Past policies to promote the planting of trees by smallholders have been effective in Lao PDR. In Luang Prabang Province over 15 000 ha of teak (Tectona grandis) have been established. New policies to stop illegal logging, promote timber legality of wood exports and encourage domestic wood processing aim to mobilise this teak resource as an alternative to timber from natural forests. Several factors are thought to inhibit smallholder participation in the timber value chain and this risks their exclusion from international markets. These factors include the hidden nature of their teak plantation resource, inability to comply with complex regulations and limited capacity to engage with markets. This paper explores the policy and regulatory environment for smallholder plantation teak to understand how instrumental and normative factors may influence compliance with plantation regulations and affect participation in new governance structures such as grower groups. The results emphasise the need for policies, regulations and governance to take into account the human factor if value chains that depend on smallholder plantations are to be effective.
Policies to promote tree plantations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have been developed since independence to support national socio-economic and environmental goals, and in response to domestic and international markets. The effectiveness of these policies has been variable, and the resulting plantation wood value chains are poorly developed due to contradictory and confusing laws and regulations with inconsistent application and high transaction costs. Consequently, there has been limited tree plantation investment, and few investments have realized the anticipated benefits. Renewed interest in plantations from the government, investors and other sectors in Laos has prompted policy reviews and recognition of the need for new policy settings. We reviewed the development of plantation policies in Laos and assessed policy effectiveness and barriers to policy options. Through document analysis, interviews with key stakeholders and actors, stakeholder forums, and field research, we found that smarter regulation, and facilitating value-chain partnerships and knowledge sharing, can motivate smallholders and industry investors in plantations, and increase community-level benefits and financial returns to the Government and private sector. These results are discussed in the context of current international developments in plantation policy and the convergence in related policy processes in Laos.
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