forest rehabilitation in lao pdr issues and … – the world conservation union forest...

IUCN – The World Conservation Union

FOREST REHABILITATION IN

LAO PDR

Issues and Constraints

Xiong Tsechalicha

and

Don Gilmour

February 2000

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people have provided useful information and shared their opinions on the issues which have been discussed in this report. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the following people:

Mr. Silavanh Sawathvong – Director, National SCSP; Mr. Bounphom Mounda – Deputy Director, Plantation Promotion and Nature Conservation Division, DoF; Mr. Khamphay Manivong – Director, Forestry Research Centre, DoF; Mr Boualy Phamuang, Head, Land Use and Land Allocation Unit, Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Programme; Mr. Oudomsak Vilaylack – Deputy Director, Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, DoF; Mr. Sounthone Kethphanh – National Coordinator, NTFP project; Mr. Carl Mossberg – Senior Forestry Adviser, Swedforest; Mr. Ioki Atsushi – Chief Advisor and Mr. Khampha Chanthilath – Deputy Director, DoF-JICA FORCAP project; Dr. Karl Kaiser – Team Leader, NAWACOP; Dr Marko Katila, Chief Technical Adviser to FOMACOP and Mr. Tuuka Castrén – Forest Economist, RETA Poverty Reduction and Environment Management in Remote Greater Mekong Subregion Watersheds (Phase 1).

Also, thanks to Mr. Peer Hijmans – FAO Representative in Lao PDR for his assistance with the FAO library search; to the staff of the Department of Forestry library and the Lao-Swedish Forestry Cooperation Programme for their assistance with literature search.

Financial support to carry out the work came from several sources. The GTZ-MRC Project through its team leader Dr Hans Helmrich, provided not only significant financial support, but also logistical backup and encouragement. Various programmes in IUCN also contributed financially and technically, in particular the global Forest Conservation Programme and the Commission on Ecosystem Management. Substantial financial support was also provided by the WWF Forests Reborn Project, and this is gratefully acknowledged.

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

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PREFACE

IUCN's programme in SE Asia has expanded during the past few years to become involved in a wide range of conservation and development issues. All governments in SE Asia are concerned about the rapid and extensive deforestation and forest degradation that has occurred in recent years. In addition to halting degradation, there is a clear need for various forms of rehabilitation in order to restore the productive and protective functions provided by viable forest ecosystems.

During 1998 and early 1999, IUCN: The World Conservation Union facilitated a regional overview of the policy and practice aspects associated with rehabilitating degraded forests in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. This regional project was developed by IUCN’s Forest Programme in collaboration with the following projects, networks and organisations:

� "Sustainable Management of Resources in the Lower Mekong Basin" Project (MRC/ GTZ) � "Forest Innovations - from theory to practice" Project (IUCN/ WWF/GTZ) � Working Group on Community Involvement in Forest Management � Commission on Ecosystem Management (IUCN) � WWF International, Forest Programme

The study culminated in the holding of a regional workshop in Bangkok in March/April 1999. Among the recommendations coming from this regional workshop was a suggestion to undertake national level assessments and consultative workshops in each of the four lower Mekong countries (Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Thailand) to engage a wider range of interested parties in detailed discussions. These national assessments and workshops together represent a second phase of the regional project entitled "Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest Ecosystems in the Lower Mekong Basin". The ultimate intention of this work, and future IUCN initiatives, is to assist stakeholders in the lower Mekong Basin countries to develop and implement ecologically and socio-economically sound forest rehabilitation policies and practices.

ADB Asian Development Bank

AFSD Agriculture, Forestry and Service Development

BGA Brieley General Finance & Asia Tech

BPKP Bolisat Phatthana Khet Phoudoi (Mountainous Areas Development Company)

CCM Chairman of the Council of Ministers (spelled following a decree)

DAFI Development of Agriculture and Forestry Industry

DoF Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

EODC European Overseas Development Corporation

FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

FOMACOP Forest Management and Conservation Programme

FORCAP Forest Conservation and Afforestation Project

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (Germany)

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

NAWACOP Nam Ngum Watershed Management and Conservation Project

NEM New Economic Mechanism

NOFIP National Office for Forest Inventory and Planning

NTFP Non-Timber Forest Product

PM Prime Minister (spelled following a decree)

SCSP Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project

SFE State Forestry Enterprise

TFAP Tropical Forestry Action Plan

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For this phase of the project, it was felt that Government involvement in, and ownership of, the consultation process and its outputs should be emphasised. A leading government agency in each country was engaged in planning and implementing the national workshop and preparing the workshop report. The national workshops were planned, conducted and documented jointly with a government counterpart agency through the establishment of a Workshop Steering Committee in each country. Each committee was provided with a budget and was responsible for:

� Prescribing the objectives, topics and agenda for the workshop and selecting the venue and participants;

� Running the workshop and preparing a workshop report for publication; and, � Following up on workshop recommendations and next steps.

The assessments and workshops were completed in 1999 for each country. This report represents the Lao PDR component of the regional project.

I wish to record my thanks to the workshop committee members and authors, and to the many organisations and people who assisted with the development and implementation of this project.

Andrew Ingles

Head, Regional Forest Programme IUCN: The World Conservation Union Asia Regional Office P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120, THAILAND Tel: + (66 2) 524 6745 Fax: + (66 2) 524 5392 E-mail: [email protected]

1. Executive summary

Lao PDR, as with all of the countries in the lower Mekong basin, has experienced high rates of deforestation and forest degradation during the past half century. Forest cover was reduced from 70% of the land area in the 1940s to 47% or less by 1999. It has been estimated that about 129,000 ha per annum of forest was being lost in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This represents a substantial loss in productivity, biodiversity and ecosystem function for the country. The causes for the loss in forest include:

� Encroachment into forest for permanent cultivation; � Shifting cultivation; � Forest fires; � Legal and illegal logging; � Infrastructure development.

It seems that there are about 8.7 million ha of land throughout the country with the potential to be rehabilitated. Not all of this land that is potentially available would be unused, unclaimed or totally unproductive, but the figure gives some indication of the possibilities.

The government has recognised the problems associated with the severe loss in forest cover, and, commencing with the first National Forestry Conference in 1989, has attempted to address them with a series of policy initiatives. These have taken several directions but have the ambitious overall aim of increasing the forest area of the country to 70% by the year 2020. One thrust has been to increase the role of the government in controlling and regulating logging and other forest extraction activities. A second has been to attempt to contain shifting cultivation by encouraging fixed cultivation. A third has been to develop partnerships with village communities to encourage villagers to take on responsibilities for forestry development in village areas, and share in the benefits coming from this. Linked to this third approach is a move towards allocating forest land to communities for agricultural and forest development. A fourth approach has been to encourage private individuals and organisations to take a lead in establishing plantations of economic tree species. The impact of these sometimes conflicting policies has yet to be determined, but among the challenges to be faced in the years ahead are:

� A lack of clarity regarding procedures for plantation establishment; � Uncertainty over the sharing of costs and benefits associated with establishing and harvesting products

from plantations;

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� Limited financial resources and human capacity and the lack of well developed markets.

While the process of land-forest allocation and land tenure certification has been clarified during the past few years, there is little significant progress on the ground. Other challenges relate to improving research on tree species suitable for planting on a range of sites, and the provision of quality seed. In addition, uncertainties remain over the market demand for the wood from plantations. All of these issues will need to be addressed in the years ahead if the extensive areas of degraded forests are to be rehabilitated to a more productive state in order to provide a range of ecosystem goods and services.

2. Introduction

2.1 General

The rehabilitation of degraded forest land in Lao PDR has become a major Government strategy aimed at reversing the trends in forest loss and degradation, and at the same time, providing income and employment opportunities for the population. Forest rehabilitation (particularly through plantation establishment) has focused primarily on degraded and unstocked forest land that is allocated for afforestation by the authorities. A range of decrees and laws has been developed to support these endeavours. The overall intention is to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems to improve to provision of ecosystem goods and services, with economic benefits accruing to the tree developers.

The objective of this report is to examine forest rehabilitation policies and practices in the country, focusing on the following issues:

� The status of forests in the country; � Policy and laws relevant to forest land use in general; � Policy and laws relevant to forest rehabilitation in particular; � Technical aspects associated with forest rehabilitation; � Extent and effectiveness of past forest rehabilitation activities; � Land allocation for forest rehabilitation and associated tenure issues; � Institutional / policy constraints to small holder involvement in plantation investment; � Lessons learned from the experiences.

2.2 Study methodology

The information obtained for this report is based chiefly on literature review in the DoF, LSFP and IUCN Lao PDR libraries. A search was also made of FAO, MAF, UNDP and MRC libraries and of the NOFIP library and the library of the Agriculture and Forestry Faculty, National University of Laos. Most of the information is based on government and project sources.

Personal consultations and interviews were conducted with key officials of the Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (specifically the National Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Programme, the Division of Plantation Promotion and Nature Conservation; Forestry Research Centre; NTFP Project; Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project) as well as the Lao-Swedish Forestry Cooperation Programme and the JICA-DoF Forest Conservation and Afforestation Project. Consultations were also made with personnel of the GTZ supported Nam Ngum Watershed Management and Conservation Project (NAWACOP) and RETA (Regional technical assistance) for Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management in Remote Greater Mekong Sub-region Watersheds project.

A meeting held with key officials of the Department of Forestry in November 1999 provided valuable refinement to an earlier draft of this document.

