ions at such concentrations in this area. Only concentrations of lead and iron were above the permissible limits with arsenic, copper, zinc, mercury, and uranium found to be within safe limits. Background sample (groundwater) collected 5 km from the study area and the bottled water sample were all within suitable limits for drinking. This study is the first to provide a local-level assessment of geochemical processes in groundwater of this area indicating that the groundwater does not pose any threat to human health if used for drinking based on major ions, minor ions and a suite heavy metals except for iron and lead

Local participation on benefit sharing of Nam Lik 1-2 Hydropower Project in Lao PDR [Abstract only].

In German Aerospace Center (DLR); Germany. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Mekong Environmental Symposium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 5-7 March 2013. Abstract volume, Topic 02 - Hydropower development and impacts on economy. Wessling, Germany: German Aerospace Center (DLR); Bonn, Germany: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)