natural resources management of h'mong communities in tua … · 2011-11-14 · nguyen ngoc...

Vietnamese - German Technical Cooperation SOCIAL FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (SFDP) SONG DA

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) - GTZ/ GFA

Natural Resources Management of

H'Mong Communities in

Tua Chua District, Lai Chau Province

Consultancy report No. 1

by

Siep Littooy (ed.) Pham Van Viet

Lo Quang Chieu Nguyen Ngoc Hue

Field support team:

Nguyen The Vinh Le Khanh

January, 1995

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 Introduction to the Study 3

1.2 Study Location 4

1.3 Research Methods 4

2 TUA CHUA DISTRICT AND THE STUDY AREA 6

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 History of the Study Area 6

2.3 Natural Setting 7

2.4 Population and Social Organisation 8

3 RESOURCE USE SYSTEM 13

3.1 Land Use Types l3

3.2 Livestock Land Use 18

3.3 Forest and Forest Use 19

3.4 Population Movement and Land Use 21

4 EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON RESOURCE USE 23

4.1 Targeted State Policies 23

4.2 Impact of General State Polices 24

4.3 Markets 26

5 NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 27

5.1 Resource Users and Managers 27

5.1.1 Households 27

5.1.2 Inter-household groups 28

5.1.3 Village 29

5.1.4 Commune 31

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction to the study

The Social Forestry Development Project (SFDP) Song Da, supported by GTZ/GFA and in cooperation with forestry authorities at national and local level, aims at providing technical assistance to social forestry activities in the Song Da watershed area. The project methods include working with the population through the use of diagnostic tools to identify current land and forest use as well as management issues, assist in land allocation to a defined community and facilitate the development of joint management plans which include an intervention component and a management component.

This report is the result of field work conducted on behalf of the SFDP-Song Da. The objectives of the study were to analyze the natural resource management strategies of H'mong communities in Tua Chua district, Lai Chau (terms of reference are presented in Annex 1) The study focuses on the decision making processes within the community regarding all relevant aspects of forest and forest product utilisation and the values attached to forest.

Within the context of the study, natural resources are the soils and vegetation in a wider sense. Particular reference is given below to land and forest resources, which have a direct impact on the life of the people exploiting the resources. Management has been defined as the claim to the right to exclusively exploit the natural resources for the claimants benefit. The community has been defined as everybody living within the two communes studied, including the local authorities. Throughout the report the word ownership is used often although the legal interpretation is user rights, as all land belongs to the State of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese keywords for the study are ‘Management and Protection of Forests’, which means to express all actions that have to be undertaken to obtain ‘forest’. During the study it has become necessary to redefine this concept, and several other such concepts, in order to gain a deeper understanding of actual events. This process has led to greater understanding, allowing views to emerge on the interplay of resources, the users and the managers. Several view points are presented, some of which are contrary to conventional Vietnamese wisdom, indeed controversial at times.

The report has four major themes from which management issues can be deduced and considered. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the H'mong society in the study area; the following chapter identifies the local natural resources which are managed, including their uses in the livelihood systems of the population. Chapter 4 describes the multitude of external factors that affect resource management by the community. The resource users and managers and their organizational units are described in Chapter 5. The summary analysis and inclusions provided in Chapter 6 are based on information in the preceding chapters with special reference to the prevailing forest management systems in the study area. Chapter 7 presents the major problems encountered and some potential solutions.

There was very little existing information available on either the topic, the geographical area or on the target population of the study. General literature on the H'mong people consulted prior to the study provided much insight but also showed a wide divergence with field realities. Some observations of the study team were surprising to even the team members.

This study does not pretend to bean in-depth one. The broad objectives to be dealt with in a very tight time frame (6 weeks) and the lack of language and other skills, means that only a superficial layer of the resource management activities of the H'mong has been observed and analysed. The local people have been tremendously helpful in explaining so much to ignorant outsiders. In several instances the team, however, noted reluctance to provide details on social and management issues, some of which was then later forthcoming.

5.1.5 District 32

5.2 Resource Management 33

5.2.1 Private resources 33

5.2.2 Collective resources 33

5.2.3 Public resources 34

5.3 Conflict Arbitration 34

6 SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 36

6.1 Resource Use and Management 36

6.2 Commune profiles 37

7 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 39

8 ANNEXES 41

TABLE 1: Studied villages 4

TABLE 2: Population data 9

FIGURE 1: House construction history, Po Ka Dao 9

TABLE 3: Lineage distribution in Chung Van Kho village 11

TABLE 4: Ownership of heads of livestock per family 12

TABLE 5: Land use types in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu communes 13

TABLE 6: Average crop land per household 14

TABLE 7: Relative importance of maize and upland rice production 14

TABLE 8: Maize varieties in relation to soil quality 15

TABLE 9: Rice varieties in relation to soil quality 15

TABLE 10: Household (HH) food availability 16

TABLE 11: Plot history Mr. Giang Phai Lau, Po Ka Dao 17

TABLE 12: Grazing area utilization 18

TABLE 13: Population movements and land use 32

TABLE 14 : Organizations in Tua Chua 32

TABLE 15: Comparison of issues between Trung Thu and Sinh Phinh 38

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The issues in this report are brought forward with the expectation of generating discussion, leading to both a better understanding of the local situation and to initiatives for an improvement in the livelihood of the-people in the study area.

1.2 Study location

The SFDP-Song Da selected Tua Chua district, Lai Chau groundwork for later project activities. After preliminary assessment of accessibility, feasibility and model functions, Phinh and Trung Thu were selected. The district authorities the study area province, to lay the data analysis and the communes Sinh fully agreed with the choice. The district and commune authorities were requested to propose three villages per commune to visit; these are listed in Table 1. The villages included all three of the subdivisions of the H'mong community found within the communes’ boundaries.

Table 1: Studied villages

1.3 Research methods

To obtain an overview of the natural resources management of the local population it was very important to include a large number of people, from which to gather ideas and knowledge, and to create a good working atmosphere. Within the time frame allowed, a wide range of topics had to be studied which were not always clearly defined. Therefore, several research tools from the Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) ‘tool kit’ were used. These methods are considered to be well known so no in-depth explanation is given. In summary, the main tools used were resource mapping, village mapping, resource (hillside) transects, timelines and ranking exercises, all supplemented by individual and group interviews.

Inadequate participation was elicited from the villagers. This might have been caused by the study team itself since researchers were a novelty in the area and people were often very shy, The working style of both the team and the village leaders and the need for light sources at night for note taking and the rather low temperatures prevailing in the evening may also have been deterrents to increased participation. Carrying out PRA activities during the day was hampered by the need for the local population, especially women, to carry out their daily tasks. The influence of local authorities has been noticeable resulting in well attended group sessions and in-depth household interviews but also in only moderately or even unsuccessful attempts to meet and discuss freely with identified sub-groups within the village.

This study has evolved over time. The first visits were designed to investigate general aspects of the economic and production systems, the availability of natural resources and their management. Gradually, an understanding was gained of the internal and external relations of the communities, leading to more in-depth study of the resources exploited and the objectives and means of exploitation.

Each village visit was concluded with a discussion amongst the study team members, outlining emerging hypothesis and items to study in the next village. Ideas were thoroughly discussed yet many questions are still unanswered. The in-village analysis, leading towards the resolution of problems, was most often halted by the limitations of the study team responsibilities. However, in this report a comprehensive analysis is presented and the problems and potential solutions more clearly outlined.