2.3 Defining restoration, rehabilitation and reclam ation

The terminology, in both English and Lao, used in relation to forest rehabilitation in Lao PDR is confusing in the sense that it does not make a clear distinction about the types of activities for which a specific term is applied. Some of the terms often encountered in this regard are re-afforestation (afforestation), forest plantation and simply reforestation. Nevertheless, as noted by Cameron et al., "…re-afforestation programmes must be considered in a very broad sense and include management and protection of natural regeneration, establishment of agroforestry systems with farmers using participatory methods, and establishment of regular

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plantations…" (Cameron et al., 1995).

In this report a particular distinction in the use of terminology is made between restoration, rehabilitation and reclamation.

� Restoration is used only for those situations where the intent is to recreate an ecosystem as close as possible to that which originally existed at the site.

� Rehabilitation, on the other hand, is used where, for ecological or commercial reasons, it has been necessary to include exotic species in the new succession. This might be because only exotic species such as Acacia can tolerate the soils now present at the degraded site and are necessary as nurse species to facilitate the entry of the original native species. Or it may be that commercial imperatives demand certain agricultural or timber species be included to justify the rehabilitation effort.

� Reclamation is used for those situations where no native species are used at all. In such cases there may be no direct benefits to regional biodiversity but there may be major social advantages or benefits such as improved watershed protection. The approaches differ in the extent to which they enable the original biodiversity to be regained. The approaches are similar, however, in that they all seek to establish a prescribed and stable new land use. (Excerpt from Lamb, 1999.)

Most forest or tree plantations in Lao PDR could be considered to be rehabilitation activities according to the definition given above.

3. Background

Forests play an important role in the Lao PDR economy and the livelihood of Lao people. The contribution of forests to the GDP is estimated at 15%, and accounts for about 40% of export earnings (FAO-Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Asia (STRAP), 1994 cited in Cameron et al., 1995). However, a more recent figure of 5.5% has been used by the Annual National Agriculture and Forestry Conference for 1998-99. Eighty percent of domestic energy consumption is wood-based (JICA/Lao PDR, 1997), and forests provide substantial quantities of non-timber forest products (NTFP) to the daily needs of the population. Despite the fact that Lao PDR has a small population compared to that of its neighbours, the pressure on natural forests has increased in the past few decades causing a rapid decline in the country’s forest cover. Declining forest area and continuing degradation of forests have led to government efforts to create a policy environment to encourage the rehabilitation of forests by establishing forest plantations and promoting natural regeneration. A range of policy changes to promote these activities has been made during recent years. These have included the adoption of appropriate resolutions, decrees and laws regarding the use and protection of natural forests as well as the promotion of forest plantations. In recent years, several private and joint venture forest plantation companies as well as individual farmers have become involved in forest plantation activities in the country.

3.1 Trends in forest cover

There has been a significant loss of forest area in Lao PDR during recent decades. In 1940, the forest cover was estimated at 17 million ha, or 70% of the total land area. By the early 1960s, it was reduced to 15 million ha, or 64% of the total land area (Phanthanousy, 1994). In the late 1980s, based on aerial photos and satellite images, it was estimated that the forest cover was reduced to 11.2 million ha or 47% (1989) of the total land area. More recent estimates by the GTZ-MRC project suggest that the area of forest has been reduced to about 41%, but this estimate has yet to be confirmed.

The estimated net loss of forest between 1982 and 1989 was 67,000 ha p.a. or 2.0% p.a. of the total land area during the seven years, with 2.6%, 2.1% and 1.2% p.a. loss in the central, northern and southern regions respectively (NOFIP, 1992). Recent UNDP estimates of the deforestation rate for Lao PDR for the period 1990-95 are 1.2% p.a. (UNDP Human Development Report, 1998). FAO (1995) estimated that the annual loss of forest cover amounts to about 129,000 ha. The differences in estimates between different sources can be attributed to the different definitions of "forest" adopted by different groups and to differences in techniques used to determine the estimates. However, irrespective of the precise figures, it is clear that Lao PDR has experienced (and continues to experience) high rates of forest loss and degradation.

The Tropical Forestry Action Plan for Lao PDR (1990) classified the forest in the country into the following categories as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Classification of forest types in Lao PDR

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The National Office of Forest Inventory and Planning (NOFIP) carried out a reconnaissance survey in 1992 using satellite photo interpretation, to determine the land use categories in the country. The results of this survey are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Land use classification in Lao PDR

Source: NOFIP, 1992.

There is clearly a large amount of "potential forest" (almost 38% of the land area) identified by the NOFIP survey, and Table 3 shows the regional distribution of this land.

Table 3. Status of non agricultural land in Lao PDR

Source: National Forest Inventory, National Office of Forest Inventory and Planning, quoted in Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project 1995b.

As Table 3 indicates, there is a total of almost 8.7 million ha of land throughout the country with the potential to

Forest category Area (ha)

Evergreen 3,436,000

Mixed deciduous 5,685,000

Deciduous 1,664,000

Other (pine forest, bamboo forest) 488,000

Total 11,273,000

Land use category Forest cover

Area ('000 ha) %

Current forest (crown cover > 20%) 11,167.9 47.2

Potential forest 8,949.0 37.8

Other wooded areas 1,444.1 6.0

Permanent agricultural areas 849.5 3.6

Other non-forest land 1,269.5 5.4

Total 23,680 100.0

Region Total land area Forest area Potential forest area

Bamboo Unstocked Grassland

Area in '000 ha

North 11,312 4,513 705 4,641 549

Centre 5,737 3,179 434 923 129

South 6,630 3,945 318 872 126

Total 23,679 11,637 1,457 6,436 804

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be tree covered. While there may be some debate over the accuracy of these figures, it is clear that irrespective of the precise numbers, there is an enormous area of land with some potential for rehabilitation. Of course, this does not imply that all of this land which is potentially available is unused, unclaimed or totally unproductive. Much of it would be providing subsistence products such as fuelwood, charcoal, building material and non-timber forest products as well as some products for sale. This is likely to be particularly relevant for the 1.4 million ha of bamboo covered land. The interaction between local communities and the forest land in their immediate vicinity is an important consideration when discussing the application of policies designed to alter land use. In addition to the land indicated in Table 3, there would be a vast area of forest that has been degraded by past logging and other usage, but not to the extent of being classified as unstocked or grassland. Much of this forest would also benefit from rehabilitation of its productive and protective functions.

3.2 Shifting cultivation and deforestation

Some of the main causes of forest loss and degradation in Lao PDR are shifting cultivation, commercial logging, encroachment by farmers into upland forest areas, rural use of forest and uncontrolled fires (Fröberg et al., 1990). Shifting cultivation clearance, on which some 253,000 families depend (1.5 million people, based on the 1985 census), is affecting an estimated of 300,000 ha p.a. and a further 100,000 ha are affected by fires annually (TFAP, 1990). In 1990, the number of shifting cultivators increased to 277,000 families (Phanthanousy, 1994); the number reduced to 187,000 families (30% of the population) in the mid-1990s with an estimated area cleared of 177,000 ha annually (Kingsada, 1998). In 1996, it was reported that the area under shifting cultivation was 176,000 ha, which is a 10% reduction compared to the 1991 level (DoF, 1997a). Shifting cultivation in Lao PDR is believed to cause serious degradation to the land and the environment and has been a matter of concern for a long time. Since the 1980s, the stabilisation of shifting cultivation has been a major policy focus of the government, but it is a complex issue and must be considered in association with integrated rural development of the uplands (Sawathvong, 1998). Currently, a major programme in the Department of Forestry aims to find ways to stabilise shifting cultivation. The Lao Government has set a target to stabilise shifting cultivation in the country by finding alternative occupations for 100,000 families by the year 2000, while the remaining families will be offered alternatives by the year 2020 (Kingsada, 1998). Among the permanent occupations proposed in this regard are:

(DoF, 1997a)

The implementation of these core programmes will be associated with supporting infrastructure development to facilitate their achievement. In addition, forest rehabilitation is seen as closely related to the shifting cultivation stabilisation process (Castrén, pers. com.), particularly in the northern region, which has been heavily affected by this kind of farming. For example, in the two northern provinces of Luang Prabang and Houaphan some 80,000 families are still engaged in shifting cultivation. This represents about 35% of all shifting cultivators in the entire country (Lao PDR Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project (SCSP), 1998).

3.3 Logging and forest degradation

Logging, both legal and illegal, has been wide spread until recently. In 1991, the Lao Government enacted Decree 67/PM enforcing a logging ban in natural forests. This was effectively a response to the "illegal and incorrect" logging practices and their related environmental impacts as well as to give the government a "firm control" over logging operations carried out in the natural forests (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995c). In addition, the ban was intended to provide time for the assessment of the situation and formulation of definite guidelines for future utilisation of the forests. The immediate outcome of the ban is that all activities in the forests and sawmills were stopped (ADB: Third Forestry Development Project, 1992). In spite of the overall logging ban, logging still occurs in many places, and in particular in areas where major infrastructure projects are planned. These include the inundation areas of watersheds proposed for large dam construction. While logging per se rarely causes deforestation, it generally results in some loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function. This degradation can be severe when large volumes of timber are removed without adequate planning.

Also in the early 1990s, a rapid nationwide forest inventory was carried out, which played a major role in the

� sedentary paddy farming 15,000 families

� livestock-fishery occupation 20,000 families

� tree planting as an occupation 30,000 families

� growing short duration crops 23,600 families

� practising permanent upland farming 11,400 families

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enactment of Decree No.164/PM in 1993 on the establishment of National Biodiversity Conservation Areas.

