TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Slippage' in the implementation of forest policy by local officials
T2 - A case study of a protected area management in Lao PDR
AU - Hyakumura, Kimihiko
N1 - Funding Information:
The land and forest allocation program has been implemented on a trial basis in Savannakhet since the outset of the program in 1996, with support from the Lao-Swedish Forestry Program (LSFP) and the Forest Management and Conservation Project (FOMACOP), which was funded jointly by the World Bank, a Finnish development agency (FINNIDA), and the Global Environment Facility. By year 2000, the program had been implemented in 171 out of 1,541 villages in the province. In 2001, however, the major aid agencies withdrew from the program, and the provincial government authority and PAFO were left solely responsible for its implementation. This responsibility was mostly shouldered by local officials who have limited human and financial resources available. Since then local officials carried out the program using their own budgets, and limited progress was made with the program. As of 2003, about 30% of villages in the province had completed the program (NSC 2004) and currently the program has not yet been completed.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The research was conducted with the support of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan No. 16658068 (The Elucidation of Interaction of Social Capital of Forest Management in Lao PDR; representative Kimihiko Hyakumura) and No. 12572028 (Political Ecology of Participatory Forest Management; representative Prof. Makoto Inoue).
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - A progressive part of protected area management program in Lao PDR is a land and forest allocation program which contains critical elements that delegate right of land and forest use to local people. This study analyzes the gap between the original intent of the program and its actual implementation by local officials in Phou Xang He protected area, and discusses policy issues that need to be addressed. It appears that several types of non-compliance with regulations by local people have occurred, with local officials tacitly ignoring infractions. By switching viewpoints, however, it appears that the local officials permit these infractions as a way of allowing local people to secure their livelihoods. As constraints on the realities of land and forest use vary widely in and around villages in different locales, there is a need for government to allow local officials flexibility in implementing policies.
AB - A progressive part of protected area management program in Lao PDR is a land and forest allocation program which contains critical elements that delegate right of land and forest use to local people. This study analyzes the gap between the original intent of the program and its actual implementation by local officials in Phou Xang He protected area, and discusses policy issues that need to be addressed. It appears that several types of non-compliance with regulations by local people have occurred, with local officials tacitly ignoring infractions. By switching viewpoints, however, it appears that the local officials permit these infractions as a way of allowing local people to secure their livelihoods. As constraints on the realities of land and forest use vary widely in and around villages in different locales, there is a need for government to allow local officials flexibility in implementing policies.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11842-010-9120-4
DO - 10.1007/s11842-010-9120-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77955232381
SN - 1873-7617
VL - 9
SP - 349
EP - 367
JO - Small-scale Forestry
JF - Small-scale Forestry
IS - 3
ER -
