Email: chantavongsy@yahoo.com

Affiliation:   Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Laos

Nationality:   Laos

Turning Land Owners to Landless People: Capital Aggressive to Agricultural Land Along the Downstream of the Nam Lik 1-2 Dam in Fuang District of Vientiane Province, Lao PDR

Abstract

This paper highlights the turning of agricultural land into capital in Lao PDR, which aims to investigate how local people turn their land into capital without a clear strategic plan for future and livelihood change after such people become landless. The paper conducts the fieldwork with local people who are losing the land for capital in downstream areas of the Nam Lik 1-2 Dam in Fuang District of Vientiane Province, Lao PDR.

People living along the downstream of the Nam Lik 1-2 Dam in Fuang District of Vientiane Province, Lao PDR, have approximately 5102 people, and 2191 are female. Such people live in 7 villages, namely Naxaeng, Khoneluang, Pakngoua, Sisaath, Samouan, Kaengxieng, and Muangfuang. 1200 plots of agricultural land were recorded in the villagers in 7 villages, which comprise three main kinds of land, such as lowland paddy rice field, garden, and fruit trees. A hectare of lowland paddy rice field can produce more than 4 tons for the rainy season. While the garden land was used to plant shorter-age vegetables such as chili, lettuce, cabbage, tomato, pumpkin, and so on. While fruit trees include oranges, pomelo, mango, etc. Local people are depending on their land to subsidize their living and generate incomes.

However, after 2010, the Nam Lik 1-2 Dam has commenced, and the livelihood of local people in the 7 villages has been extremely changed and affected. The first, the Nam Lik 1-2 Dam, can prevent serious flooding because during the rainy season there is no flood after the dam is built. Secondly, in contrast to flood prevention, changes in river flows, loss of agricultural land caused by erosion, and no sediment flow in the garden areas are also recorded. Thirdly, from 2015 to present, the aggression of capital in the forms of floating houses, resorts, restaurants, and hotels with links to the Nam Lik inside of Fuang District is more and more serious to agricultural landowners. There are more than 200 plots of agricultural land already sold out, with a good price. However, there is no strategic plan for long-term coping, the landowner because agricultural land is everything for local people, namely rice, stability of food, and incomes. 3-4 years passed, and people who sold the land became poorer and poorer compared with when they had the land. Some of them become daily workers in the local community; some rent other land to plant rice or vegetables for household consumption and sell to local entrepreneurs.

Bio

Sypha Chanthavong is an Environmental Law Lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Political Science under the National University of Laos. He obtained a Ph.D. in socio-legal in regarding to the hydropower dam development in Lao PDR as the highest education. Dr. Sypha's research mainly focuses on environmental and natural resource issues, namely water, land, forest, climate change and multiple ethnic groups in regard to access to natural resources management.