This project focuses on upland communities in Vieng Phoukha District, Luang Namtha Province in northern Lao PDR. The upland communities are entirely dependent on agriculture and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for their livelihoods. They cultivate steep slopes by rotational burning, with upland rice as the predominant subsistence crop. Small areas of other crops are also grown (such as maize, rubber, sesame) and sold to traders who visit the village. Only one crop is possible per year on hillside plots as they are dependent on the monsoon season from June and September. Some of the households rear a small number of poultry, ducks, pigs or goats. NTFPs are used for consumption (e.g., bushmeat, wild vegetables), trade (including wild tea and fibres), for construction materials and to produce handicrafts. Due to the inaccessibility of the upland villages, debt to traders and lack of group negotiations mean that the current prices received for unprocessed crops and NTFPs are low. The natural resource base on which these communities depend have become increasingly degraded as a result of this unsustainable exploitation.

Current cash-crop demand is mainly dominated by Chinese demand. Chinese entrepreneurs, deprived of economic opportunities in overcrowded southern China, are increasingly willing to venture across the border to a country where people are scarce and land is plentiful. Due to continual investments by these entrepreneurs in plantation agriculture, most notably rubber, the landscape of Luang Namtha has been rapidly changing over the last few decades. Although the Lao government of Laos has stopped issuing land concessions, rubber plantations are still expanding due to contract farming arrangements by these entrepreneurs and local farmers. Despite current conservation efforts, the natural diversity of the area is under extreme pressure due to loss of natural primary habitat. This poses several threats to local communities and ecosystems. With increasing human activities, both maintenance of (global) biodiversity and longevity of local livelihood practices are under threat.

Deforestation along with soil and groundwater pollution caused by excessive use of chemicals in plantation agriculture, poses a direct threat to the local people and their ecosystems. Deforestation has been widely recognized as a threat to local environments and livelihoods through the degradation of ecosystem services (such as the provision of non-timber forest products, NTFPs), watershed quality and soil quality.

A primary driving factor has been the sudden shift from subsistence agriculture to commercial farming which has changed traditional land ownership and land use systems. As communal land is permanently changing into plantations, pressure is raising on the remaining forests including Protected Areas. Many communities are still relying on these forests for farmland, wood, hunting, foraging and other purposes. Communal land occupation and sales have continued which leads to land shortages and conflicts in several communities.

The increased use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides within the plantation industry is also contributing to the rapid deterioration of soil quality. Intensive agriculture has depleted the soil and rendering it useless for future agricultural use. Excessive use of chemicals in plantation agriculture directly leads to health risks of plantation workers and any villages in the downstream areas.

It is clear that the increase in plantation agriculture has lead to a declining food production, as rubbers (and banana fields) are often planted in rice fields. This shift is increasing food insecurity in rural villages. The additional loss of forested areas, which supply non-forest food products (NTFPs) for food and income generation, also directly contribute to food insecurity. Every year more households are dependent on a single cash-crop as means of a living, which makes them extremely vulnerable to possible price fluctuations or crop failures. This causes them to easily lose control over their own means of subsistence. The driving cause behind the expansion of this unsustainable plantation agriculture is poverty. This is exacerbated by the lack of sustainable alternatives available to this region.

In reaction to these interconnected issues and factors, this project will aim to provide sustainable alternatives to existing mono-cropping incentives and improve livelihood resilience of both men and women farmers while making a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation. It will do so by promoting sustainable land management systems and the diversification of the rural economy in Vieng Phoukha district, in Luang Namtha province, northern Laos. This will be accomplished through tree planting, crop diversification, the introduction of alternative (cash) crops, improvement of farm productivity, agricultural method and soil quality.
This project promotes Climate Smart Innovative Agro-Ecology: Changes in the climate can have a significant impact on agricultural production and threaten livelihood systems. The project strives to improve livelihood resilience of both men and women farmers while making a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation. In relation to climate change, this project promotes resilience in farming systems, improves the capacity of small scale farmers to respond drought and soil degradation and, finally, establishes farmer?s adaptation learning groups in the community. Not only does this project focus on helping the farmers adapt to climate change-triggered disasters, but it also to improves their socio-economic situation, mainly through diversification of the rural economy.

The project will be implemented in Namvang, Viengphouka district in Luang Namtha province. Namvang is a primarily Hmong community bordering the Nam Ha National Protected Area. As such the project contributes to the community management of protected areas and improves the land biodiversity. In fact, the project has a particular focus on biodiversity. With increase in plantation agriculture and human activity within the NPAs boundaries, there is a clear need for sustainable land management in this area. In Namvang we will create a model that can serve other upland communities in this district.

We work with 15 household families out of which 9 are of Hmong descent and 6 are from the Nusser or Koui tribe, an ethnic minority within the Hmong community. The scope of the project extends to an estimate of 75 - 100 people. The project aims to improve the capacity of both men and women community members to participate profitably in markets. For this, the project works closely with both village NPA and Women?s Union. We aim for an equal distribution of men and women participation all training schemes and project decision making. This way the project will provide solutions that are addressing the needs of both men and women community members. Besides gender equality, the project integrates ethnic equality systematically throughout the project cycle management including analysis of context, goals and objectives, design and planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Project statement: The project actively seeks sustainable solutions that respect both indigenous cultural practices and the diverse ecosystem of which the people of Ban Namvang are part of. We aim to reduce current poverty and increase the resilience of livelihoods while securing cultural values and preserving the natural environment for the future generations simultaneously.