3.4 Focus on forest rehabilitation

Deforestation and forest degradation lead to losses in:

� Productivity, � Ecosystem services (particularly watershed protection), and � Biodiversity.

Rehabilitation aims to restore these functions, and the type of intervention chosen will determine the priority given to each of them. Major priority is often given to restoring productivity, because of the important economic implications.

The First National Forestry Conference, held in 1989, identified an urgent need for forest protection and development. These twin goals were translated into the need to restore degraded forest ecosystems, enhance forest cover, and stabilise shifting cultivation. In addition, it was perceived that the need to assure timber supplies to local industrial manufacturers will become increasingly important, as natural forests will be unable to satisfy demands in the future. In line with the resolutions of the conference, 17 million ha of land (70% of the total land area) was allocated to forestry for management and development within the following categories (TFAP, 1990):

The strategy emphasised the importance of using natural regeneration because of the large areas involved and the cost effectiveness of such approaches. One approach considered for this is to concentrate rehabilitation efforts on fallow land where there are more than 30% of "economic species" in the total species mix of the natural regeneration (DoF, 1997a). However, the application if this approach remains to be tested. Another approach considered is to require that, in the process of land clearance for farming, up to 30% of the natural trees should be retained (Sawathvong, pers. com.).

In spite of the proposed emphasis on natural regeneration, the approach that has received major promotion is one whereby site productivity will be enhanced by establishing plantations of various species (see Appendix 2 for details of species recommended for different regions). It is perceived that this approach, if implemented, would also contribute to improved watershed protection and make some contribution to regional biodiversity conservation.

Lao PDR has a very good system of protected areas (the National Biodiversity Conservation Areas), but in themselves they will be insufficient to conserve the full range of the country's biodiversity. Effective forest rehabilitation across the landscape can contribute significantly to the provision of a wide range of productive and protective functions, including biodiversity conservation.

Based on the climatic and geographical conditions in Lao PDR, it is proposed that forest rehabilitation be concentrated in the following areas (DoF, 1997b) (see Appendix 1 for details of the areas of land potentially available in different regions):

Northern Region:

Provinces: Luang Namtha, Phongsaly, Bokeo, Oudomsay, Luang Prabang, Sayaburi.

Upper Mekong Basin:

Provinces: Sayaburi, Vientiane

Middle Mekong Basin:

Forest Type Area

Protection forest 9.5 million ha

Conservation forest 2.5 million ha

Production forest 5.0 million ha

Total 17 million ha

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Provinces: Vientiane, Vientiane Prefecture, Bolikhamxay, Khammouane, Savannakhet

Xieng Khouang Plateau:

Provinces: part of Xieng Khouang

Nakai Plateau:

Provinces: part of Bolikhamxay, Khammouane

Central Highlands:

Provinces: part of Savannakhet and Salavan

Boloven Plateau:

Provinces: part of Champassak, Salavan

4. Evolution of forest policy

4.1 Before 1975

The scope of forestry policy development prior to 1975 was limited due primarily to the then on-going war in the country. This period can be characterised as the period of trial plots, partial forest reconnaissance surveys and training in forestry techniques, even though re-afforestation plans were also envisaged (USAID Mission to Laos, 1970; Ovington, 1972, 1973). The main feature of the forestry sector was the commercial extraction of wood for export, which in many cases could not be regulated. Efforts to stop slash-and-burn in remote areas were only partially addressed. The most important development was the establishment of the Lao-Australian Reforestation Project (LARP) in the late 1960s – early 1970s. Forestry activities under this project continued until 1975 when forest plantation sites were established in five provinces (Champassak, Savannakhet, Luang Prabang, Sayaburi and Vientiane) (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995a). The project involved research, training of Lao personnel and later the establishment of two demonstration nurseries in the country (USAID Mission to Laos, 1970). A Forestry Training Centre was established at Dong Dok during this period with support from the Australian Government.

4.2 1975-1989

The early stage of this period was characterised mainly by the reorganisation of the national economy after the war. Since 1976 the Lao Government has had a priority to stop shifting cultivation by gradually settling shifting cultivators into areas of sedentary agriculture. As part of this process, the favoured methods to meet the need of the settled people include "…clearing or rehabilitation of wet rice fields, intensification of agriculture on favourable land, and planting of fruit trees" (Souvanthong, 1995). One of the forestry-related decrees and regulations promulgated during this period was the Decree No.74 on Forest Management (1979). Another important feature of this period was the formation of nine State Forestry Enterprises (SFEs) (DoF, n.d.) in the country to undertake the combined responsibility for logging operations and forest management. In 1980, the Government declared 1st June to be National Tree Planting Day. This was an attempt to encourage and promote tree planting (forest plantation) movements. This has been followed ever since, with attempts to gain community participation in tree planting every year.

Following the Fourth Party Congress in 1986, a restriction on shifting cultivation and forest clearance for farming and a plan to ‘arrange’ fixed occupations for some 277,000 families of shifting cultivators then engaged in this kind of farming was raised in the agenda (Souvanthong, 1995). One of the strategies proposed to resolve this issue was the integration of upland cultivation with reforestation (agroforestry). However, according to Souvanthong, this "ambitious resettlement plan" was never implemented. Severe deforestation primarily for shifting agriculture and forest fires had still been prevalent and continued at the rate of 300,000 ha and 100,000 ha per year respectively (TFAP, 1990). The need for gradual stabilisation of shifting cultivation in the country was raised in the Tropical Forestry Action Plan and in subsequent forestry policy documents.

4.3 1989-1998

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This period signifies the most important phase in forestry policy evolution in Lao PDR. In 1989, the first National Forestry Conference was convened to review and assess the forestry situation and to outline the measures for action towards forest management and protection of the environment. This was a turning point in the forestry sector with a theoretical shift signalled from exploitation-based forestry to the "preservation, planting and development of forests" (Resolution of the First National Forestry Conference, 1989). It was acknowledged that the destruction of forests was reaching a critical phase and forest "restoration, preservation and reforestation" were seen as matters of necessity and urgency. As a response to this urgency, three strategic directives were laid down by the conference:

i. Preserve the extent of present forests; ii. Rational use of forest and forest resources; iii. Restoration, preservation and development of forests in connection with the needs in cereals;

permanent settlement of the 1.5 million people (60% of the total population) then engaged in slash-and-burn farming, by the year 2000.

Four urgent measures were adopted:

i. Forestry policy development on restoration, preservation, reforestation, forest development and rational use of forest resources.

ii. Institutional strengthening within forestry sector at all levels. iii. Budget allocation for forestry development and settlement needs. iv. Training and capacity building for forestry personnel.

The needs for afforestation were identified, according to which, courses on afforestation, forest preservation and natural restoration need to be organised. The conference effectively laid down the basis for the formulation of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan for the country. Shortly after the conference the Decree 117/CCM (October 1989) on the Management, Use of Forest and Forest Land was adopted (see Section 4 below).

In 1990, the Tropical Forestry Action Plan for Lao PDR was produced and this further reinforced the urgency of addressing the issues outlined above. In 1997, the Department of Forestry drafted the forestry sector "vision 2020" (details below) comprising of seven strategic frameworks, one of which is on the land allocation for afforestation. Recently, a number of special key policy areas were formulated by the Department of Forestry and are currently pending approval by the Government, including one on Plantation Development in Lao PDR. The main purpose of this strategy is to define the plantation areas and the tree species to be planted (Sawathvong, 1998). Other special key regulations concerning natural resource utilisation that were to be approved during 1998 are (Ibid.):

� Regulation on Planting and Rehabilitating Forests � Regulation on Exploitation of Forest Product and Forest Industry � Regulation on the Rights and Obligations of Forest and Forest Land Users

Several other forestry and plantation related decrees were issued, including the decree 67/PM (1991) on the Logging Ban; Decree 169/PM (1993) on the Management of Forest and Forest Land; Decree 186/PM (1994) on the Allocation of Land and Forest Land for Tree Plantations and Forest Protection. However, the most important step in the development of forest legislation was the adoption of the Forestry Law in 1996. The law signifies a move towards comprehensive management and utilisation of forest resources, including the legal provision for reforestation.

5. Vision for the future

In 1997, a "Vision 2020" was developed by the Department of Forestry to translate policy into strategies. As part of this policy vision, the Government is aiming to increase forest cover from the present level to 70% by the year 2020. To achieve this target, a range of approaches needs to be developed. Because of the magnitude of the task, artificial establishment of forests (using plantations) will likely play only a small role because of the high costs and the difficulty in obtaining sufficient areas of suitable land. Consequently, a major priority will need to be given to using natural regeneration, and this conforms to the strategic guidelines outlined during the First National Forestry Conference.

As part of the Vision 2020, the following priorities were outlined (Sawathvong, 1998):

� Develop viable alternatives to shifting cultivation and gradually stabilise unsustainable upland farming

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� Allocate land to rural families and enterprises and encourage afforestation � Survey the National Forest Resource and set up appropriate systems for forest management � Implement management in the Biodiversity Conservation Areas and protect priority watersheds � Develop forest industries � Improve human resource development � Improve forestry research

According to this vision, along with supporting and finding viable alternatives to shifting cultivation, approximately 2 million ha of degraded forests are expected to be rehabilitated and 0.5 million ha are targeted for re-afforestation (Kingsada, 1998). More importantly, the approach to forest plantation management and forest rehabilitation will be shifted towards small-scale plantations, which, it is perceived, would achieve better outcomes. This means that large numbers of small farmers rather than a few large companies and enterprises will be the major plantation owners and managers (Kingsada, 1998; Manivong, pers. com.). The plantation trends postulated for the year 2020 are seen as follows:

� Plantation establishment by foreign companies in joint ventures with Lao enterprises in association with planting by people on their own land on a contractual basis will cover the largest planting areas.

