Transition From Subsistence Agriculture to Rubber Plantations in Northern Laos: Analysis of Household Livelihood Strategies by Ethnicity and Gender

Abstract

The study examined livelihood changes in eight villages in Luang Namtha province of northern Lao PDR following the expansion in rubber plantations and analyzed its impact on gender roles and relations. All study villages are engaged in rubber production, but the impact is shaped by the context and history of the particular location. The study has demonstrated the importance of feminist political ecologist approach in analyzing the conjuncture and intersectionality, as well as the location that shapes these conditions to better understand the gendered impact of the introduction of rubber production. The concept of social interface has helped us to identify the shock that women and men face and the changes in access to resources as a result of the shock and the agencies that the people exercised.

Large‐scale sampling of beetle communities in Laos shows that conversion of natural forests into plantations leads to a decline in family richness and abundance

“…This type of landscape structure had different agricultural and deforestation histories, and is mostly dedicated to rubber and eucalyptus plantations that have increased exponentially in the country. Part of the present study was undertaken on a large rubber plantation in northern Laos (site 4), which covered 33,000 ha in 2016 and was occupied by various ethnic groups (Kusakabe & Chanthoumphone, 2021 ); more rubber plantation areas now extend to the center and to the south. Most of the deforestation happened several years before sampling, resulting in a single unfragmented rubber plantation.…”

Perceptions of the Institutional and Support Environment amongst Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Laos

“…Better information and understanding with respect to policy, tax, and the legal system would reduce negative impacts on business growth and livelihoods [81]. Agripreneurs reported that "unofficial" payments persist, adding to calls in the literature for transparency in the system [53,69,82].…”

Time-series land cover and land use monitoring and classification using GIS and remote sensing technology

“…the intercropping practices of the young rubber with annual crops such as legumes, corn, sesame rice, cassava, papaya, and bananas, are a factor increasing annual croplands in the classified maps. These issues are also found in other rubber-growing areas (Stroesser et al 2018;Kusakabe and Chanthoumphone 2021;Huang et al 2022;Su et al 2022). In summary, the transition between annual and perennial croplands is due to the effects of agricultural development policies and practices, natural conditions, and product price fluctuations in the market.…”