The team visited the offices of the Forest Department, the Forest Protection Service and the Sedentarisation and Fixed Cultivation board of Lai Chau province for information and discussion. For a detailed travel schedule see Annex II.

The team members in the study team originate from the SFDP-Song Da project staff, located at FIPI, Ha Noi, members of the Forest Department and Forest Protection Service of Lai Chau province and staff of the district Forest Protection Service and the Agriculture Extension Center. Prior to the fieldwork the team had several internal discussions regarding the research methods and the expected output in order to consolidate available and acquired knowledge to be presented in the current report.

2. TUA CHUA DISTRICT AND THE STUDY AREA

2.1 Introduction

Tua Chua district, with a land area of about 70,800 ha, is located on a strongly dissected highland plateau in Lai Chau province, North-West Viet Nam. Altitude varies from 300 to 1,750 m, with an average altitude of 1,000-2,000 m. The climate is characterized by 2 distinct seasons: a rainy and hot season from April to September (Max. temperature 36oC) and a dry and cold season from October to March (Min. temperature 5o C). Average temperature is 18oC and average annual precipitation is 1,500-2,000 mm. During the cold season, prolonged periods occur with frost and mist with a negative impact on crop and animal production.

The population of Tua Chua of 30,422 is predominantly H'mong (73%), divided amongst some 4,500 households, 11 communes and 99 villages. Population density is 43 people/km2. Nearly 48% of the land is bare limestone mountains and forest covers only 9.2% (6,496 ha) of the land area. Agricultural land comprises 16,000 ha of which 9,436 ha is cropped annually, with maize (60% of farmland), upland rice (21 %) and paddy (18%). Official livestock population includes 6,090 buffalo, 745 cattle, 5,600 goats, 12,040 pigs, 3,840 horses and an estimated 14,000 fowl.

2.2 History of the study area

The history of the area as well as the state of the natural resources in earlier times was reconstructed through a series of interviews with village eiders. The detail of the information given was enormously helpful to the team to increase the understanding of the current situation.

Sixty to seventy years ago, before the time of the interviewed eiders, was a period of establishing settlements from population centers in the northern areas of the Tua Chua highlands. According to some informants, the H'mong of this area originally come from Yunnan, China and this was indicated by the use of a Chinese language, called ‘Safang’, practically abandoned around 1954 and the continued presence of the Safang ethnic group within the district.

During French colonial occupation (prior to 1954) large tracts of the study area consisted of grasslands of mainly imperata and false sugarcane. Only the stony outcrops and the steeper creek sides were covered with medium sized trees. The livelihood of the people during this period depended largely on the production of maize and the sale of opium and livestock (mostly cattle). Throughout this period, opium was the primary means of paying taxes and providing cash income. The ‘tong ly’, owning large tracts of land, was the appointed administrator of the area, covering both current day Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu communes. Life was difficult with food frequently in short supply. Housing was simple with only embedded pillars. Near the end of this era, force was used to collect most of the livestock for feeding soldiers lodged in Dien Bien Phu encampments.

After 1954 new administrative systems were set up that reflected a larger commitment to local level organization. The two current day communes were established with their own Peoples Committees. Land management rules were introduced, especially in Trung Thu where large tracts of land were placed under commune protection for the regeneration of forests and implemented by cooperatives established during the early 1960’s. Paddy land, and in some cases swidden land was collectivized. Around about 1964 the first policy on sedentarisation was implemented, leading to a flurry of population movements and setting up new villages, after which strict restrictions were placed on opening up forests for agriculture and on the movement of populations. During the sixties several efforts were undertaken to bring development to the communes. Firstly, the cultivation of opium was severely restricted, a rule which later was eased. A road was constructed, tea and forests planted and irrigation works were implemented. From 1968 (until 1988) the district seat of Tua Chua was located in Thon II, Sinh Phinh.

During the 1970’s the war in southern Viet Nam had little impact on the area. The cooperatives in Trung Thu were disbanded in the years after national reunification for reasons of lack of adequate production results. This is the decade that forest cover reached its peaks. Villages were again established near the end of the decade, although no large out-migration occurred. Livestock population reached the relatively low current level because, according to the elders, of the first occurrence of livestock diseases. The settlement of the C3 military camp in Sinh Phinh caused some upheaval since tea and rice land managed by the cooperatives was transferred to and managed by the C3 camp.

Sinh Phinh commune Trung Thu commune

� Ta Pao (Hang De De) � Trung Vang Kho

� Thon II, Sinh Phinh � Po Ka Dao

� De De Hu � Phinh Ho Ke

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The eighties were turbulent years with changes in the management of paddies as directed by ‘contract 100’ and later ‘contract 10’ systems. The forest resources rapidly declined under policies to allow the extraction of wood by private loggers and the relaxation of government policing of forest land against clearing and burning. In a reversal of previous policy, opium cultivation was promoted during the mid 1980’s. The Sinh Phinh population chose to decrease cultivation of cooperative land before the contract 10 systems were introduced and instead focused temporarily on upland farming. After the C3 camp was disbanded its land was not returned to the cooperatives as the district authorities initiated an alternative state management structure in the form of the current ‘seed station’.

At the end of the decade and the onset of the 1990’s, the Sinh Phinh people put massive efforts into the development of private paddy land as the cooperative management system was completely abandoned. Up until 1995 this land had been further developed at all possible locations but none is yet included in official statistics. Since 1990 opium production has been discouraged with a strong ban on opium production since early 1993. Due to increased shares in cooperative paddy and private paddy areas, a small reduction in pressure on forests was reported. Several projects were launched with national funding to improve access and services for the communes, e.g. constructing a health center and People’s Committee office in Sinh Phinh, several schools and water supply and storage systems.

In 1991 the law on forest protection and development was issued. Article No. 2 states that : "the state allocates forest and forest land to organizations, households and individuals in order to facilitate their sustainable protection and development". In the past few years there have been efforts in Sinh Phinh and commune to allocate forest land to individual households and cooperatives, but this has not yet produced the desired results.

2.3 Natural setting

Sinh Phinh Commune (see map in annex 5) occupies a large valley, enclosed and dissected lengthwise by mountain ridges up to 1400 m asl. The valley bottom, at an altitude of approximately 900-1000 m, has been transformed over the years into a terraced rice production area. Above the rice fields are some low hills which are used for grazing and tea planting. The north-eastern mountain ridges, with red soils, are the major upland rice areas, while the south-western limestone mountains are used for upland maize production. The villages are located on the upper slopes and tops of the ridges. The variation in soil types throughout the commune benefit the people in various amounts.

Trung Thu commune covers a mountain, with a highest point of approximately 1500 m. Most of the villages are located at about 1100-1300 m asl and around the top in a circular fashion. The northern and western slopes, attached by stony outcrops to the eastern ridge in Sinh Phinh, is largely a limestone based maize production area. The southern and eastern slopes, beneath an escarpment, have well developed loamy sandstone soils, suitable for upland cropping of rice and maize as well as paddy when water is available. The central plateau area is mostly covered by forest, with cultivation taking place on the mid elevation slopes and the valleys facing Sinh Phinh and Ta Phinh commune. Most villages are only able to exploit one soil type.

