FACULTY OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN Master’s thesis Cecilie Friis Land, livelihoods and access to resources in Laos PDR - Large-scale land acquisitions in a dynamic context of agrarian transformation Academic advisor: Prof. Anette Reenberg Submitted: 04/07/2013 Institutnavn: Institut for Geovidenskab og Naturforvaltning Name of department: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management Author: Cecilie Friis Titel og evt. undertitel: Land, livelihoods og adgang til naturressourcer i Laos: Transnationale investeringer i landbrugsjord i en dynamisk rural kontekst Title / Subtitle: Land, livelihoods and access to natural resources in Laos: Transnational land acquisitions in a dynamic context of agrarian transformations Academic advisor: Prof. Anette Reenberg Submitted: 5th of July 2013 ECTS: 45 ECTS 2 PREFACE This thesis represents the concluding work of the author’s Master’s Degree in Geography and Geoinformatics, with specialisation in Environment, Society and Development at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen. The thesis work is part of a comparative research project entitled “Large-scale land acquisitions in Southeast Asia: Rural transformations between global agendas and peoples’ right to food” hosted by the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. The thesis is placed within the scope of the second research objective of the project on “Impact and adaptation”. The thesis-work has been supported by the CDE, Laos-country Office, Vientiane. The study furthermore contributes to the Global Land Project and has been supported by the GLP-IPO, Copenhagen University. I would like to extent my sincerest gratitude to the CDE for giving me the opportunity to be part of the research project and for supporting my work academically and financially. I would like to thank especially; Peter Messerli, Andreas Heinimann and Oliver Schönweger for their help and support before, during and after my work in Laos. My gratitude also goes to Vong Nanthavong and Juliet Lu for help understanding the Laotian context, and to Southida Souliyavong for invaluable translations and companionship during long days of fieldwork. I would also like to extent a genuine appreciation to the TABI-project in Luang Prabang, and especially Mr. Choy Chiem Tang and Mr. Phounsavanh for assistance in setting up all necessary documents. For good academic guidance, useful critique and moral support I would like to thank my academic supervisor, Prof. Anette Reenbeerg. Finally, I am tremendously thankful for the hospitality and patience shown to me throughout my fieldwork in the villages of Na Nhang Neua and Houay-Kong. 1 2 Abstract This Master’s Thesis presents a qualitative case-study of the consequences of transnational land acquisitions for local people’s access to natural resources and the associated changes in land systems and livelihood strategies in the Northern Uplands in the Lao PDR. The study focuses on a local community in Nambak District, Luang Prabang Province, where a Chinese rubber company was granted a land concession for 7000ha of land in 2006. By drawing on theoretical conceptualisations of access and exclusion, the study shows how the concession company worked in close collaboration with the District authorities to access land in the selected villages, and how the subsequent implementation led to a large-scale enclosure of upland resources that these villages depended on. Building on the land system concept and on theoretical livelihood perspectives, the study then analyses the village-level consequences of the concession. Aside from the direct conversion of extensively used swidden areas to intensive rubber cultivation, the study reveals a significant negative coupling between the upland land-use conversion and the paddy component of the land system. By imposing a strict penalty scheme for damage to rubber by roaming animals, the concession company effectively prohibited villagers from continue livestock rearing. This had negative impacts on soil fertility in the paddy fields and declining paddy rice yields. In general diversification, commercialisation and increasing mobility in livelihood strategies were observed, partly in response to the changes brought by the concession, partly in response to the overall processes of agrarian transformation facilitated by state development policies and regional economic drivers. By supplementing the finding from the main case villages with evidence from the neighbouring villages, the study indicates that a high level of diversity in the experiences with the concession exist in the area, influenced by the availability of land, alternative income opportunities and road infrastructure prior to the concession. The study concludes that the analysis of resource enclosure, land use and livelihood change requires analytical attention to the full complexity of the existing land systems, and stresses the importance of place-based and context-sensitive studies. 3 Resumé På baggrund af et kvalitativt casestudie undersøger dette speciale konsekvenserne af transnationale investeringer i landbrugsland for lokale befolkningers adgang til naturressourcer, samt de afledte konsekvenser for deres levebrødsstrategier og landsystemer i det nordlige højland i Laos PDR. Specialet fokuserer på konsekvenserne i et lokalsamfund i Nambak distriktet i Luang Prabang Provinsen, hvor en kinesisk gummivirksomhed i 2006 blev tildelt en landkoncession på 7000ha. Med udgangspunkt i de teoretiske konceptualiseringer af begreberne access og exclusion, klarlægger specialet hvordan den kinesiske virksomhed i tæt samarbejde med distriktsmyndighederne fik adgang til land i udvalgte landsbyer og hvordan lokalbefolkningen som resultat blev afskåret fra store dele af de højlandsarealer som de var afhængige af for fødevaresikkerhed og indkomstgenerering. Ud fra den teoretiske ramme for forståelsen af komplekse landsystemer, samt de perspektiver der knytter sig til forståelsen af levebrødsstrategier, analysere specialet herefter de afledte konsekvenser af gummiplantagen. Udover den direkte ændring i arealanvendelsen fra ekstensivt svedjebrug til intensiv gummidyrkning i højlandet, viser analysen en signifikant negativ kobling mellem implementeringen af gummiplangen og produktiviteten i rismarkerne i lavlandet. Gummivirksomheden indførte ved anlæggelsen af gummiplantagen et restriktivt bødesystem for skade forårsaget af husdyr på gummiskuddene, hvilket effektivt har afholdt landsbyboerne fra at holde husdyr. Frugtbarheden i rismarkerne er efterfølgende faldet som resultat af manglende gødning fra husdyrene. Generelt blev der observeret en øget diversificering af levebrødsstrategier, kommercialisering af landbruget og øget mobilitet blandt folk i området, delvist som følge af koncessionen og delvist som følge af overordnede rurale transformationsprocesser, der understøttes af den laotiske regerings udviklingspolitik og af regionale økonomiske drivkræfter. I sammenligningen mellem landsbyer i området, viser specialet endvidere at der eksisterer en stor diversitet i landsbyernes oplevelse af konsekvenser af plantagen afhængigt af deres adgang til land, til alternative indkomstmuligheder og til infrastruktur forud for koncessionen. Specialet konkluderer således, at studier af adgang til og eksklusion fra ressourcer, samt ændringer i arealanvendelse og levebrødsstrategier kræver et specifikt analytisk fokus på hele kompleksiteten i de eksisterende landsystemer. Dette understreger samtidigt betydningen af lokalt baserede og kontekstafhængige studier. 4 PREFACE............................................................................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... 3 RESUMÉ ................................................................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF APPENDIXES ....................................................................................................................... 7 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................... 8 I. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE .................................................................. 9 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1. Clarification of thesis questions and objectives .................................................................................. 14 1.2. Thesis outline ....................................................................................................................................... 15 II. THEORETICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT .......................................................... 17 2. Theoretical context ................................................................................................................................ 19 2.1. Upland agrarian transformations ........................................................................................................ 19 2.2. Land system concept ........................................................................................................................... 20 2.3. Livelihood perspectives