� The second largest plantation establishment will consist of farmers and private individuals planting on their own land with the area varying from 1-20 ha each.

� The third largest group will be plantings by Lao private companies.

On average, most plantations will be small-scale of 1-5 ha, and it is estimated that 40% of the species used will be Teak and local (native) species (Kingsada, 1998).

The policy direction to use barren land and degraded and eroded forest land to reforest using plantations (Article 2, Decree 186/PM) is one approach towards rehabilitation. The Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project recommends the use of degraded and unstocked forest land for plantation on a commercial basis, which at the same time will also enhance the ecosystem services, particularly the protection of watersheds.

While the approach to rehabilitation of degraded forest lands outlined above emphasises the use of plantations, the same arguments (in terms of transferring land to private or communal ownership) could be applied to rehabilitation through natural regeneration.

6. Forest plantation / rehabilitation related polic ies

6.1 General

The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) adopted by the Government of Lao PDR in 1986 was intended to provide an important impetus for the private sector to play a larger role in the economic development of the country. In the forestry sector, the policy development was strengthened by the resolutions of the First National Forestry Conference in 1989, and further by the adoption of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP), now the National Forestry Action Plan (NFAP). The two decrees promulgated in the early 1990s, Decree 169/PM (1993) and Decree 186/PM (1994), provided a comprehensive legal framework to facilitate the tree planting programmes and activities. With the adoption of the Forestry Law (1996) and the Land Law (1997), the role of forest plantations has broadened, as they must contribute to meeting the national target of increasing forest cover as well as satisfying the income needs of people.

One of the six programmes highlighted in the National Forestry Action Plan is the promotion of plantation forestry. The objective of this is to rehabilitate and reforest the unstocked forest land, as well as denuded or eroded land (Lao PDR SCSP, 1998; Samountry and Applegate, 1995). The following major decrees and laws, which are relevant to discussions of forest rehabilitation, were promulgated during the past decade:

� Decree 117/CM (1989) on the Management, Use of Forest and Forest Land. � Decree 169/PM (1993) on the Management of Forest and Forest Land � Decree 186/PM (1994) on the Allocation of Land and Forest Land for Tree Plantation and Forest

Protection � Forestry Law (1996) � Land Law (1997) � Prime Minister's Order No. 11 (1999)

Decrees 169 and 186 have been expressly replaced by the Forestry Law and Article 75 of the Forestry Law

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states that "…Apart from these decrees all other regulations which contradict this law are cancelled."

In spite of the overriding importance of the Forestry Law, each of the decrees and laws mentioned above is now be discussed in detail as they give a good indication of the changing emphasis of forest policy during the past decade.

6.2 Decree 117/CM (October 1989)

According to this decree, the State can allocate from 2-5 ha of forest and forest land to a farmer; and from 100-500ha to a village or cooperative, to protect, rehabilitate and plant with trees in their respective localities (Article 3). The State promotes and acknowledges the ownership of collectives or individuals who use unoccupied land and degraded forest land for rehabilitation and forest plantation or for a combination of agroforestry development activities with their own funding provided they are carried out strictly in accordance with the forestry regulations (Article 5). There are also provisions for rehabilitating forest after logging and for prohibiting clear cutting (Article 7 and 9 respectively). The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is held responsible for the collection and use of forest resource fees - it should develop plans for the use of the forest extraction fees and fines for the protection, rehabilitation and forest plantation activities. It is strictly prohibited to use the money for any other purposes. If necessary, the State will allocate additional funds from the forest resource tax for the above purpose (Article 11).

6.3 Decree 169/PM (November 1993)

Decree 169/PM (November 1993) which is no longer in effect, provided the basic legal framework for forest operations and management. The decree classified forest land into five categories: Protection, Conservation, Production, Regeneration and Degraded Forest types (Article 11). (These categories received further coverage in the Forestry Law). The degraded forest category has been the main focus of interest in forest rehabilitation with plantations.

Decree 169/PM acknowledged the property rights over trees and forest planted and maintained with the labour and capital of individuals, collectives and judicial entities. The property can be owned, used, transferred and inherited (Article 4). In addition, the State also acknowledged the rights of villagers over the use of forests and NTFPs in accordance with the village’s regulations. Article 5 established the obligations of individuals or collectives to reforest (rehabilitate the forest) after disturbances by extractive activities.

Forest land could be allocated to individuals or entities for occupation and use on a contractual basis. Article 33 stated that individuals, collectives or entities may use the allocated land for tree planting (if there are degraded or vacant forest areas suitable for such an activity) in accordance with specific regulations in a contract. The regulations governing specific kinds of plantation, including plantation for watershed and environmental protection were to be issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

6.4 Decree 186/PM (October 1994)

Decree 186/PM (October 1994) – also no longer in effect -- provided a comprehensive legal framework for the allocation of land for forest and tree plantations. It contained provisions for "strong support and incentives for the development of sustainable plantations as well as for protection of forests in general in Lao PDR" (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995b). According to this decree, the State could allocate land for plantation development to both Laotian families and foreign residents (Article 5) and to government organisations, departments, military and police units, service organisations, schools, hospitals and pagodas according to their capability to undertake the operation (Article 6). The decree permitted private enterprises and individuals to invest in plantations on their land (Article 8); foreign enterprises/companies could hold land concessions for plantations on the basis of joint venture arrangements with Lao State Owned Enterprises (Article 9). More importantly, a land tax exemption on land used for plantations was considered on condition that the "effective" tree stocking rate was not less than 1,100 stems/ha - which is equivalent to a spacing of 3m x 3m (Article 14). Also, the right to use, transfer, and inherit the land under plantations was recognised by the State (Article 17).

6.5 Forestry Law (November 1996)

As indicated above, the Forestry Law replaces the two previous decrees (169/PM and 186/PM). The law further emphasises the allocation of forest and forest land to individuals and organisations for management and use. The objective of tree planting and forest regeneration is stated as to protect, conserve, and increase the forest resources and to satisfy demand for timber and other forest products on a sustainable basis (Article 33). Article 13 asserts that the State grants the rights to use degraded forest and barren land to individuals (up to 3 ha per unit of labour in the family) and organisations for the purpose of planting trees or regenerating

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forest, depending on their financial and labour capacity. More importantly, this Article clearly states that it is forbidden to use well developed natural forest or fallow forest, which can regenerate naturally, for tree planting.

The law highlights the State policy to further encourage individuals and organisations to engage in tree planting through the creation of various incentives, subsidies and regulations conducive to the investment in tree planting (Article 34, see also Section 6.5). Other important provisions in the Forestry Law are the "special recognition and incentives" such as credit incentives and tax exemptions that will be given to individuals and organisations for their protection and maintenance of forest (Article 35). In accordance with Article 37, local forest agencies are responsible for the formulation of short, medium, and long-term plans for tree planting and forest regeneration in their area of jurisdiction. The plans should indicate all the details of the tree establishment, including the quantity and species planted, as well as the location and areas of planting, the responsible parties and budgets involved. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is responsible for the issue of regulations governing the appropriate techniques and methods required for tree planting and forest regeneration, including the methods and techniques to enhance natural regeneration, seedling production, planting and maintenance (Article 38).

6.6 Land Law (April 1997)

The Land Law replaces Decree 99/PM dated 19 December 1992 on Land, and has as its purpose inter alia to contribute to national socio-economic development, including the protection of the environment (Article 1). According to the Law, the State protects the interest of the effective land users on a long-term basis and guarantees the rights to use and protect the land as well as the rights to obtain the benefits from the land, and the transfer and inheritance rights (Article 5). According to the Law, Lao citizens are permitted to lease land for a period of up to 30 years, after which an extension can be granted on a case by case basis (Article 13).

The land use rights are divided into the right to use both agricultural and forest land. The former concerns the use of land for agricultural purposes where the State will allocate up to 3 ha per labour-capable member in the family. The latter concerns the right to forest land (degraded and barren land) for long-term production purposes on the same allocation conditions (Articles 17 and 21 respectively). The rights to permanent tenure of the land are granted following a three-year temporary lawful use of the allocated land in both cases.

6.7 Prime Minister's Order No. 11 (August 1999)

The preamble of this order indicates that, even though the Forestry Law has been promulgated since 1996, many provinces have violated the logging regulations in various ways. The intention of the Order is to strengthen the role of the central government in regulating and controlling all forestry-related activities in order to halt and reverse the "alarming" destruction of the country's forests. Of particular relevance to forest rehabilitation are Clauses 2 and 3. Clause 2 indicates that both logging and the collection of NTFPs must be linked with tree planting. For every one cu m of timber cut, 20 trees must be replanted under the supervision of the government. It is not clear what conditions will apply to the harvesting of NTFPs. Clause 3 outlines a policy to promote reforestation by offering land tax exemptions for individuals and organisations whose land is used for tree planting. This is intended to apply where the stocking rate of the planted forest is no less than 1,100 trees per ha.