The road cutting through Sinh Phinh to the northern part of Tua Chua district is passable throughout the year. However, access to the adjacent communes is difficult during the rainy season due to a slippery road and damage caused by excessive runoff. The road is located in the valley bottom, Sinh Phinh Commune, enabling fairly easy access, with less than one hours walk, to most villages. The commune People’s Committee office, school and health center are all located at the roadside in Ta La Cao village. A secondary road branches off to Trung Thu commune, ending at the top of the mountain in Trung Thu village which contains the People’s Committee building, school and health center. From here tracks lead to all villages on the mountain slopes, most of which are within two hours walk. Walking to the district and market in Muong Bang, necessary in the rainy season, takes 3-4 hours

2.4 Population and social organisation

The population in the study area is composed entirely of H'mong. According to various statistics the total population (see Table 2) reaches 2145 in Trung Thu and 3988 in Sinh Phinh. Please note that the data collection process and subsequent analysis of data has led to limited confidence in the accuracy of the data.

The H'mong in the study area distinguish three subdivisions in the population: red, white and green H'mong. This distinction is not made in official statistics but it does play an important role in social affairs. Between the subdivisions the language differs slightly as do some of the customs, architecture and dress. Repeatedly it was stated that ordinary social contacts, family links, intermarriage, etc. between subdivisions were uncommon and less preferred than the contacts within the same subdivision. By preference each village is populated by only one subdivision, but in reality a wide variety of combinations were encountered.

No particular relevant features were found to justify separate treatment of subdivisions in the course of the study. Village interaction is closer between villages that are inhabited by the same subdivision due to historical and current social links. It appears that the villages which share the ethnic sub divisions also share cross boundary plot ownership patterns.

Table 2: Population data

NB: Villages, and their population data, visited during the study are printed in bold letter

For Po Ka Dao village, village growth was inferred by recording the year of house construction. With reference to the different house types (’embedded column house’ and ‘free standing column house’), the accumulated growth of households in Po Ka Dao is presented in Figure 1. The growth of the village was strong during the early 1960’s, probably the result of state initiated population settlement, with houses being built along paddy fields and swiddens. It then remained stable for a fairly long period of time with the subsequent split off of Chung Van Kho village in 1964 and a sizable out-migration to another village across the Nam Muc river, leaving only 21 families behind.

Trung Thu villages

Ethnic subgroup

Popu-lation

Nr of house-hold

Sinh Phinh villages:

Ethnic subgroup

Popula-tion

Nr of house-hold

Trung vang kho white + red 404 55 Thon I green 626 89

Ban Pho white 356 53 Thon II green 504 87

Po Ka Dao white 352 48 Thon Ill green 294 43

Hang co tau white + red 291 37 De dang red 392 55

Mo Lo Tong white + red 162 21 Ta La Cao red+green 325 44

Phinh Ho Ke green 151 23 Phi dinh I red 139 23

Nhe xuan hang green+ red 157 23 Phi dinh II red 120 17

Trung Thu white+ red 118 17 Vang Chua red 201 32

De Bau white+ red 154 22 Phing bang red 236 29

Totals 2145 297 De De hu red 589 51

Ta Pao Red 248 41

Hang De De Red 315 47

Totals 3988 558

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The house construction history only takes account of those remaining within Po Ka Dao but considering the lack of accurate data on household population changes and in-out flux of whole households, this data might stand proxy for the population growth from 1964. The population growth was estimated to be 3.2% annual increase in number of households, however over the last 10 years this growth reached 4%.

Settlement pattern and history

Prior to becoming a village, settlements of temporary houses appear in cultivation areas, which, due to distances from the home village become more and more attractive for permanent settlement. A decision is eventually made to officially call the settlement a village and have it recognized as such by the commune. When resources permit, a period of growth and prosperity follows, which might attract households from other villages. This period ends when all resources available are more or less utilized and prosperity dwindles. Travel time increases as more cultivation areas are developed further away to compensate for decreasing yields and increasing grazing pressure. Slowly people start to treat the village as a social center with the production season spent in temporary houses on their cultivation area. Out migration might start to occur in search of better areas. The cycle, lasting maybe for a generation, might start again elsewhere if conditions permit.

Accepting this life cycle of a village as valid, the status of resource availability can be evaluated by determining which phase of the cycle the village is in. It has been reported in Trung Thu, Po Ka Dao and Chung Van Kho villages, that a large number of people are establishing ‘production stations’ on their cultivation areas; therefore the cycle in these villages appears to be in the later stages. In Sinh Phinh, only De De hu reported such secondary settlements, with a failed attempt to settle more permanently, while other visited villages reported only one. The failure of the De De hu settlement, and the reason why no ‘production stations’ are formed in Sinh Phinh, is a result of state policies, particularly forest protection, coupled with the complete occupation of the productive resources, making the opportunity for resettlement within the commune boundaries negligible.

The spatial distribution pattern of households was the cause of much discussion. Houses clustered together is the preferred choice of settlement. The basis of this preference seems to be the establishment of a distinguished living quarter for clusters of kinship groups, originating when e.g. brothers move to a new location, parents and newly independent children with their own household. Settlements can also be outside the village boundary, such as the settlement near private cropland. The most striking example was the village head of Po Ka Dao who lived in the village of Chung Van Kho. These two villages, bordering each other, have each several clusters of households who belong in social terms to the other village.

Lineage

Lineages, identified by their family name, are numerous, also within the same village. Lineage names are reportedly shared across subdivisions. All villages reported to contain several lineages, usually 5 or more. The exception was reported, but unconfirmed, in Thon II, as ail of the green H'mong villages in the study area, were said to be only of the Giang lineage. The people interviewed indicated that not all lineages of the same name implied direct kinship between each other. Probably the kinship groups are independent as their common ancestors are not remembered (an important component of inter marriage rules).

Table 3: Lineage distribution in Chung Van Kho vill age

Chung Van Kho village has a lineage distribution as shown in Table 3. The origin of this village, and thus the lineages, is Po Ka Dao and they were subsequently split up in 1964. Unconfirmed interviews mentioned an influx of people from other areas in Trung Thu, in one case this was because of cultivated areas which could support a new family. The village leadership and the commune chairman position had, as far back as could be remembered, been either A Thao or A Vue.

Household cycle

The members of a household are the individual adults, joined through marriage, their children, including married in-living and in some cases their in-living parents. A number of households organized into a settlement must have something in common. In the majority of cases the common denominator is the family link. This is mostly a matter of direct kinship through descendancy, alternatively through carrying the same family name. Marriage provides access to kinship links to in-laws but is limited only to the next of kin.

individuals joining through marriage create a new economic unit. The young couple is first nurtured by the parents, usually from the paternal side, to gain skills in their economic operations and to acquire the basic necessities for life as an independent economic unit. The real start of independence, however, is the construction of a house for the couple and the acquisition of productive resources, e.g. different plots of land and animals. At this stage in the household, labor is in short supply compared to the need for child birth and care and the enlargement of the resource base. Having spent time on acquiring resources, coupled with the aging process of the children, an increasing amount of labor can be spent on maximizing returns on household resources.

When the resources are managed effectively, the returns are all positioned in the prospect of transferring them to the family offspring. A suitable balance will be sought to assure the adequate start of a new series of households, as well as retaining sufficient resources for the good care of the elders, now nurtured by the remaining resident child(ren), usually one of the younger ones. Slowly the resources are thus dispersed between the offspring which have an obligation to take care of the elders until they die.

