Rural communities in Lao PDR are highly dependent on natural resources such as timber and non-timber forest products, and agricultural land, for cash income and subsistence. Approximately 80% of the Lao PDR population live in rural areas with a 40% incident rate of rural poverty. Oudomxay, a province in the northeast of Lao PDR, is a mountainous rugged region, with a high rural population. It is the second poorest province in the country. Due to a variety of factors such as population growth, opening up of the economy, implementation of government policies (i.e. land allocation) and forest degradation, the livelihoods of the rural peoples and their access to natural resources are being altered. Within this setting a livelihood strategy analysis was conducted, focusing on specific livelihoods and specific natural resources, in Mang village, Oudomxay. The interrelations between changing access to specific natural resources and rural livelihood strategies of villagers within different wealth categories and different genders were studied.
This research was conducted using the sustainable livelihoods framework. Research methods employed Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques such as, time trend analyses, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews. Results show significant changes in livelihood strategies and associated land uses over the past 10 years. Upland rice cultivation and animal husbandry, although still important, have decreased; while strategies such as lowland rice, sesame and maize cultivation have increased. Other strategies have also become important. Farmers now cultivate puak muak, posa and rubber trees. Mang village is transitioning from extractive to domesticated production. To illustrate, the density of puak muak and posa trees have decreased within the forest but increased on domesticated plots. Nevertheless, not all livelihood transitions are occurring at the same rate or in the same direction. Adoption disparities of certain livelihood strategies are apparent between wealth categories. For example, people within the richest wealth category tend to cultivate more lowland rice and were the first to adopt this strategy. In addition, the access to certain natural resources also differs between wealth categories. For example, the majority of the agricultural land of the richest wealth category is located closer than that of the other wealth categories. The way in which natural resources are accessed has also changed over the past 10 years. One of the most noticeable changes is in the access to land due to the new land allocation polices enforced by national and
local governments.
This study was conducted within the CIAT-BOKU Research for Development Project in Oudomxay entitled ‘Spatial trade-off analyses for site-sensitive development’ which works in collaboration with the provincial Oudomxay Community Initiative Support Project and IFAD. This project requires site specific information on natural and socio-cultural resources to facilitate effective project interventions and policy analyses. The main objective of the CIAT– BOKU research project is to enable rural dwellers in Northern Lao PDR to effectively engage in market activities while maintaining and enhancing the productive capacity of their lands.