Economic returns to households participating in different models of commercial tree plantations in Lao PDR

Abstract

Four tree plantation models implemented in Lao PDR and a hypothetical model were compared in terms of the projected economic benefits and those realised by participating rural households, and households' attitudes to further plantation expansion. Models comprised two forms of land-sharing plantation concessions, and contract and independent tree growing. Benefits and costs over the plantation cycle were used to calculate net present values. Tree plantations contributed most to household livelihoods when companies engaged in a participatory land use planning process, where opportunities for household labour were greatest, and where plantation models allowed for intercropping by households. In contrast, where contracts were not honoured, crops cannot be grown jointly, or labour opportunities are limited, returns were not competitive with traditional swidden agriculture. Households were generally open to expansion of more beneficial models. These results suggest a set of principles for developing locally appropriate and beneficial tree plantation systems in Lao PDR.

Do Locals Have a Say? Community Experiences of Participation in Governing Forest Plantations in Tanzania

“…Shareholders, donors and investors in plantation companies may require community participation for sustainable investments [72,73]. Timber plantation management models that engage local communities result in the highest economic returns to plantation companies and improve local livelihoods, leading to avoidance of potential conflicts over land [31,32]. Van der Meer Simo et al [32] further found that local households were open to expansion of plantation models that provide beneficial effects to local villagers by incorporating their interests.…”

“…Timber plantation management models that engage local communities result in the highest economic returns to plantation companies and improve local livelihoods, leading to avoidance of potential conflicts over land [31,32]. Van der Meer Simo et al [32] further found that local households were open to expansion of plantation models that provide beneficial effects to local villagers by incorporating their interests. A participatory approach is important because rural households highly depend on land as a source of livelihood and may contest plantation development unless their interests are integrated and recognized in land use and plantation development processes [74,75].…”

“…The study also found that, despite policies supporting community participation in forestry, local communities were systematically excluded from sharing in returns from commercially valuable forest resources in all three countries. Recent studies on economic returns from various models of land sharing by commercial forest plantations in Laos show that models that integrate local communities in participatory land use planning (for example, plantation models that integrate local food production) yield the highest returns to plantation companies and contribute the most to household livelihoods [31,32]. Szulecka et al [33] traced the development of forest plantations in Indonesia and used an exploratory empirical case-study of a large FSC-certified, public-private plantation company to identify historical and current approaches in plantation management and governance.…”

Lao Plantation Policy: Prospects for Change

“…While rubber plantations expanded rapidly based on investment from neighboring China, Viet Nam and Thailand, high expectations of abundant and affordable land for timber plantations were generally not met [64]; and plantation investors tried other arrangements to access land, including through contract farming which was promoted in policy, or by leasing land directly from households or villages. Novel arrangements to find enough suitable land emerged, including by integrating commercial timber production with local land uses and agroforestry models [9,65,66]. These were often determined by the corporate values of investors and through Provincial-and District-level interpretations and application of policies and regulations.…”

Livelihood Impacts of Plantation Forests on Farmers in the Greater Mekong Subregion: A Systematic Review of Plantation Forest Models

“…[41,76,77]). Income from participation in plantations must be considered alongside these other sources of income if a realistic appraisal is to be made of the contribution of plantation forests to rural livelihoods poverty alleviation targets (see [127]). In that context, the value of the environment to local livelihoods should be a central consideration for future studies of plantation forests replacing subsistence agriculture [86,105,128].…”