The ownership of livestock was often related to wealth levels and resource access. Data from Po Ka Dao and De De Hu village, presented in Table 4, seem to confirm at Ieast a fair distribution between families of livestock ownership. Further data from Po Ka Dao village showed that out of 6 households not owning a buffalo, only 1 has a paddy field, 9 out of 10 households without paddy have no horse. The 8 households with cattle, with one exception, owned a minimum of 3 buffaloes and 2 horses. Of the 20 households without a horse, 70 % cultivated maize swiddens within the village with a slightly lesser figure of 60% of other households farming maize inside the village. No correlation was found for the ownership of

Lineage name Nr. Of households

Thao 9

Hue 8

Sung 9

Vue 13

Vang 2

Lau 5

Lu 3

Hua 3

Li 2

Giang 2

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paddy and livestock, with only 31 households farming paddy within the village and 15 in other villages.

Table 4: Ownership of heads of livestock per family

3. RESOURCE USE SYSTEM

3.1 Land Use Types

The different land use types in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu communes are presented in table 5. Total area is 12,197 ha of which 22% is used for agriculture and 15% is covered with forest. More than 60% is classified as forest land without forest cover (called ‘bare land’).

Table 5:Land use types in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu communes

Both statistical data ( FN 1) and the field work show that rice and maize are the primary crops (see Table 6) and form the staple diet. Besides crop land there are considerable tracts of land, on the mountain tops and slopes immediately below, which are forested but subject to varying levels of exploitation. Livestock grazing and fodder collection in Sinh Phinh valley and all lots of forest patches, bushes etc, is the third major land use. No statistics are available to indicate the forest status nor grazing/fodder opportunities. See Annex 5 for more information on the cultivation of the major crops.

Permanent cropping is the predominant feature of the entire study area. Land currently under fallow and under forest regeneration protection is classed as abandoned. The interviews indicated that most land was permanently cropped with certainly less then 20% of arable land reserved as fallow. Rice is produced partly on irrigated paddy fields, averaging 0.18 and 0.23 ha per household in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu respectively. The commune of Sinh Phinh has a considerable amount of upland rice, with a relatively minor amount of maize cultivation. Trung Thu produces considerably more maize than dry rice. Table 6 presents the land area of the main crops per household in the communes. The statistics do not provide information on food production as yields vary considerably between plots and between varieties.

Table 6: Average crop land per household

Heads of livestock per

family

Nr of families owning Buffalo(s)

Nr of families owning Horse(s)

Nr of families owning Cattle

Villages; Po Ka Dao De De hu Po Ka Dao De De hu Po Ka Dao De De hu

None

1

2

3

4 or more

6

14

7

12

7

5

19

19

14

17

20

11

9

6

none

4

20

25

13

7

38

2

3

2

1

47

2

2

none

7

Land use types Total (ha) Sinh Phinh Trung Thu

Total 12197 6608 5589

A. Agriculture land 2713 1798 915

- irrigated land 169 101 68

- upland rice 545 515 30

- maize 858 400 458

- home garden 239 182 57

- tea 60 60

- unused 842 540 302

B. Forest land 9315 4717 4598

- natural forest 1724 1071 663

- plantation forest 81 21 60

+ pine forest 35 21 14

+ trees as Iac host 46 46

- no forest cover 7500 3625 3875

C. Other land 169 93 76

Crop Commune

Sinh Phinh (ha/hh)

Trung Thu (ha/hh)

Wet rice

Maize

Upland rice

Total cropped area

0.18

0.70

0.91

1.79

0.23

1.56

0.10

1.90

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The areas of different crops, based on information received in the interviews, also gives a good indication of the soil types prevalent in a village. Upland rice can be cultivated best on red clay soils prevalent in the northern-eastern hill ranges of Sinh Phinh, e.g. De De hu. Moving west-ward the importance of upland maize increases as soils derived from limestone become more prevalent, e.g. Phinh Ho Ke is largely dependent on maize. South-west of Trung Thu, however, both rice and maize are grown on the same soils in rotation with fallow.

The degree of dependency on each crop, deduced from the proportion of the staple foods used in the households, therefore varies in each village. See Table 7 for a comparison of the relative importance of maize and upland rice production in three villages. The proportions of the two soil types available to a village is indicated by the proportions of the different crops. Villages with a high proportion of good rice land have poor maize land and vice versa.

Table 7: Relative importance of maize and upland ri ce production

Based on the relationship between the soil quality available to farmers and the choice of rice or maize varieties, interviews were conducted to evaluate soil quality based on the number of varieties used in a village. The best soils are those under newly opened forest or re-opened fallow land. These soils are used first for cultivation of the most demanding varieties and after a period of use less demanding varieties are grown. Where soils are able to support both rice and maize, the cultivation of rice comes immediately after opening up the land from fallow or forest, followed later by maize cultivation. The choice of varieties still depends on soil quality.

Table 8: Maize varieties in relation to soil qualit y

The degree of dependency on a particular crop is indicated by the greater range of varieties suitable to the soils in any particular village (See Table 8 and Table 9). For example in De De hu, which has red soil, there are nine rice varieties, while in Phinh Ho Ke, which is predominantly a limestone area, there are only three varieties. In the latter village, on the other hand, the choice of maize varieties is higher than in De De hu. The percentage area of different varieties cultivated, with their different soil quality demands, is a good measure of soil quality available to the villages.

Table 9: Rice varieties in relation to soil quality

In Table 10: a coarse evaluation of the food production situation for households in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu communes is presented. The communes are evaluated separately as they have very different soil resources and thus are dependent on different crops.

Table 10: Household (HH) food availability

Village Maize Rice

De De hu 30 % 70%

Thon II 60 % 40%

Phinh Ho Ke 70 % 30%

Village Nr of varieties soil quality Yield (Kg/ha) Area (%)

De De hu 1 good 200 5%

2 average 600 20 %

1 poor 1000 75%

Thon II 3 good 700 40 %

3 average 700 30 %

1 poor 1000 30 %

Phinh Ho Ke 2 good 600 20 %

3 average 850 30 %

1 poor 1200 50 %

Chung Van Kho 1 good 400 10 %

4 average 900 90 %

poor

Village Nr of varieties soil quality Yield (Kg/Ha) Area (%)

De De hu 7 good 500-700 50 %

2 Average 700 50%

Poor

Thon II 1 Good 300 10 %

1 Average 600 20%

2 Poor 500 70%

Phinh Ho Ke 1 good 250 10%

1 Average 400 50%

1 Poor 600 40%

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The area of crop land available per commune (see Table 6) has been obtained from statistical data. Estimates of weighted average yield, are based on the yield figures obtained during the interviews. As can be seen in these two tables, crop yield does not necessarily reflect the soil quality requirement of varieties (FN 2). The varieties requiring better soils are reported to have rather low yields but are planted because of their quality, particularly flavour. The varieties suitable to poor soils, even when grown on such soils, are all reported to have higher yields. The latter varieties are mostly those introduced by recent extension work, as they are more suitable than local varieties on poor quality soils.

Interviews indicated that paddy yields are variable (due to soil and variety variations) but the average is 2000 kg per ha. The food output is calculated as the sum of unhusked paddy, originating from both paddy and upland fields, and upland maize. With an average of 7.2 people per household (based on data in Table 2), the food availability is calculated as 212 and 267 kg per person per year for Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu respectively.

