Land

A common thread connecting the many economic, social and environmental transformations in Laos is their relationship to land. In one way or another they intersect with, are caused by, or shape and affect changes in land use, tenure, access, and control. Large-scale plantations, mines, hydropower dams and special economic zones (SEZs) have all been developed through a model of state land concessions. Oftentimes, the ‘state land’ granted to investors was used, managed and customarily tenured by peasants who were dispossessed of their lands. Land is increasingly changing hands across the country’s informal and formal land markets, becoming fragmented and unequal. This chapter addresses questions concerning what reforms are necessary and possible to ensure the persistence of broad-based and relatively equitable access to land that had historically been the norm in the country.