Khamla Phanvilay

Land and Forest Allocation in Lao People's Democratic Republic: Comparison of Case Studies from Community-Based Natural Resource Management Research

This article reviews a landmark policy on resource management in Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR). The Land and Forest Allocation Policy was introduced in the early 1990s as a means of legitimately recognizing the customary rights of local communities to use and manage land and forest resources. We examine the policy from the viewpoint of decentralized resource management and, through three case studies conducted by the National University of Laos, how it works in practice. The studies were conducted in Vientiane, central Lao PDR, and indicate gaps between the expected goals of land reform and actual practice. The study also shows the varying impacts of the allocation policy on local resource use and household livelihoods in different villages. Finally, the case studies suggest the importance of field-based research as a way of critically reviewing the impact of government policy on local resource management and peoples livelihoods.

Flexible Networking in Research Capacity Building at the National University of Laos: Lessons for North-South Collaboration

ABSTRACT This paper describes a research-training project for building social science research capacity at the National University of Laos (NUOL),supported by IDRC. At the international level, the project was structured as a flexible network of resource persons from six countries. The main successes of the project turned out to be unanticipated: the project offered significant insights to NUOLs ongoing assessment of its administrative capacity to manage university-based research. The flexibility of the network approach, combined with a structure that oriented the international network toward engaging with, and responding to, needs articulated by NUOL staff proved crucial to the projects ability to respond to changing institutional needs in NUOL. The importance of paying careful attention to how projects can be structured so that they are responsive to Southern needs has been heightened by intensified pressure in Canadian universities to generate funds, while promoting excellence in research and training takes a backseat.

PAST CONFLICTS AND RESOURCE USE IN POSTWAR LAO PDR

Forests in mainland Southeast Asia have throughout history been affected by regional conflict, but perhaps more so in the modern era (see Chapters 2 and 9). In the Indochina War, which engulfed this area for several decades during the middle of the twentieth century, forests became variously not only a buffer between hostile groups and a refuge for both civilian populations and combatants, but also a battlefield. The war between Vietnamese and American forces has had both direct and indirect impacts on forests in Lao PDR.1 Because forests provided for some the cover and resources critical for survival and for others marketable goods, the forest became a target of military attack. Extreme conflict in this region thus resulted in fragmented forests in some areas and impeded forest management in almost all areas, leaving vast tracts of forest as virtually an open access resource. The government’s lack of a coherent forest management plan and the difficulty of exercising control over forest resources resulted in widespread, unregulated timber harvesting. Consequently, tackling forest management problems became a primary concern for the postwar government. A landlocked country in the heart of Southeast Asia, Laos is home to approximately six million inhabitants (2004 est.). Forests, the country’s major natural resource, play a significant role in both the national and local economies. In the early 1960s forests covered 17 million ha and 64% of the country. A nationwide survey in the early 1990s, however, revealed that forest cover had fallen to 47% or 11.2 million ha (NOFIP, 1992). The alarming loss of rich natural forest is not only of global concern but also has serious implications for the national economy and livelihoods, especially given that so many rural inhabitants are highly dependent on forest resources for daily subsistence needs as well as cash income.