There seems to be a considerable shortage of food in both communes, compared to national standards of 300 kg per capita. The main reason is the very low rate of production per ha for all crops but especially for upland rice. Sinh Phinh faces comparatively more constraints than Trung Thu. Since Sinh Phinh has relatively more rice land and a higher dependency on rice as a staple, they are therefore more affected by its relatively and absolutely low yields.

Everyone interviewed had difficulty recalling details about land under fallow. It was reported in household interviews that the ratio of fallow to cropped land never reached more then 10-20 %. This was supported by field observations with the conspicuous absence of large areas or numerous plots under fallow. In the past, resources were less scarce, and it was reported that one or two decades ago fallow periods of at least three years were common. Now, all land that can and is permitted to support crops is taken into production permanently, i.e. every year (this is illustrated in table 11).

Table 11: Plot history Mr. Giang Phai Lau, Po Ka Da o

Table 11 illustrates how a household claims and uses farm land in Po Ka Dao. The farmer has just finished building a new house, for which he must still obtain planks for the walls. Seven years ago, i.e. 1988, he separated from his parents in the village. Apart from the above. he owns, through parental donation at separation, a small plot of paddy Iand (3 Kg of seeds), a horse and 2 buffaloes. He has developed different cultivation agreements with relatives: near and" far. Fallow land is borrowed under these arrangements, at no cost except for payment of the agriculture taxes, until the owner requests its return. There is no secure tenure over the borrowed plots which concerns. He also mentioned that he had no idea how to produce enough rice or maize to feed his family during 1995. The initial cultivation of borrowed plots allowed him to fallow his inherited plot, which had been in the family since his grandfather cultivated it. He steadily increased the size of his own plot by taking bordering areas into cultivation. The Iac host tree plot had good soils in the beginning but later had to be planted with maize. The plot can not be burned so is less productive. The change in maize variety was motivated by increased yield opportunities on the degraded land after introduction of a new variety in 1993.

The use of fire remains essential to upland cropping as a land clearing and fertility management practice, particularly in the fallow period, the winter period between two consecutive crops, when weeds proliferate. During the interviews nobody was able to recall, for a period of at least twenty years, the occurrence of forest fires in Trung Thu. This illustrates the skill in burning the swiddens as well as the lack of biomass in the fields to generate large fires. Fire, and its deliberate use, appears not to be an indicator of swiddening. The lack of fuel for burning is likely to affect negatively the nutrient inputs to the annual cropping cycle. This has not yet been compensated for by any other cropping techniques. The reported low yields correlate with the low fertility of the soils encountered in the study area.

The increasing scarcity of land has led to changes in cultivation practices, e.g. reduction of the fallow periods (the fallow to cropping ration), increased use of a buffalo drawn plow to prepare land, increased interest in irrigated rice cultivation and the related intensification of land use, and investigations into multiple cropping arrangements such as Iac host trees with maize. The modifications in land use are dependent on the opportunities available locally.

The impact of land scarcity has also led to the cultivation of steeper slopes, previously covered in Imperata, which are known to have poor yields. Incursions into protected forests are also occurring.

From the above description, current land use can not be considered as shifting cultivation, but rather it has transformed, over the past one or two generations or longer, into a rotation system with a gradual increase in permanent cultivation.

3.2. Livestock land use

Livestock plays an important role in the family economy and in the utilization of both fallow and forest land. Interviews were thus conducted on the subject of livestock fodder. In Thon II, Sinh Phinh, a cattle and buffalo grazing calendar (see Table 12) was drawn up to gain an understanding of the major grazing areas and their prime utilization period. Fodder is reportedly supplied as straw, collected from the wet paddy fields and stored at home, and grasses, freshly cut from around the area of land preparation. Since maize swiddens are often far from water sources, additional water has to be carried to the working animals (mainly working in land preparation).

Yield (coarse estimate) Kg/HH in Sinh Phinh

Kg/HH in Trung Thu

Wet rice (2000 kg/ha) 355 464

Maize (900 kg/ha) 633 1407

Upland rice (600 kg/ha) 543 61

Total kg of food /HH per year 1531 1932

Average Persons/HH 7.2 7.2

Kg of Food per person 212 267

Plot I Bamboo creek Plot II Nuong trong sa Plot III Sa tho lu Plot IV De Bau

Management status

undercropped in arrangement with owner hill side occupied by Iac host trees

4 kg maize area inherited from parents, in addition 2 kg maize area cleared

borrowed from relative, until return

temporary borrowing agreement with distant relative

1994 Mong co maize Mong co maize Mong co maize not cultivated, returned to owner

1923 Mong co maize Mong co maize Mong co maize Mong co maize

1992 Mo Chua maize Mo Chua maize Mo Chua maize Mo Chua maize

1991 Mo Chua maize fallow fallow used by owner

1990 Ble chieu rice fallow fallow used by owner

1939 Ble chieu rice fallow fallow used by owner

1988 and before

Tall bushes and lac host tree, not cultivated before

cultivated with maize Don’t know history claimed by owner, possibly from forest in any year before 1990)

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In other villages in Ta La Cao valley, Sinh Phinh, buffalo grazing patterns follow the same schedule as in Table 12. Ta La Cao and C3 hills are the main grazing areas, resulting in a heavy concentration of large livestock in these areas. Livestock grazing in Trung Thu, follow roughly the same calendar, but is less concentrated with the different paddy schemes dispersed throughout (and outside) the commune.

The grazing of horses follows similar patterns except for the more or less permanent stable feeding. Grass cultivation takes place in home gardens, indicating the technical ability of the farmers. However, none of them reported to have more than a weeks supply of fodder available. Most of the fodder produced is used when human labor is scarce and when animals require special care. Some villages reported the need to keep stallions stable-fed all year round in order to avoid conflict in the herd.

Table 12: Grazing area utilization

Free - animals roam freely throughout particular valleys or areas and do not return to the stable for several days in a row, sometimes weeks, with occasional checkups by the owner.

Herd - small herds (3-5 animals) are formed in the morning guarded by a child or elderly person during the day, returning to the village in the afternoon

Cutting and collection of grass for stable feeding has a high labour input, up to several hours every day to cut and collect a single packload of grass for one days food supply. ‘Khau Chua’ (Co Chit), which makes up 70% of the grass cut, now grows only in places inaccessible to free roaming livestock such as on limestone outcrops, in deeper valleys and other open forests. The remaining types of. fodder, consisting of a variety of grasses and straw, is cut from more accessible sites, such as near creeks and paddies.

Pigs are fed daily with maize but also require green feed including banana stems, tubers, soft leaves collected from the forest, fallow land and crop boundaries. Some homegardens have ‘pig-trees’ which are lopped to harvest the leaves in times of household labor shortages.

3.3 Forest and forest use

Variation in soil types is reflected in variations in vegetation types. On clay soils undisturbed forest is dense with relatively fast growing trees, with the potential of reaching a large size and with varying degrees of timber durability. On limestone the vegetation is more sparse with smaller less well formed trees of slower growth rate but with generally high wood durability. On the highest points in Trung Thu village, Trung Thu, native pine forests are found together with planted pine forest of Pinus Khasya (14 ha planted in 1971). In Be de hu, Sinh Phinh, the same pine species has also been planted at lower elevations (21 ha) (FN 33). In 1968, in Trung Thu commune, 46 ha of Dalbergia huppeana were planted for the production of shellachticklac (for more details see annex 4).