7. Forest rehabilitation programmes and activities

7.1 Raising awareness

Re-afforestation (forest rehabilitation) is considered in Lao PDR to be a public activity, which should involve all people, sectors and organisations (Souvanxay, 1995). Awareness raising, therefore, is an important part of the forest rehabilitation process. The Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, for example, includes teaching, training and assistance in the methods and techniques of tree planting. Moreover, convincing people of the benefits of tree planting is crucial. Emphasis is also given to finding reliable markets for future forest products in order to assure greater involvement in forest plantations. Awareness raising becomes even more important when the approach to rehabilitation is to "reduce the pressures" on the forests rather than just to plant more trees (Mounda, pers. com.).

The declaration of 1st June as National Tree Planting Day is another example of raising awareness among people about the importance of tree planting. Most such tree planting campaigns are carried out mainly to emphasise the obligations of citizens and organisations to reforest the land and enrich the environment rather than for commercial benefits.

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7.2 Approaches to establishing forest plantations

There are three main goals of tree plantation considered: planting tree to become forest (reforestation goal), planting to supply local wood requirements and planting to supply the need of industrial manufacturers (Sawathvong, pers. com.). In its broadest sense, forest rehabilitation is one component of an integrated process of forest land use planning and allocation.

The rehabilitation process became more widespread after 1989 (following the First Forestry Conference). By 1990, a considerable number of private enterprises and individuals began to invest in commercial tree planting (DoF, n.d.). In general, forest plantations in Lao PDR are of interest to three major groups (see also Annex 3):

� Individuals � Private companies � Joint ventures with foreign companies

Under Article 7 of the Decree186/PM, SFEs also have an obligation to become involved in plantation development. These enterprises have, in many cases, been involved in enrichment planting in the forests following logging to improve the commercial composition of those forests (DoF/Lao ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995).

In practical terms, rather than planting trees on all the land classified as suitable for plantation, it is sensible to consider the protection approach to encourage natural regeneration. This is financially cheaper and easier to handle and, as Mounda (pers.com.) has noted, has the added benefits of:

� reducing pressure on the remaining natural forests; � improving the livelihood of people through the creation of alternative income generation activities

(integrated rural development approach); � providing opportunities to implement the Forestry Law to the widest possible target group.

The above considerations are in line with the opinions expressed by other consultants working in Lao PDR, namely, that the use of natural regeneration is the most appropriate approach to reforestation (Mossberg; Kaiser, pers. com.). In general, natural regeneration in upland areas can occur provided sufficient care is taken to prevent fires in the young fallow forest. This provides an effective alternative to high cost artificial reforestation (Lao PDR SCSP, 1998).

Other forest rehabilitation activities carried out by the Department of Forestry include enrichment planting trials of trees on logged areas, one of which is on-going in Bolikhamxay and Savannakhet Provinces (Khamphay, pers. com.). This is carried out in accordance with the provision in the Forestry Law that following logging, the logged area must be properly maintained and/or replanted (Article 25, point 6). However, in reality the undertaking of this obligation is far from satisfactory as reported in the Lao PDR Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project document. This notes that a firm policy requiring loggers to rehabilitate logged forest is still lacking (Lao PDR SCSP, 1998).

7.3 Industrial/commercial plantations

Large scale commercial tree planting in Lao PDR started in 1990. Major companies and joint ventures undertaking forest plantation in Lao PDR are Boulapha (Sweden), European Overseas Development Corporation Limited (EODC, Thailand), Asia Tech (Thailand), BGA (Brieley General Finance & Asia Tech, New Zealand), Hipa (Malaysia) and Leuang Fat Hong (Hong Kong). There are also three state enterprises undertaking plantation activities: DAFI (Development of Agriculture and Forestry Industry), AFSD (Agriculture, Forestry and Service Development) and BPKP (Bolisat Phattana Khet Phoudoi – the Mountainous Areas Development Company).

Other forestry plantation projects operating under DoF include the Lao-ADB Forestry Plantation Project being implemented since 1994 and the JICA-DoF Forest Conservation and Afforestation Project (FORCAP) operating since 1996. The latter will be dealt with in Section 5.5 below.

The Lao-ADB Project is a large scale commercial plantation project operated in six provinces, whose main actors are the Government, farmers and companies. The aims of the project are to reforest unstocked forest and eroded forest land and hai areas (upland farming plots) with the involvement of companies, enterprises and farmers, and to increase the government’s capacity to earn foreign exchange (Samountry, in FAO, DoF and JICA, 1995). The target set is 9,600 ha of established plantations for 1994–2001, including 560 ha of demonstration plantations. A loan scheme is provided under this project through two credit lines. One is for

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plantation establishment, and is distributed to farmers and companies through the Bank of Lao PDR and commercial banks with the term of 8 and 12 years for farmers and companies and grace periods of 8 and 6 years respectively. The other is distributed to cover Government costs related to the programme and is managed through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (ADB: Third Forestry Development Project, 1992).

7.3.1 Selection criteria of species for industrial plantations

Article 4 of the Decree 186/PM states that both indigenous and exotic fast growing tree species should be the focus for commercial plantation along with Teak and other hardwood species for long term commercial benefits. In practice, around 30 different tree species have been planted in Laos although nearly 50% of the plantation area is Teak (Forest Inventory & Management Office, 1991). Generally, the species selection criteria are based on the following:

� Climatic and soil conditions, including the topography and altitude � Commercial interest (good price expectations) � Knowledge of the species � Easy access to seed source � Disease resistant abilities

(Summarising Lasy, 1995 and Sithep, 1995)

According to these criteria, "suitable tree species" were recommended for planting in each of the strategic areas (see Annex 2). Table 4 illustrates some of the most common tree species planted in Lao PDR.

Table 4. Most common tree species planted in Lao PD R

Source: Forest Inventory & Management Office, 1991.

Thus, the common species planted include Teak (commercially popular), Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Afzelia xylocarpa, Shorea vulgaris, Acacia spp. (agroforestry-based), Eucalyptus spp. etc. Burapha Company, for example, concentrates on planting Eucalyptus species for its fast growing and commercial properties.

7.4 Experience in plantation establishment

Tree planting in Lao PDR began as early as the 1930s, if not earlier, with the emphasis mainly on Teak plantations. However, accurate records on plot locations, rates of survival and approaches to plantation establishment are not available. Since the 1970s plantation establishment has been well documented. This has progressed in three stages. In the early 1970s species trial plantations were carried out by the DoF in conjunction with a number of projects. In 1990 small production plantations were established; and since 1993 plantation forestry has involved the investment of the private sector, which has resulted in 63% average annual increase in the area planted (Kingsada, 1998).

A survey in 1990 of the area of plantations indicated that the actual plantation area in Lao PDR was 2,900 ha in contrast to the claimed figure of 6,250 ha. The rest were either double counted during replanting or of too poor a quality to qualified as plantations. In many cases, the performance has not been sufficiently satisfactory in terms of height growth and trunk diameter. Among the reasons for the poor performance are poor maintenance and lack of thinning operations (Forest Inventory & Management Office, 1991). For instance, trees in a teak

Vernacular name Scientific name Area planted (ha)

% of total

Mai Sack Tectona grandis 2,460 47.0

Mai Dou Pterocarpus macrocarpus 1,020 19.5

Mai Tekha Afzelia xylocarpa 860 16.5

Mai Vick Eucalyptus spp. 320 6.0

Mai Tinpet Alstonia scholaris 210 4.0

Others 370 7.0

Total 5,240 100.0

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plot established in Savannakhet Province in 1954 have a mean dbh of only 25 cm and stand height of 15 m recorded in the early 1990s (Cameron et al., 1995).

It was reported that the farmers who were involved in past forest plantation campaigns preferred to plant indigenous tree species (87% of area planted of which 50% is Teak). Presently the Lao Government is considering the use of fast growing exotic species such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Acacia mangium. It is proposed that these be planted on non-arable lands and would contribute to meeting local wood demands (Lao PDR SCSP, 1998). Table 5 shows plantation areas established in Lao PDR up to 1998 and the planned plantings for the period 1996-2000.

Table 5. Plantations established during 1975-1998 a nd planned for 1996-2000

Source: DoF, 1998. *Planned, Souvanxay, 1995.

It is estimated that by the year 2000, the effective plantation area in Lao PDR will be 60,000 ha (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995a). In order to motivate all sectors, organisations, schools and individual farmers to become involved in the re-afforestation programmes, there is a need to formulate concrete policy with appropriate incentives (Souvanxay, 1995). These incentives so far have been in the form of allowing the use of NTFPs in the assigned land plots or the right to acquire degraded forest land for individual production purposes (Mounda, pers. com.). Tax exemptions on the land under tree plantations are considered in Decree 186/PM to further motivate community involvement. However, the growers must fulfil the conditions specified regarding tree stocking rate (i.e., 1,100 effective trees/ha) to qualify for such exemptions.

7.5 Rehabilitating upland watersheds

Watershed management in Lao PDR has focused primarily on the soil conservation issues rather than on comprehensive natural resources management (Sawathvong, 1998). Nevertheless, there exists a policy on promoting forest plantations to become permanent natural forest and on the protection of natural forest for the benefits of protecting healthy watersheds (DoF, 1997a). Thus, the general policy approach to watershed forest rehabilitation has been to encourage enrichment planting, particularly in degraded watersheds and hydropower dam catchment areas using native species (Sawathvong, pers. com.).

