Lao land concessions, development for the people?

In May 2007 Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) announced a moratorium on the granting of new land concessions in order to give the Government time to review the existing policies and improve perceived weaknesses. Such a critical review was very welcome. However, most problems seem to be caused not as much by deficient rules as by incorrect implementation of the policies and laws.

Reasons for inadequate implementations of laws and policies are found in lack of capacity within relevant Government institutions and a perceived lack of incentives to correctly implement said rules and regulations by mainly local authorities. A complicating factor is the perceived usefulness of granting land concessions to achieve goals in other stated Government policies: eradicating shifting cultivation and relocation of certain categories of settlements of mainly ethnic minority groups. Improving rules alone will therefore not be enough to realize the objectives of the policies; ensuring correct implementation of the agreed rules is essential.

Through granting land concessions, hundreds of thousands of hectares have been alienated from local communities; they have lost the land, or access to the land, or the right to use it. This has had a negative impact on the livelihoods of especially the poorest communities and the poorest within communities, and it is hampering the Government’s efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals and escape Least Developed Country status by 2020.

Whilst reviewing the land concession policies and regulations, Lao authorities are encouraged to specifically consider the negative impact land concessions have on community livelihoods, and hence the Government’s stated goals for development in Lao PDR. They are urged to closely examine alternative policies that may better achieve the stated objectives without having the negative impact associated with land concession policies that are not properly applied.