Your search found 6 records
1 Lesterlin, G.; Giordano, Mark; Keohavong, G. 2005. When “conservation” leads to land degradation: lessons from Ban Lak Sip, Laos. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). v, 25p. (IWMI Research Report 091) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.092]
Land degradation ; Soil erosion ; Farming systems ; Environmental policy ; Political ecology ; Households ; Population growth / Laos / Ban Lak Sip
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G000 LES Record No: H037202)
(798KB)
In this report, we test the hypothesis that the primary factors behind the farming system changes in Ban Lak Sip lay not in the village itself but rather in the broader Laotian social, economic and political setting. The study uses an integrated approach that examines both the physical and social dimensions of land use and soil erosion in Ban Lak Sip within this broader system environment.
2 International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2005. Breaking the cycles of land degradation: a case study from Ban Lak Sip, Lao PDR. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 7p. (IWMI Water Policy Briefing 016) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.333]
Land degradation ; Erosion ; Case studies ; Farming systems ; Development policy ; Environmental policy ; Policy making / Laos / Ban Lak Sip
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.4 G708 INT Record No: H038125)
(337 KB)
This issue of Water Policy Briefing is based on research presented in When ‘Conservation’ Leads to Land Degradation: Lessons from Ban Lak Sip, Laos (IWMI Research Report 91) by Guillaume Lestrelin, Mark Giordano and Bounmy Keohavong. The research was carried out by the Managing Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC)—a multi-country collaborative effort to better understand land degradation, and potential solutions, in upland areas of Southeast Asia. MSEC is coordinated by IWMI with substantial contributions from France’s Institute of Research for Development (IRD). MSEC’s primary partner in Laos is the Soil Survey and Land Classification Center. Around the world, intensive farming in fragile environments is taking its toll on natural resources. This has led to greater awareness of the need to use agricultural land sustainably—to maximize yields without compromising the health and productivity of the soil. Laos’ current rural-development and land-use policies were influenced in part by exactly such an environmental agenda. However, a recent study has shown that land degradation has actually increased in the village of Ban Lak Sip since these policies were put in place. The study used an innovative multi-scale approach to analyze local land degradation in relation to Laos’ broader socioeconomic and political environment. This showed that new policies had created an artificial shortage of land—forcing farmers to crop more intensively, and inadvertently causing more degradation. conventional forms of scientific analysis would have identified the change in farming patterns as the cause of degradation. But, importantly, they would not have pinpointed why the change occurred—information which is vital if ways of resolving the problem are to be found. So, because of the analytical approach used, the case of Ban Lak Sip provides a cautionary lesson in the formulation of environmental policy. Policymakers need to carefully consider the impacts that conservation efforts will have on people’s livelihood strategies, if they are to avoid forcing communities to take up practices that increase environmental degradation. To this end, any environmental policy that imposes restrictions, especially on people’s livelihood activities, will need to offer new opportunities too.
3 Lestrelin, Guillaume; Giordano, Mark. 2006. Approaching land degradation in the uplands of Laos: Looking beyond the proximate causes. In International Symposium, Towards Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mountainous Regions. Chiang Mai, Thailand, 7-9 March 2006. 12p.
Land degradation ; Environmental policy ; Land use ; Villages ; Erosion ; Cropping systems ; Farming systems ; Shifting cultivation ; Case studies / Laos / Ban Lak Sip
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 363.7 G708 LES Record No: H039630)
4 Lestrelin, Guillaume; Giordano, Mark. 2007. Upland development policy, livelihood change and land degradation: Interactions from a Laotian village. Land Degradation and Development, 18:55-76.
Land degradation ; Erosion ; Land management ; Cultivation ; Environmental policy ; Development policy ; Rural development / Laos / Ban Lak Sip / Luang Prabang Province
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 333 G708 LES Record No: H039636)
5 Planchon, O.; Pierret, Alain; Orange, Didier. 2009. Relevance and feasibility of PES to combat soil erosion and solve catchment management issues: three case studies in Southeast Asia. Project completion report of the Payment for Environmental Services initiative of Theme 2 of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), 2007-2008. 146p.
Environmental protection ; User charges ; Water pollution ; Erosion ; Land use ; Water quality ; Watersheds ; Waste management ; Biofuels ; Biogas ; Case studies / South East Asia / Laos / Thailand / Vietnam / Houay Xon / Ban Lak Sip / Ban Donkang / Phrae Province / Mae Thang Watershed / Ban Pong / Tien Xuan Commune / Dong Xuan Commune / Cua Khau Dam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043015)
(3.66 MB)
6 International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2005. Romper los ciclos de degradacion de la tierra: estudio de un caso en Ban Lak Sip, Republica Democratica Popular Lao. In Spanish. [Breaking the cycles of land degradation: a case study from Ban Lak Sip, Lao PDR]. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 6p. (IWMI Water Policy Briefing 016) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2012.016]
Land degradation ; Erosion ; Case studies ; Farming systems ; Development policy ; Environmental policy ; Policy making / Laos / Ban Lak Sip
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.4 G708 INT Record No: H045354)
(5.59MB)
This issue of Water Policy Briefing is based on research presented in When ‘Conservation’ Leads to Land Degradation: Lessons from Ban Lak Sip, Laos (IWMI Research Report 91) by Guillaume Lestrelin, Mark Giordano and Bounmy Keohavong. The research was carried out by the Managing Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC)—a multi-country collaborative effort to better understand land degradation, and potential solutions, in upland areas of Southeast Asia. MSEC is coordinated by IWMI with substantial contributions from France’s Institute of Research for Development (IRD). MSEC’s primary partner in Laos is the Soil Survey and Land Classification Center. Around the world, intensive farming in fragile environments is taking its toll on natural resources. This has led to greater awareness of the need to use agricultural land sustainably—to maximize yields without compromising the health and productivity of the soil. Laos’ current rural-development and land-use policies were influenced in part by exactly such an environmental agenda. However, a recent study has shown that land degradation has actually increased in the village of Ban Lak Sip since these policies were put in place. The study used an innovative multi-scale approach to analyze local land degradation in relation to Laos’ broader socioeconomic and political environment. This showed that new policies had created an artificial shortage of land—forcing farmers to crop more intensively, and inadvertently causing more degradation. conventional forms of scientific analysis would have identified the change in farming patterns as the cause of degradation. But, importantly, they would not have pinpointed why the change occurred—information which is vital if ways of resolving the problem are to be found. So, because of the analytical approach used, the case of Ban Lak Sip provides a cautionary lesson in the formulation of environmental policy. Policymakers need to carefully consider the impacts that conservation efforts will have on people’s livelihood strategies, if they are to avoid forcing communities to take up practices that increase environmental degradation. To this end, any environmental policy that imposes restrictions, especially on people’s livelihood activities, will need to offer new opportunities too.
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