This document discusses shifting cultivation landscapes in northern Laos. There is limited reliable national data on the extent and population involved in shifting cultivation. New remote sensing approaches combining medium and high resolution satellite imagery show shifting cultivation may cover 2-4.8 million hectares and involve 1-1.8 million people. Shifting cultivation landscapes tend to be more remote, impoverished, and inhabited by ethnic minority groups. Improved land use planning and coordination is needed to better integrate rotational shifting cultivation.

1. Geography of Rotational Shifting Cultivation
Landscapes in Northern Laos
Andreas Heinimann, Kaspar Hurni et al.
LIWG,VTE 29.3.2012
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2. Sources of knowledge on shifting cultivation?
 Mainly case studies & anecdotal information
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What about the national level information on
dimension of shifting cultivation in Laos?
Who Area % territory Population
Fujisaka, - - 1- 1.2 mio
1991
Chavez, 4.8 mio ha 20 % -
1994
(1981/1982–
1988/1989)
Hanson 2- 2.5 mio ha 8.5 – 9.5% 1.8 mio
1998
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3. Problems of detecting
SC landscapes and
accounting for
population involved
is not a Laos or SEA
issue only
LIWG, 29-3-12,
Source: Mertz, Leisz, Heinimann, 2009 Heinimann et al.
Why is there not more reliable data
available?
• National land cover inventories do not depict
shifting cultivation landscapes as a class (as
technically not standard and political bias in
classification)
• Population Census do not depict any information
related to shifting cultivation
• Agricultural Census does not provide consistent
information related to non permanent form of
agriculture (FAO standard)
• No standard approach in Remote Sensing to detect
rotational land use systems (only land cover)
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4. New approaches to detect shifting cultivation
landscapes
LIWG, 29-3-12,
K. Hurni , et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
K. Hurni , et al, in prep
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5. K. Hurni , et al, in prep
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Combined approach of
medium spatial
resolution satellite
imagery with spatial
low resolution but
hyper-temporal
characteristics
LIWG, 29-3-12,
K. Hurni , et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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6. Approximation of shifting cultivation landscapes 2000 -2009
K. Hurni , et al, in prep
LIWG, 29-3-12,
Heinimann et al.
Patterns of
poverty and
market
accessibility
in
shifting
cultivation
landscapes
LIWG, 29-3-12,
A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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7. Approximation of shifting cultivation landscapes and basic
socio-economic characteristics 2000 -2009
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A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
Shifting cultivation landscapes - remoteness
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A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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8. Shifting cultivation landscapes – Ethnolingusitic families
LIWG, 29-3-12,
A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
Socio-geography of shifting cultivation landscapes
Note: ..below.. means: better off then national rural average A. Heinimann, et al, in prep
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9. Shifting cultivation landscapes & land concessions
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite
Some Conclusions
• The approach may be suitable for first tier operational
monitoring at landscape scale (but needs further testing and
validation)
• Shifting cultivation is still widespread with considerable
shares of the population living in shifting cultivation
landscapes
• Anecdotal information and case studies are confirmed that
SC landscapes are marginal from various perspectives
(remoteness, poverty, ethnicity) when considering the entity
of northern Laos
• This marginality is even increased over time as the SC
landscapes that “disappear” are in tendency in less marginal
regions
• This multi-marginality gives raise to doubts if these regions
can profit from the ongoing increase in rural accessibility and
market integration, as it may not only be a question of
accessibility but actual access to e.g. markets or other
services that are limiting
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10. Last, but crucial note:
The importance of proper integration of rotational
SC in village level land use planning
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Facilitate Information Access & Coordination:
Online Land Use Planning platform
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11. Pro memory: Shifting cultivation case study mapper
on www.tabi.la
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