In practice, forest rehabilitation with regard to watershed areas has been concentrated primarily in the upper Nam Ngum watershed catchment areas in Vientiane and Xieng Khouang Provinces, feeding the irrigation facilities and the country’s largest hydropower production. Currently there are two major projects, one funded by Germany’s GTZ and the other by Japan’s JICA concentrating on rehabilitating watershed areas through forest protection and plantation establishment. The former, Nam Ngum Watershed Management and

Year Planted Area (ha)

Before 1975 -

1975-85 2,425

1986-89 1,257

1990 716

1991 1,359

1992 901

1993 2,219

1994 3,798

1995 8,828

1996 11,425 / 20,000*

1997 12,160

1998 6,899

Total planted 1975-98 51, 987

1996-2000 100,000*

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Conservation Project (NAWACOP), has been implementing its activities focusing on watershed protection through the management of forest with community participation in reforestation of young fallow upland areas. So far, activities have been carried out in pilot villages and involve the establishment of demonstration plots using native species as trials such as Mai Longleng (Fokeinia), Mai Paek (Pinus spp.), Mai Hing (Kateleeria sp.) Mai Khilek barn (Cassia siamea) and exotic species: Ecalyptus spp., Acacia spp. and others(Chanthavongsy, pers. com.). On the whole, however, it is too early to assess and evaluate the performance of the project with regard to watershed management; a phase two (September 1997 – August 2001), which concentrates on watershed management and forest rehabilitation is still under way.

The JICA-DoF FORCAP project has been implementing its activities since 1996 with a focus on afforestation in the watershed areas of the Nam Ngum hydropower reservoir pursuing the approach of local community participation. A combination of fast growing and slow growing species, indigenous and exotic, is used in the plantation programme to "meet people’s short term and long term needs" (FORCAP, 1997). One of FORCAP’s project considerations is the establishment of plantations with inter-planting of other non-timber species that will eventually benefit the collection of NTFPs in the under-storey as the timber trees mature (Chanthilath, pers. com.). Under FORCAP, there also is an on-going formulation of a "benefit-sharing" project scheme to motivate community participation in the establishment of plantations, with a view of 50/50 sharing of benefits of the plantations among local participants and project/companies involved (Atsushi and Chanthilath, pers. com.).

7.6 Village forestry

During the past decade several promising approaches have been trialled based on developing a partnership between villagers and the Government to manage natural forests sustainably. These include rehabilitation of degraded areas and encouraging natural regeneration. Foremost among these are the Lao Swedish Forestry Project with its focus on Joint Forest Management, and FOMACOP with its focus on low intensity logging (and subsequent protection) of mature forest. Both projects put emphasis on using participatory approaches for village-level land use planning and land allocation. FOMACOP is unique, as it is one of the few attempts worldwide to demonstrate that villagers can manage commercially valuable forests successfully and share the benefits equitably. The project is currently working in 60 villages covering about 145,000 ha in two provinces. To date more than 100,000 ha of forest are under villager-controlled sustainable management regimes (Phanthanousy and Katila, 1999). It is to be hoped that these trials will be encouraged to expand beyond the present project areas, as they have the potential to provide methodologies which will prove suitable for addressing a wide range of forest problems, particularly those related to developing large scale approaches to forest rehabilitation.

8. Issues

8.1 Land allocation and tenure

Land allocation and tenure arrangements have a direct influence on the level of small holder interest in tree planting. Consensus exists in this regard that unless farmers have long-term tenure rights to the land (at least 2-3 rotations of tree crops) they will not be motivated to invest (Souvanthong, 1995; ADB: Third Forestry Development Project, 1992). While tenure is important in creating a climate that encourages investment in forest management, even more important is that land holders need to have unfettered access to the benefits of selling tree resources, including timber (albeit harvested sustainably).

With the imposition of land tax, poor families often claim less land than they are entitled to in order to avoid land tax payment (Lao PDR SCSP, 1997). With less land available, enthusiasm for investing in forest plantations is limited unless other tangible incentives are provided. The primary motivation of most people is to use their land for planting staple crops such as rice.

Overall, unclear land tenure arrangements are having an impact on motivating people to plant trees, particularly small holders in remote rural areas who lack funds, technical knowledge and market negotiating skills.

All lands in Lao PDR are the property of the national community, which is represented by the Government. Since 1989 a land-forest allocation process has been carried out in the country, and this is still on-going. This allocation is carried out with a view, among others, of achieving the target of stabilising shifting cultivation in the country (Kingsada, 1998), and it is an important prerequisite for the implementation of forest rehabilitation programmes. In a practical sense, rehabilitation is linked with the land-forest allocation following which specific areas of land are identified for rehabilitation (Sawathvong, pers. com.). Similarly, the process also encourages

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forest plantation development by allowing private companies and individuals to obtain land for this business.

The formalisation of land tenure in Lao PDR is a new phenomenon. Tenure was traditionally obtained through the clearance of a piece of land for cultivation, particularly in rural areas, when the ownership rights remained even during fallow periods or through agreements made between families and the village chief (Johansson and Eklind (Draft), 1996; Lao PDR SCSP (Interim Report), 1997). However, since 1993 (following the Decree 169/PM), the government has instituted a more formal tenure system whereby land is allocated to each family (Souvanthong, 1995). The provisions for land tenure are found in the Land Law (1997). Thus, there are basically two types of land tenure: temporary and permanent, or a land use right and an offer of a land title. The former is issued by a district authority to individuals or organisations for the use of the land, but it cannot be transferred, leased or pledged as collateral. Permanent land tenure is granted upon the issue of a land certificate subject to three years' temporary tenure without breaking the use regulations (Articles 18, 22, Land Law). This is effectively the acquisition of a land title, which provides the rights to use, transfer and inherit the land (forest and agricultural) and a usufruct right.

With regard to land allocation for the purpose of growing annual crops, fruit tree planting and industrial tree plantation, the law allows no more than three ha per labour-capable person in a family. If more land is required, provision is made for leasing from the State (Article 17, Point 3 of the Land Law). The same provision is made in the case of using barren or degraded forest land (Article 21) where the granting of long-term use is offered after three years of successive use without breaking the use regulations (Article 22). Individuals and organisations are allocated land for plantation purposes on the basis of labour availability, financial and managerial capability, and the commitments agreed upon with the authorities concerned. The authorities who can approve land allocation vary depending on the area of land to be allocated. For example, approval for an allocation of no more than 100 ha rests with the district authorities; for between 100 and 1,000 ha with the provincial authorities, and for more than 1,000 ha, an approval from the central Government is required (Articles 21-23, Decree 186/PM).

About 8,000 villages have been selected across the country to initiate the process of land allocation (Phamuang pers.com.). They are located in priority areas such as critical watersheds, protected areas, sites for shifting cultivation stabilisation programme activities, etc. Agricultural land allocation has been completed in about half of these targetted villages (Instruction No. 14/PM of 30th November 1999 on the Enhancement of the Implementation of the Policy on Land Management, Land-Forest Land Allocation and Monitoring of the Implementation of the Land Law, Prime Minister's Office). The initial emphasis has been on the allocation of agricultural land, and forest land allocation is not proceeding at the same rate.

8.2 Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functio ns in industrial plantations

Biodiversity conservation in Lao PDR has been given prominence since the establishment of the National Biodiversity Conservation Area System in 1993 (in accordance with the Prime Ministerial Decree 164, 1993). Currently there are 20 declared protected areas covering a total area of 30,000 km2 (12.5% of the country's land area). As stated in the Forestry Law, one of the obligations of forest and forest land users is the protection and conservation of watersheds, wildlife and the environment while using the land and forest land (Article 57, point 3). However, there has been no specific policy or strategy on biodiversity conservation or the enhancement of ecosystem functions in industrial plantations per se though suggestions in this regard are found, for example, in the Lao-ADB Plantation Forest Project (1995) strategy (see pp. 26, 55, 71-72, 75). This states that, to be sustainable in the long term, consideration should be given to the tree species used, their nutrient requirements, the diversity of habitats on the site and the maintenance of both floral and faunal biodiversity in order to avoid the possible negative impacts of plantations (p.75). In practical terms, the Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project promotes an approach of not clearing areas along water courses and unnecessary sites (such as steep slopes) and leaving natural trees intact where possible to provide habitat for animal or plant species. It is felt that this will also contribute to the protection of the watersheds (Lao-ADB Plantation Forest Project, 1995; Vilaylak, pers. com.).

Though it is implicit, the encouragement of mixed-species plantations is another way to enhance biodiversity (and at the same time minimise pest problems). This has also been stressed by the Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project. While this will not be a common approach in large industrial plantations, it remains important in smaller community-based afforestation projects such as FORCAP. Here, the intention is to establish a sort of "multi-storey plantation", which apart from providing timber and NTFP benefits, will also provide reasonable micro-habitats for small wildlife. Technically, according to the "Vision 2020", the approach to developing plantations will be to aim for a scattered mosaic pattern rather than large block plantings. These will be interspersed with other land uses. Many plantations will be integrated with food growing and cattle raising (i.e., agroforestry-based) (Kingsada, 1998). Such an approach also contributes to conserving regional biodiversity.

8.2.1 Species/site matching in industrial plantations

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Effective species/site matching in plantations is especially stressed as an important precondition for the successful establishment of plantations (Samountry and Applegate, 1995). Industrial forest plantations are focused on degraded and unstocked forest land that is suitable for both fast growing and slow growing species. Species and site matching is considered on the basis of climatic conditions, soil characteristics, socio-economic and environmental aspects and infrastructure network. Although soils and climate are important factors in plantation forestry, sites of high quality soils will not be planted because of possible competition for future agricultural use (ADB: Third Forestry Development Project, 1992). The two most popularly planted fast growing species which meet most of these criteria are Eucalyptus spp. and Acacia spp. Many other moderately fast growing species such as Swietenia sp., Cedrela sp., Toona spp., and Khaya sp., for example, are more site specific and cannot grow on nutritionally and physically poor soils (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995). Teak is slow growing, but has been the commercially preferred species planted throughout the country for a long time. Other species planted within Lao PDR include Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Gmelina arborea, Pahudia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia kerrii, Xylis kerrii, Dipterocarpus alatus, Melia azedarach, Paulownia spp., Cassia spp., Styrax tonkinensis (in the North), and others.

