Sustainable development in the uplands of Lao PDR

Abstract

Smallholder farmers resident in marginalized communities in the uplands of Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) have been subject to agricultural reforms and policies requiring adaptation of their rural livelihood systems and adoption of new agricultural technologies. Structured interviews with farmers explored their perspectives and experiences when developing economically viable, locally adapted and diversified livelihood and farming system strategies. Agricultural productivity was dependent on cultivatable land and forest biodiversity, while agricultural strategies embedded knowledge, information and ideas to enable farmers to adapt to changing conditions. Political, social, economic and environmental factors have influenced smallholder farmers in their preference and uptake of new technologies and activities. Opportunities to trial new technologies and further support, advice and information from extension officers and projects, combined with market opportunities and access to credit, will enable some farmers to find sustainable production alternatives. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Socio-Economic Perspectives on Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in Northern Laos

“…deforestation, soil erosion) and this was used as the rationale for the village resettlement policy (Lestrelin 2010;Fox 2000). Our results provide evidence that these policies, targeting the resettlement of marginal shifting cultivation villages, may have little effect, as improved accessibility may not be enough to alleviate poverty of ethnic minorities (Alexander et al 2010;Ducourtieux 2005). And so, shifting cultivation landscapes persist as the dominant land use in remote areas of northern Laos.…”

“…This greatly limits the options for future agricultural development in these remote locations (Alexander et al 2010) making shifting cultivation farmers highly dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods (Cavendish 2003).…”

“…These policies are rooted in the policy-makers' general perception of shifting cultivation as a backward and underdeveloped form of land use , representing a poverty trap (Bounthong et al 2003), and mainly responsible for the continuing deforestation (Lawrence et al 2010) and forest degradation (Fox 2000;Thongmanivong et al 2009). However, various local case studies suggest that upland farmers frequently simply have not many alternatives to shifting cultivation and that these controversial policies have had little effect (Ducourtieux 2005;Roder 2001;Yokoyama 2004;Saito et al 2006;Inoue et al 2007;Leek 2007;Linquist et al 2007;Yamamoto et al 2009;Inoue et al 2010;Hett et al 2011;Alexander et al 2010). …”

Ecosystem services and livelihoods in a changing climate: Understanding local adaptations in the Upper Koshi, Nepal

“…Availability and supply of such services is in large part weather-dependent and may be seasonal. Evidence shows that communities that have been practising adaptation to various changes in these resources for a long time have developed management decisions to cope with these changes (Dovers 2009;Alexander et al 2010;Berrang-Ford et al 2011;van Oort et al 2014). However, these adaptation measures and practices vary widely and are contextualised.…”

A Review of Swidden Agriculture in Southeast Asia

“…For example, in Palawan Island of the Philippines, although driven by the state's laws, policies, and practices to curb swidden cultivation, local farmers argue that swidden is still a de facto vital and integral practice [85]. What is more, the implementation of government agrarian policies to substitute swidden agriculture sometimes causes negative effects on the livelihoods of local residents [83] and brings unsustainable development [87]. Farmers in some locations have returned to undertake swidden cultivation after decades.…”