Study on Sustainable Environmental Resources Utilization System-Case study on Indochina Peninsula

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This research focuses on the northern regions of Laos, where forests have been significantly degraded as a result of large-scale timber harvesting and excessive slash-and-burn activities. The research objectives are (1) to understand the socio-economic activities of rural villages, and (2) to clarify the state of forest utilization by villagers engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. The project comprises four rounds of research and surveys implemented in the target area of Luang Prabang Province in northern Laos.1. Interviews and surveys taken from 600 households in 30 villagesResults of this research not only clarified the detailed state of lifestyles of villagers engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture, it also showed that a monetary economy was beginning to establish itself within slash-and-burn villages, and that the cultivation and harvesting of cash crops and specialist timber products was increasing in popularity and contributing to improvements in villagers' livelihoods.2. Survey … More into levels of forest dependency using food as an indicatorThis survey demonstrated that village settlements can be categorized into three types : (1) those with insufficient rice, whose level of dependency on the forest for their livelihoods is high, (2) those who are highly dependent on the forest but who are able to grow a significant proportion of their own rice, and (3) those who successfully grow rice and are therefore not particularly dependent on the forest for income.3. Survey into differing levels of awareness among tribal peoples in regard to forest issuesThis survey showed that awareness of forest issues among both the Khmu people of central Laos and the highland Hmong people is largely colored by their cycles of slash-and-burn agriculture.4. Survey into land use policiesThe land use distribution project has been acknowledged as effective in terms of encouraging more efficient utilization of land by villagers in rural areas. At the same time, however, there are indications that it may have contributed to a widening disparity between rich and poor within village settlements, and weakened joint forest conservation and management structures. This survey demonstrated the future importance of ensuring a shared awareness within village settlements regarding the significance, in economic and lifestyle/environmental terms, of forest regeneration activities. Less