Experience from the Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project regarding site selection for plantations is based on a detailed study by experts of any proposed sites, including the actual forest type present on the site, before an approval is granted (Vilaylack, pers. com.).

8.3 Constraints to small holder involvement in plan tation establishment

The uncertainty over reliable markets for future products is a major constraint affecting small farmers’ decisions over plantation establishment. This is partly because the current major markets for plantation woods are in Thailand. Thus, arrangements for cross-border trade must also be resolved and this adds to the uncertainty faced by potential tree growers. It is expected that plantations will supply raw material for the processing industries currently being built in Lao PDR and those planned for the future (Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project, 1995). Small holders also face problems of finding and negotiating credit as, apart from lack of knowledge about loans, many farmers simply do not meet the ADB loan criteria (Vilaylack, pers. com.). In other cases, the requests to obtain loans from private sources for tree plantations have too many steps to pass. All these constraints clearly limit the involvement of small planters in forest plantation operations.

In many regions, the institutional support to farmers (guidance, technical assistance, access to good quality seed, extension and personnel training) for tree planting is still inadequate. (Summarising the papers presented in the National Workshop on "Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR", 1995). With the absence of good quality seed provision, for instance, farmers would resort to using low quality seeds collected from poor stands, which will undoubtedly affect the quality of plantations.

8.4 Incentives for upland rehabilitation

While there are no specific incentives for upland rehabilitation, general incentive measures for rehabilitation are found in Article 34 of the Forestry Law. This states that various incentives and subsidies can be provided, and regulations issued to create suitable conditions for domestic and foreign investment in tree planting. These include credit and tax incentives, provision of planting materials and regulations for the extension of rental periods and the expansion of rented areas. Land tax and credit incentives seem to be the most useful to growers, but the loan criteria and tree stocking rate have to be met in order to qualify.

Guaranteed markets for plantation timber is another real incentive, but so far this issue has not been fully resolved. There are still gaps to be filled regarding the development of regulations prohibiting the cutting of natural forests for domestic construction and industrial use, otherwise there will be no incentives to invest (Sawathvong, pers. com.). In the broadest sense, however, incentives for upland rehabilitation remain the provision of alternatives to shifting cultivators whereby upland areas can be freed to natural regeneration. This is stated as a priority in the forestry sector guidelines up to the year 2000. Another practical incentive for establishing forest plantations in upland areas is the suggestion to incorporate NTFP-producing species - as has been indicated in the Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project (1997) and FORCAP (Chanthilath, pers. com.).

The following list (from the National Workshop on Strengthening Re-afforestation in Lao PDR (1995)) summarises reasons why re-afforestation in upland areas is difficult:

� Transportation is difficult � Seeds are more difficult to obtain than in former years � Storage facilities for seeds do not exist � Lack of technically skilled staff � The minorities have different approaches to re-afforestation from those of forestry staff

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9. Discussion

9.1 Land allocation and benefit sharing

Land allocation, which is an on-going process in many parts of the country, is a complex issue, which seems to have both positive and negative influences on forest rehabilitation (in particular on plantation establishment). For company plantations, the procedures for obtaining land are still very complicated and time consuming. On the positive side, however, motivation is enhanced when land tenure and the ownership of the products produced from plantations are recognised. However, the present procedures for land allocation are slow and depend on government staff for implementation. In addition, the capacity of government staff to carry out this work is very limited. At the present rate of progress it may well take many decades to complete. One could argue that the process could be catalysed dramatically if simple, rapid but robust methods could be developed and implemented for forest land allocation. Such methods would suffice for the first round of allocations, and could then be supplanted by more rigorous methods as the capacity of government staff increased.

Uncertainty still prevails over the question of sharing of benefits accruing from rehabilitated forests, both plantations and natural forests. Until this uncertainty is removed, there is unlikely to be any major move by individuals or communities to embark on large scale rehabilitation activities.

The land tax scheme acts as a disincentive for individual farmers to claim land for plantation purposes (Lao PSR SCSP, 1997; Kaiser, pers. com.).

9.2 Credit schemes

The Lao –ADB Plantation Forestry Project makes provision for credit facilities. However, problems exist in meeting the ADB loan criteria, particularly for small holders. This is illustrated by considering the results of the project to date. During 1998 only 800 ha was established compared to the projected target of 2,000 ha. This shortfall is considered to be the result of difficulties in obtaining credit (Vilaylack, pers. com.). It is also felt that the interest rate of 7% on bank loans is too high for plantation establishment (concluding statements from the National Workshop on "Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR", 1995).

9.3 Markets and other facilities

There is a perception among the buyers of wood products that the wood from plantation forests is expensive; and that wood from natural forests is a better product (Vilaylack, pers. com.). This perception has created an "obstacle" to commercial plantation investment in the country. The situation needs to be addressed if plantations are to be of interest to investors. It has been suggested that regulations prohibiting the cutting of natural forests for firewood are required in order to encourage investment in commercial tree plantations (Chanthilath, pers. com.). Also, internal markets for planted wood should be developed in order to promote plantation forestry more widely (Sawathvong, pers. com.).

10. Conclusions

Forest policy development in Lao PDR has expanded and diversified over the past decade. The most important developments occurred following the First National Forestry Conference in 1989, which opened the way for the development of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan. Both of these initiatives have provided strategic guidance for the forestry sector. These strategic directions and subsequent decrees and laws have put forestry issues onto the agenda for action towards improved forest management and protection of the environment. The most critical forestry-environmental issues have been logging regulation and attempts to stabilise shifting cultivation, whereby natural regeneration is emphasised as a priority for reforestation.

Forest rehabilitation has been pursued more systematically following the adoption of decrees 169/PM and 186/PM during the first half of the 1990s, and the Forestry Law and Land Law thereafter. Currently there is a growing emphasis on rehabilitating degraded forest ecosystems by encouraging individuals, private companies and joint ventures to engage in the process. As a policy, the ambitious government programme to increase the country's forest cover to 70% by 2020 has presented a great challenge to all concerned, and the achievements to date are rather modest compared to the target set.

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The main constraints to the implementation of rehabilitation activities are, among others, a lack of clarity regarding procedures for plantation establishment, uncertainty over the sharing of costs and benefits associated with establishing and harvesting products from plantations, limited financial resources and human capacity and the lack of well developed markets. While the process of land-forest allocation and land tenure certification has been clarified during the past few years, there is little significant progress on the ground. Other challenges relate to improving research on tree species suitable for planting on a range of sites, and the provision of quality seed. In addition, uncertainties remain over the market demand for the wood from plantations. All of these issues will need to be addressed in the years ahead if the extensive areas of degraded forests are to be rehabilitated to a more productive state in order to provide a range of ecosystem goods and services.

11. References

Asian Development Bank: Third Forestry Development Project Lao PDR (1992) Forestry Plantation Project. Final Report, Swedforest Consulting AB, PACMAR Inc., and Burapha Development Consultants Co. Ltd., Vientiane.

Cameron, D.M., Miyazono, H. and Danborg, F. (1995) Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR in FAO Regional Project ‘STRAP’, DoF and JICA. 1995. National Workshop on Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR, 19-21 June 1995. Vientiane, Lao PDR: pp. 17-26.

Decree 117/CCM (1989) On the Management, Use of Forest and Forest Land. The Council of Ministers. Vientiane (Lao Version).

Decree 169/PM (1993) on the Management of Forest and Forest Land. Prime Minister’s Cabinet. Vientiane (Lao version).

Decree 186/PM (1994) On the Allocation of Land and Forest Land for Tree Plantation and Forest Protection. Prime Minister’s Cabinet. Vientiane.

Department of Forestry (1998) Some Figures on Forest Rehabilitation in Lao PDR Supplied on IUCN Request (in Lao).

Department of Forestry (1997a) Annual Forestry Meeting 1997, 1-3 July. Division of Planning, Finance and Cooperation (in Lao). Vientiane.

Department of Forestry (1997b) Strategy for the Long-term Development of Plantation Forestry in Lao PDR (Draft for Discussion, in Lao). Vientiane.

Department of Forestry (n.d.) Summary of the Forestry Sector Strategies (in Lao), Vientiane.

Food and Agriculture Organisation. (1998) Asia and the Pacific: national forest programmes, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Bangkok.

First National Forestry Conference (1989) Department of Forestry & Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (in Lao). Vientiane.

Forest Inventory and Management Office (1991) Survey of Forest Plantations in Lao PDR. Report No. 1. Department of Forestry and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Vientiane.

FORCAP (1997) Instruction on Benefit Sharing System Plantation for Individuals, Collectives or Organizations in Vangvieng District, Vientiane Province. Lao-Japan Forestry Cooperation Unit, Department of Forestry. Vientiane.

Forestry Law (1996) The National Assembly. Vientiane.

Fröberg, M., Jerndal, R. and Akesson, A. (1990) The outlook for the Laotian Forest Sector: domestic needs versus international participation. Economic Geography 3, Department of Human and Economic Geography, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Gothenberg University (Vientiane).