Sinh Phinh valley bottom and the Trung Thu plateau are reported to have been covered with grasses (Chit and Imperata) as far back in time as can be remembered. The local areas still carry names of forests (’Hang’ in H'mong language means forest), Hang co tau, Hang Be de, Hang Tau in Be de hu village, Hang pang between Phinh Ho Ke and Thon I, II, III villages.

Most forests have been converted into agriculture land, grasslands or fallow land. Hang pang has become a maize production center, Sinh Phinh valley bottom has become a rice growing area with tea production and grazing areas on the lower hills (C3). The Hang Be de (including Ta Pao) and Hang Tau forest were possibly untouched but since 1984 Ta Pao villagers have cleared tracts of forest despite continuous conflict over several years with the district forest protection service.

Only Trung Thu plateau has regenerated to forest, reportedly under commune protection since 1954. A similar but more recent (10 -15 years ago) protection decision has been made regarding a forest area opposite the hillside settlement of Be de hu after a fire destroyed (!) Imperata grassland. Since 1992, under the forest land allocation process areas of fallow land of variable age (approximately 2-4 years at the moment of designation) have been designated as regeneration and protection forest land. The designations have been motivated by public statements that forests promote water retention.

Limestone outcrops, mountain peaks and steep valleys throughout the study area have not been cultivated but have been exploited for logging of high value timber, collection of orchids and other valuable products such as job’s ears (mushrooms), bastard cardamom and material for chopsticks, bamboo waterpipes as well as agricultural tools. These are also the primary areas for horse fodder collection as referred to above.

Near villages and along paths, the undergrowth, poorly formed trees or branches are cut and collected as ‘dead wood’ for use as fuelwood. Fuelwood can be up to 30 cm in diameters, although 10-15 cm diameter is more common. Estimates of demand are in the order of 10-15 stere of fuelwood per household per year. Poles and fencing material, of the same dimensions, are also extracted from the forest. The collection of fuelwood in certain areas, however, has led to severe thinning of young trees in the undergrowth and the thinning of the less desirable large trees (both in terms of species and form). In the future, the availability of harvestable timber is threatened.

Timber logging is highly selective using the best trees for the end use. A large variety of tree species and large sized timber is needed for house construction: beams, roof coverage, etc. Timber species selected for house construction are Pygeum arboreurn (’tong do’), Talauma gioi (’tong Iang’) and Schima superba (’tong vang mu’). Selective logging for poles (fencing, thatching) occurs in the same area. The demand for construction timber has been estimated for three villages based on construction dates of houses (see as an example Figure 1: House construction history, Po Ka Dao). House construction is basically of two types: the ‘embedded column’ and the ‘freestanding column’. The first type is a simple construction with the columns embedded into the soil; the second type is more complex, requiring tight fitting joints, the columns stand on stone elevated a few centimeters above ground level and it generally requires more wood because the walls and divisions are made of planks, rather then woven bamboo. There is a trend to improve housing quality with increasing construction of the freestanding column type.

An estimated average wood demand is 5-10 m3 for an embedded house and approximately 15 m3 for a free standing house. As shown in Figure 1: House construction history, Po Ka Dao, from 1954-1994 an average of 1.2 houses were built per year, but in the last 10 years this has increased to an average of 1.4 houses/year, composed of 1 embedded column house and 0.4 free standing house per year. This then amounts to an annual timber demand of approximately 10-15 m³ per year for the whole village. The lifetime of an embedded column house was at least 5 years but a 30 year lifespan was also reported. The oldest houses in the village are free standing houses.

A continual demand for roof thatching was reported with houses requiring a change of thatch every 4-7 years. A land area of 2000 m2 produces enough grass leaves for one house. it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet demands due to a shortage of this grass! However, there is a trend toward the use of cement roof plates.

The method of collecting wild orchids from moist stream banks and limestone outcrops causes damages to the forest as trees and large branches are cut down. Horse fodder is collected from the same areas, so it could be assumed that over-exploitation is occurring.

Silvicultural management is not undertaken in the forests but customary forest use practices do influence the composition of the forest. The trees in regenerating areas such as Trung Thu plateau and opposite the De De hu hill appear to be young and permitted logging of large trees does not seem to damage the forest reproductive capacity, but leaves the forest with a fairly open canopy. The open canopy caused by logging leads to a regrowth of grasses, low bushes and coppice wood, which have limited value for timber extraction, but do entitle the villagers to cut the trees for use as fuelwood.

3.4 Population movements and land use

Fodder & grazing areas

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ta La Cao paddy & upland rice

** free ** herd **** herd

* * free * * free

C3 hills ** free ****herd **herd ****herd ****herd **** ****

Tua tu maize swidden

**herd & **work

Hang pang maize swidden

***herd &

** work *** herd &

***work

Supplement ****straw grass water

****straw grass water

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To illustrate the relationship between demand for food production and forest cover, events in Be de hu village are presented in Table 13. The Hang Tau forest area is located within De De Hu village boundaries and in its upper reaches borders the Hang De De village forest area. The lower reaches of Hang Tau area are covered with young regenerating forest with a species composition that could reflect the village history outlined below.

The events in De De Hu illustrate a pattern of relocation of crop fields after a period of use with large areas left fallow for a long period of time. Development and degradation patterns of the swiddens are closely related to exploitation by the population. The population movements are clearly visible and this feature has become subject to state policy, which is to be implemented through the Fixed cultivation and Sedentarization department.

Hang Tau and De De Hu form the watershed for the stream supplying drinking water to the district and irrigation water for rice fields in Muong Bang commune. The forest and the stream flowing from there through De De Hu is therefore regarded as highly important by the district authorities. Through implementation of State policy the village production process has been intervened at two points:

� Population movement has become subject to control measures;

� Land under (short) fallow has been designated protected forest for regeneration.

Based on these trends it can be generalised that the demand for food forces the conversion of forested land into the agriculture sub-system. The agriculture sub-system expands to include degraded and less productive land resources. The land has less and less fallow time and is more and more subject to grazing or other collective uses. The forest cover, regardless of forest age, is gradually reduced.

With such a pattern of land use, fallow land will not regenerate into forest unless the human influence is reduced by halting population movement. The current trend seems to be intensification of land use indicated by such practices as plowing, intercropping and paddy development.

Table 13: Population movements and land use

4. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON RESOURCE USE

4.1 Targeted state policies

The H'mong community, although geographically isolated, does interact with the outside world in various ways. The most obvious, within the framework of the study, is the role of the State and the role of the market.

Fixed cultivation and sedentarisation The objective of the sedentarisation and fixed cultivation program has always been to highlight the advantages of fixed settlement, assuming that easy access to ‘modern services’ stimulates such sedentarisation. Recently, the program has focused more on stimulating production by providing technical advice and supplies for the production of cash crops and local food production.

The impact of the sedentarisation policy was first apparent in 1964 with the split up of Po Ka Dao village, creating the new village of Chung Van Kho and a settlement in Pa ham commune, Muong lay district, to promote settlement along the established fields. Later, financial support was provided to construct a road in Sinh Phinh and plant tea, and still later came the construction of schools, health stations and water basins and continued ‘fixed settlement’ in a series of villages. During the 1970s two irrigation systems were built in Sinh Phinh to support cultivation of rice in Ta La Cao and Hang De De. In Trung Thu commune almost 50 ha of Iac host trees have been planted with funds from this program.

