Analyzing the enabling environment for

transforming forest landscape conflicts: the example of Lao PDR

Seth Kane Richard Hackman, David Gritten, Thipphasone Luangphay,

Bounyadeth Phouangmala

RECOFTC - The Center for People and Forests

March 21, 2017

RESEARCH METHODS AND FRAMEWORK

• How and why forest landscape

conflicts are happening?

• Who is addressing them?

• What can be done to prevent

conflict or improve conflict

outcomes?

Key Research Questions

Research Methods

• Structured literature

media and legal reviews

• National level interviews

with government, intl. orgs;

CSOs; private sector

• Data from 3 field sites

• Multi-stakeholder workshop

CAUSES AND LEVELS OF CONFLICT

• Legal and policy frameworks

• Tenure security

• Participation and information

• Leadership

• Benefit sharing

• Competition over resources

• Conflict management mechanisms

• Capacities and resources

Causes of Conflict

Escalating stages in natural

resource conflicts: 1. feeling anxiety

2. debate and critiques

3. lobby and persuasion

4. protest and campaigning

5. restricting access

6. contestation in the courts

7. intimidation and physical

exchange

8. nationalization and

internationalization

Levels of conflict

CONFLICT STAKEHOLDERS, IMPACTS AND MODALITIES

CONFLICT STAKEHOLDERS

• Forest landscape dependent

communities

• Government of Lao PDR

• National assembly

• Private sector (nat./intl.)

• SMEs

• International aid agencies

• International finance institutions

• Impacts of conflict depend on

stakeholders, issues, conflict intensity,

and manner in which they are

addressed

• Conflicts can be positive or negative – most

impacts negative

• Economic, social and environmental impacts

CONFLICT IMPACTS

• Inter and intra-community conflicts managed

through local officials and VMC’s

• Community-outsider conflicts are most

debilitating and increasingly complex

• No credible mechanisms to manage power

imbalances, especially government actors

• No formal capacity development for conflict

management and transformation

CONFLICT MODALITIES

• National Assembly actors most progressive

in calling for reforms

• New Lao PM shows signs of reform to

address government performance and

impunity for officials

• Civil society still too weak to serve as a

counter balance

POLITICAL FACTORS

• Systematic data not collected by

government -- gap in assessing the extent of

the problem and trends

• Lao newspapers never reported resource

conflicts as recently as five years ago, but

are increasingly reporting these conflicts

CONFLICT DATA

TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

,

Forest landscape governance mechanisms

FLEGT-VPA, REDD+, VGGT, IFC SEIA standards

Conflict modalities

National Assembly, Local authorities, Village Mediation Committees

Capacity development program - Training and learning networks

- Piloting and demonstration

- Research, analysis and synthesis

- Strategic communication

Causes of forest landscape conflict

Impacts of mainstreaming a transformative approach Economic: More equitable and sustainable private sector approaches Environmental: Reduced illegal logging and environmental development Social: Increased CSO/community understanding of forest governance policies; enhanced community participation in policy making

MECHANISMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Some approaches introduced by REDD+ and

FLEGT may reduce conflict by:

• increasing participation of marginalized

groups

• mainstreaming multi-stakeholder

processes within forest management

• improve clarity of tenure

• establishing grievance redress

mechanisms and implementation of Free,

Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

MECHANISM S - REDD+/FLEGT

RECOMMENDATIONS - SHORT TERM

• Encourage early consultations prior to

making decisions about land-use changes

• Promote co-management arrangements

in which actors share management

responsibilities and benefits

• Ensure that communities benefit from land

investment activities

• Call upon governments to remain neutral in

community-private sector disputes

• Clarify tenure arrangements and respect local resource management • Strengthen collaborative negotiation and mediation skills • Ensure better coordination between government agencies with overlapping mandates • Integrate local livelihood strategies into

conservation policy, as unilateral management can exacerbate conflict

RECOMMENDATIONS - LONG TERM

Local people hold the key to healthy forests

www.recoftc.org

THANK YOU