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JICA / Government of Lao PDR (1997) The Study on Watershed Management Plan for Forest Conservation in Vangvieng District in Lao PDR, Field Report No.1. Japan Forest Technical Assistance (JAFTA) and KOKUSAI KOGYO CO. Ltd. Vientiane.

Johansson, C. and Eklind, E. (1996) Land Allocation and Land Tenure in Rural Areas in Lao PDR (Draft report). Vientiane.

Kingsada, K. (1998) Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation in Lao, Vision 2020. Paper presented in the 4th Donor Meeting 6-8 April 1998, Savannakhet, Lao PDR. Vientiane.

Lamb, D. (1999) Rehabilitation of degraded forest ecosystems. (Draft manuscript).

Land Law (1997) The National Assembly (Lao version). Vientiane.

Lao PDR Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project (1998) Preparation Report,volume III. FAO and FAO/ADB Cooperative Programme. Rome.

Lao PDR Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Project (1997) Interim Preparation Report, volume II. FAO and FAO/ADB Cooperative Programme. Rome.

Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project (1995a) The Strategies for Plantation Forestry in the Lao PDR (Lao version). Vientiane.

Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project (1995b) Institutional Strengthening to the Department of Forestry Lao PDR: Decree 186/PM. Working Paper No. 6. Vientiane.

Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project (1995c) Institutional Strengthening to the Department of Forestry Lao PDR: Assessment of the Legal Framework for Plantation Forestry in the Lao PDR. Working Paper No. 7. Vientiane/Stockholm.

Lasy, S. (1995) Re-afforestation Activities of Luang Prabang Province in FAO Regional roject ‘STRAP’, DoF and JICA. 1995. National Workshop on Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR, 19-21 June 1995. Vientiane, Lao PDR: pp. 37-40.

National Office for Forest Inventory and Planning (NOFIP) (1992) Forest Cover and Land Use in Lao PDR –Final Report on the Nationwide Reconnaissance Survey. Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Vientiane.

Ovington, J.D. (1973) Lao-Australian Reafforestation Project: annual report for 1972. Department of Forestry, the Australian National University. Canberra.

Ovington, J.D. (1972) Lao-Australian Reafforestation Project: annual report for 1971. Department of Forestry, the Australian National University. Canberra.

Phanthanousy, B. (1994) The Experience of the Shifting Cultivation Stabilization Programme of the Department of Forestry in Gansberghe, D. and Pals. R. (eds.). Shifting Cultivation.

Phanthanousy, B. and Katila, M. (1999) Village forestry in Laos: towards sustainable forest management. Presentation to World Bank, Washington, September 10-18, 1999.

Systems and Rural Development in the Lao PDR (1994) Report to the Nabong Technical Meeting, 14-16 July 1994. Vientiane. pp. 134-142.

Resolution of the First National Conference on Forestry (1989) Translation by Vientiane International Consultants, 1990. Vientiane.

Samountry, X. (1995) The Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project’ in FAO Regional Project (STRAP), DoF and JICA. 1995. National Workshop on Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR, 19-21 June 1995. Vientiane, Lao PDR: pp. 78-83.

Samountry. X. and Applegate, G. (1995) Tree Growth Predictions to Support Forest Plantation Development in

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Lao PDR in Booth, T.H. (ed.). 1995. Matching Trees and Sites. Proceedings of an International Workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand 27-30 March 1995. ACIAR, Canberra. pp. 68-70.

Sawathvong, S. (1998) Report on National Forestry Action Program 1996-97. Paper presented in the 4th Donor Meeting 6-8 April 1998, Savannakhet, Lao PDR. Vientiane.

Sithep, B. (1995) Re-afforestation Activities in Xayaboury Province in FAO Regional Project ‘STRAP’, DoF and JICA. 1995. National Workshop on "Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR", 19-21 June 1995. Vientiane, Lao PDR: pp. 41-44.

Souvanthong, P. (1995) Shifting Cultivation in Lao PDR: an overview of land use and policy initiatives. IIED, London, UK.

Souvanxay. (1995) Status of Re-afforestation in Lao PDR in FAO Regional Project (STRAP), DoF and JICA. 1995. National Workshop on Strengthening Re-afforestation Programmes in Lao PDR, 19-21 June 1995. Vientiane, Lao PDR: pp. 12-16.

Tropical Forestry Action Plan, First Phase (1990) Government of Lao PDR/Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Vientiane.

UNDP (1998) Human Development Report. Oxford University Press. New York.

USAID Mission to Laos (1970) Forestry Sector Evaluation for Laos. (Vientiane).

12. Appendices

12.1 Appendix 1: Potential land areas suitable for plantation establishment, by regions ( ‘000 ha)

Regions/Provinces Areas of possible forest plantation

Total area Current Bamboo Forest Degraded Forest Grasslands

Northern Region:

Phongsaly

Luang Namtha

Oudomxay

Bokeo

Luang Prabang

Houaphan

Sayaburi

Special Region

Xieng Khouang

Total

%

1,595.1

840.9

1,550.9

490.5

2,001.2

1,703.8

1,154.0

484.5

1,491.5

1,1312.4

698.6

498.4

452.5

255.1

485.1

649.9

577.1

148.4

747.8

4,512.9

39.9

6.3

26.0

197.2

32.2

194.4

51.9

133.7

16.3

46.9

704.9

6.2

718.6

269.9

798.9

194.8

1,080.2

681.0

319.1

257.7

321.3

4,641.5

41.0

106.6

19.9

5.2

0.7

62.9

162.9

3.9

5.7

181.6

549.4

4.9

Central Region:

Vientiane Prefect.

367.1

128.9

39.9

67.2

10.1

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Source: Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project (Lao version), 1995.

12.2 Appendix 2: Tree Species recommended for plant ing in Lao PDR, by regions

Vientiane Prov.

Bolikhamxay

Khammouane

Total

%

2,001.1

1628.6

1,740.4

5,737.2

854.3

1,114.7

1,081.1

3,179.0

55.4

351.3

22.1

20.4

433.7

7.6

358.8

281.5

215.8

923.3

16.1

77.2

31.3

10.6

129.2

2.3

Southern Region:

Savannakhet

Salavan

Xe Kong

Champassak

Attapeu

Total

%

2,176.5

1,034.4

911.1

1,428.6

1,079.8

6,630.4

1,233.7

574.7

505.7

895.4

735.5

3,945.0

59.5

83.8

39.6

107.3

8.8

78.9

318.4

4.8

318.0

163.1

206.7

113.5

70.8

872.1

13.2

15.0

15.4

40.7

29.8

24.9

125.8

1.9

Region Species recommended Purpose for planting Form of plantation

Northern Mai Sak (Tectona grandis)

Mai Nhom hin (Chukrasia tabularis)

Mai Dou (Pterocarpus macrocarpus)

Mai Ham ngoua (Swietenia spp.)

Mai Champa Pa (Pterocarpus indicus)

Mai Te kha (Afzelia xylocarpa)

Mai Sako (Anthocephalus spp.)

Mai Ka dao sang (Melia azedarach)

Mai Khi lek (Cassia spp.)

Eucalyptus spp.

Sawlogs

Sawlogs

Sawlogs

Sawlogs

Sawlogs

Slice veneer

Sawlogs

Firewood/charcoal

Construction

Plantation forestry

Agroforestry

Agroforestry

Private tree lots

Enrichment planting

Upper Mekong Basin

Mai Sak (Tectona grandis)

Mai Nhom hin (Chukrasia tabularis)



Sawlogs&sliceveneer Plantation forestry,

Agroforestry

Private tree lots

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Mai Ka dao sang (Melia azedarach)

Enrichment planting

Plantation forestry

Agroforestry

Central Mekong Basin



Mai Kha nhoung (Dalbergia cochinchinensis)


Eucalyptus spp.

Acacia mangium

Sawlogs & Veneer

Pulpwood,

Particle boards, MDF, Firewood, supporting construction structure

Enrichment planting

Plantation forestry,

Agroforestry

Plantation forest,

Agroforestry, private tree lots

Xieng Khouang Plateau

Mai pek (Pinus merkusii)

(Pinus kesiya)

(Pinus patula)

(Pinus oocarpa)

Eucalyptus spp.

Sawloges, peel logs?

Firewood, Construction supporting structure

Plantation forestry, Agoforestry, Private tree lots

Plantation forestry, Agroforestry, Private tree lots

Nakai Plateau

Mai pek (Pinus merkusii) Sawlogs, Plywood, Chipboard, MDF

Plantation forestry,

Agroforestry, Private tree lots

Central High-lands




A. auriculiformis

A. mangium

Eucalyptus spp.

Rubber tree

Sawlogs,

Slice veneer

Pulpwood

Particle board,

MDF

Resin and timber

Plantation forestry

Agroforestry, Private tree lots

Boloven Plateau


Mai Champa Pa (Pterocarpus indicus)


Mai Nhom (Toona spp.)

Mai Mak hem (Ka dao sang)

Sawlogs

Slice veneer

Agroforestry

Private tree lots

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Note: The list of species is not exhausted; more species may be added upon future research and analyses.

Source: Adapted from Department of Forestry, 1997b (Draft for discussion). Translated from Lao version by the senior author.

12.3 Appendix 3: Diagram showing the major groups i nvolved in forest plantation activities

Source: Lao-ADB Plantation Forestry Project (adapted from Lao version), 1995.

A.auriculiformis

A.mangium

Eucalyptus spp.

Pulpwood, Particle

Board, MDF

Agroforestry

Private tree lots

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