In addition, administrative procedures were established to deter the movement of households to other communes. Efforts were and are being undertaken to establish adequate cultivation rights within the defined commune or village boundaries. The guiding principles is to have the entire population of one village cultivate within the land boundaries of that village. This is based on the assumption that all villages have well defined boundaries and that local land ownership regulations can be over-ruled by collective decisions, as occurs in the Red River delta.

Forest protection

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The objective of forest protection, effective since 1954 and later legalized in various decrees and proclamations, is to create or maintain forest cover, particularly on steep slopes. The oldest example of this in the study area is the Trung Thu plateau forest which was taken out of agricultural production in 1954 following only verbal guidelines on forest protection. Plantation forests in the area have been protected since about 1970. In Sinh Phinh 21 ha of pine forest were planted and in Trung Thu 14 ha. For a period after the planting, forest guards were paid by the state to protect forest. In addition 30 ha of natural pine forest are being protected through the establishment of firebreaks.

Land allocation took place in the 1980’s, and involved mainly delineating village boundaries and assigning the duty of forest protection to the village. Resource use rights and benefits, e.g. logging and clearing, are controlled by state Forest Protection Service. The protection effort accelerated again during and after 1992 when land allocation was implemented by the Forest Protection Service, designating forests for regeneration and protection.

The majority of protected forest land is regenerating forest on what was once crop land, although forest alongside streams and on limestone outcrops are included when feasible. Also included are old, natural forests. No clearing for agriculture is allowed with various restrictions placed on logging. There appears to be no regulation on harvesting products from the forest. Officially, logging rights for large trees have to be granted by the district Forest Protection station. Local level management of forest and forest land is vested in the cooperatives in Sinh Phinh and in Trung Thu in the commune People’s Committee. At the village level guards or village groups have been appointed (unpaid) to protect designated forests.

For water conservation purposes, to provide drinking water for the district and irrigation water to Muong Bang, strict forest protection measures have been imposed on the watershed of the De De Hu stream. Forest clearing for cropping and harvesting of products is not permitted throughout extensive areas in Hang Tau and De De Hu. Most of this area has been cultivated in past times. In 1975, and again in 1993-4, the people of De De Hu village were ‘motivated’ to move to the lower watershed. The protection measures are to be enforced by the village population themselves.

A series of funding opportunities has arisen in recent years of which the most prominently discussed is 327. Several forest areas have been declared protected forest as a result and the procedure has been similar to that for De De Hu. Most of the support has been in the form of infrastructure and support for tea planting in Sinh Phinh. The district ‘Sedentarizasion’service has implemented all activities. A combined funding and mobilization effort has taken place under the Song Da watershed and forest program, guided by decision 354 (issued in 1989). This has yet to come into effect and, at community level, cannot be distinguished from ‘327’ activities.

Forest land allocation took place in about 1991-93 as part of a project by the Forest Science Institute. No details have emerged during the study on location, forest status, size and management procedures but the Forest Protection service has not yet issued any relevant documents to households. A new project by the Forest Science Institute has begun in Trung Thu funded by the national Opium eradication campaign.

4.2 Impact of general state policies

Opium eradication

As outlined in the section on history, opium has been a major cash crop in the past. Currently, the cultivation, sale, transport, etc. are strictly forbidden. The presence of opium flowers will incur a fine of 5000 dong per flower. The cultivation of opium has only stopped over the last two cropping seasons as a result of uprooting (physical uprooting of plants in the field by the owner after ‘motivation’) campaigns conducted by the Fatherland Front and funded by the state, with support from all mass organizations and all district staff that could be mobilized.

During the study team’s presence in the area, such campaigns were repeated with ‘persistent’ families who, reportedly, easily gave in to the motivation effort without being fined. The current situation could be summarized as a state of confusion by local people and officials, both in terms of anticipation of future policy changes and in terms of alternative income sources previously provided by opium.

Collectivisation and de-collectivisation

Traditional land use management practices have been severely influenced by collectivization and de-collectivisation policies. Land has been the main capital production means which entered into the cooperative management system. The cooperative was primarily concerned with paddy land, particularly large blocks of land, for the production of rice, dividing the rice equally among those who had contributed labor to its production. The commitment of the ‘cooperative labor force’ was limited which led to low productivity. The efforts of collectivization of production means and land management were at times strongly opposed, resulting in various management regimes within the two communes, with various changes again during recent history. The cooperative management board and expenses fund still exist in Sinh Phinh but the management function regarding production land has been relinquished since 1989. In Trung Thu no cooperative has operated since about 1977-79.

Agriculture land of all types is now effectively private and only marginally influenced by the cooperative in Sinh Phinh. This influence in Sinh Phinh seems to have been strong enough to distribute land (in 1989) on the basis of labor composition of each family. In Trung Thu only Phinh Ho Ke villagers (with paddy land located in Ta Phinh commune and the area utilized by at least three villages) reported such allocation methods but the two other villages visited reported that paddy land had been returned to the original user-owner (i.e. before collectivisation). This was confirmed by the commune People’s Committee as a more generally applied procedure in Trung Thu. Forest land, however, was never really collectivized and is now subject to cooperative and commune management.

Taxes

In the pre-1954 period taxes were levied on a per capita basis and collected in opium. The post 1954 taxation mechanisms have not been studied in detail but were apparently based on household labor units. In 1994 changes to the tax collection bases were enacted, apparently in order to tax agricultural production more adequately. The tax rate is now based on land area with a standard rate of 50 kg of unhusked paddy per ha. This applies equally to paddy, upland rice and upland maize. As such it confirms the status of upland cultivation as permanent agriculture land, rather than as untaxed forest land.

At least one cooperative in Sinh Phinh confirmed that during 1994 a 5 day survey was conducted by the managers to establish the area cultivated by each family. Taxes were levied accordingly. In Trung Thu, a village leader reported that the new methods were very complicated since an equation had been introduced of 1 labor unit cultivates 1 hectare, in order to bring the tax basis in harmony with both the previous and the new systems. The statistical bias thus introduced might be illustrated by reference to Table 6: Average crop land per household. The analysis of population figures reveals that the labor composition per household in Trung Thu (2.46) is lower than in Sinh Phinh (2.67), thus leading to a tax rate of 123 kg and 133 kg respectively. In reality, however an average household in Trung Thu cultivates 1.90 ha and in Sinh Phinh 1.79 ha which should result in a tax rate of 95 kg and 90 kg respectively. Due to the changes an average household in Trung Thu pays 30% more taxes and in Sinh Phinh 48% more taxes than officially required.

4.3 Markets

The influence of markets has always played a role in the opium economy. Therefore the role of markets in its wider sense as well as the new economic mechanisms are well understood by the population.

The weekly market in the district is well visited. The price differential for marketable goods between Lai Chau market and Tua Chua market is currently more favorable for Tua Chua, due to its proximity to Tuan Giao, the local distribution centre. On the production side the price levels are said to equal each other, with Tua Chua receiving slightly higher prices on those products sold to the delta. Transport is becoming more varied and flexible (e.g. motorcycles, jeeps, trucks in addition to buses) and more available to the population, therefore, the response capacity toward the market is likely to increase.

The planting of Iac host trees was a response to price increases of shell/stick lacquer about ten years ago. Many district agriculture and forestry staff earn additional secondary income by trading raw shellac material. Tea and Judas ears (Moc nhi) mushrooms are sold through the local teacher corps to the market. Currently, commercial agricultural products are beans (many varieties) and some maize, mostly sold directly in the weekly marketplace. The market is also an important trading place for livestock such as pigs and chickens. Recently, orchids (collected from trees growing in humid patches of forest) are selling well to the many traders coming to Tua Chua who then sell them to China. The orchid market will probably be short-lived due to destructive collection methods and the type of traders purchasing them.

5. NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

5.1 Resource users and managers

Contrary to the common belief that the H'mong are almost nomadic and persistent swidden cultivators, it appears from this study that a sedentary way of life and farming has been well established. Large areas of paddy land have been developed in the communes under ‘private’ landuse rights, equated locally with ownership rights. Similar rights have been established on permanently cropped land which carries mainly dry rice and maize. Again similar rights are exercised over individual and stands of trees. All rights are established on the basis of ‘who works will benefit’. The resource use rights extend as far back as the generation of (deceased) great grand parents.

Resources are exploited and managed by individuals and by groups organised in various ways. The largest possible grouping is the state, which represents a very large interest.

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Within the community of the study area, households, inter-household groups, villages and cooperatives are ways of joining forces for the exploitation and management of natural resources. In addition, the commune People’s Committee is also a local organisation, but it is also a local representative of the state which aims to merge state objectives with local objectives. The variety of ways of implementing shared objectives, is here called a unit of organization.

Below, the logic of people organizing tasks as part of the use and management of the available natural resources is addressed. The organizational framework and mechanisms of operation are outlined to gain an understanding of the relationships at play in managing the village natural resources.

5.1.1 Households

All members share the household resources and the benefits obtained from them. Ownership is vested in the head of household, usually the elder male except when the (in-living) father has transferred this role to his (in-living) son. In opium farming exceptions to this are widely reported but no details have emerged during the course of the study

Labor is the most scarce resource in the family that needs to be balanced against all production and resource accumulation objectives. The most labor intensive task is crop cultivation with plowing and weeding the major peaks. Walking, e.g. to cultivation areas, to fetch water and collect fodder often requires a considerable amount of time.

The long term objective to accumulate resources in the form of land, house and livestock plays a major role in household planning. Each household also has a series of short term objectives, such as providing adequate amounts of food of the right kind, cash income and fulfillment of social, religious and cultural obligations.

The short and long term objectives need to be matched with the available labor supply of the household, simultaneously satisfying the demands for a social life. Extensive consultations are held in each nuclear family on the production process. The head of household makes the final decision and the family then implements the required activities. However, a great amount of independence is granted to the female household members and in-living adults to use parts of the available resources for their benefit, e.g. clothing production. When resources or their exploitation depend on members of the extended family, they are also included in the consultation process. Relatives in the direct line of kinship and the in-law family, living both far and near, are consulted on more strategic issues such as what products to cultivate, what products to exchange, which locations, when and how to build a house, etc. Several people interviewed stated that non-kin but same-lineage played no role in their household decision making. Ancestors are remembered only three to four generations back so it appears that kinship links are more relevant than the lineage links.

The resources claimed are primarily land for the production of rice and maize, the garden and house. Trees planted on boundaries, natural trees on cropped land and in forest land are also claimed. Natural resources are claimed by utilizing them and by using an indicator of use such as fencing, marking, staking, or by utilizing minor fractions of the area or product claimed. The resources claimed can be transferred from the parents at separation of the adult children, at decease of the father or by extended borrowing arrangements with relatives. Original claims on newly opened land are a frequently reported method of acquiring resources, claimed in a manner similar to trees for timber and other uses.

This study did not penetrate the subject of household rules deeply enough to provide an understanding of how decisions are enforced. Widely discussed social matters include divorce and suicide in response to internal friction often resulting from larger issues, e.g. house construction, capital accumulation and use, and less frequently discussed issues such as transfer of resources at household separation of adult children and inheritance of land and other resources.

5.1.2 Inter-household groups

Households with adjoining paddy fields form a group to manage water resources to supply paddy fields. Sharing labor on channel and source maintenance was also quoted as a reason for forming a group. The final task which is shared is the distribution of water. An inter-household scheme comprises a water source, distribution channel and paddy fields.

In most cases the relationship between members of the group, if not one of kinship, is likely to be based on some cooperative or common action in the past such as the clearing of fields or settlements. The leader of the group appears to be either one of the earlier settlers in the paddy scheme or his descendants, or the person who first accessed the water source to create a paddy field. Through this mechanism the leader may, intentionally or accidentally, coincide with the head of the kinship group within the scheme. As rice cultivation and water use are permanent activities the group is bound to stay in existence.

From casual field observations there seems to be little group organization and few regulations. The group meets on an ad hoc basis and discusses issues at random, rather than carry out careful planning. However, water intake into the fields follows certain principles of wise and considerate use, i.e. balancing water use between those ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’. In one village (Chung van Kho) two water user groups competed for the same water source, which requires continuous attention at the water intake point. In periods of drought when the whole group tries to obtain water, starting at the head end of the channel; some tensions were reported.

Water intake is the main resource claimed by the group. Some land has to be claimed to channel and distribute the water. Groups apparently have no claim on the land or vegetation above the source.

Another common type of grouping is for the channeling of drinking water to a group of houses. Groups of people construct houses together but this is not a long-term commitment to group activity. Again, close kinship emerges as the common denominator of the group, although the peak labor input in erecting the house structure can be supplied by distant relatives from outside the village and unrelated people within the village. One kinship group in a village appeared to have worked out long-term priorities in constructing houses for qualifying couples in order to be able to mobilize a work gang for each house construction site.

5.1.3 Village

The village in which a residence is located implies membership in that village. There are exceptions, villagers belonging to one village have been found to live in another village (e.g. the Po Ka Dao village head lives in Chung Van Kho and several others households from both sides are resident in the others village). A village can be composed of many production residences and several sub villages near the fields. Ownership of productive resources and their location contributes more strongly to organizational mechanism, as is illustrated by the cross boundary cultivation patterns, than the attachment to a particular village.

The two communes have different organizational structures for their villages. In Sinh Phinh a modern type of management system is operated by the cooperative; while in Trung Thu management is more traditional. District officials reported that the Trung Thu mode of organization is more common in the district, as most cooperatives have long ceased to operate.

� In Sinh Phinh the villages are referred to as a ‘cooperatives’, the leaders are called managers and are members of the management board. The cooperative has a role in managing the paddy previously under its control. Management fees are collected for the cooperative fund, amounting to a total of approximately 400 kg of paddy per year. In Ta Pao the collective paddy area is rated at 100 kg/ha per year and in De De Hu labor is valued at 3 kg of unhusked paddy per year. The management board members are paid, in kind, for their effort out of the fund. For example in De De Hu the manager is paid 100 kg/year, the deputy manager and the accountant 80 kg/yr. and the secretary 70 kg/year. The rest of the funds are spent on general expenditures such as receiving visitors and public works (roads, school). Each inoperative also has access to two labor days from each labor unit in the cooperative in order to implement public works, including maintenance of irrigation schemes. Taxes are levied on the amount of cultivation area for which area assessments are made by the management board. The managers also act as arbitrators when there are conflicts between households. Forest protection is organized at the village level with groups of guards. Leadership changes can in principle be made at the annual member meeting, although in practice leadership seems to last 4-6 years.

� In Trung Thu the village is the organisational unit led by the village leader. The village leader does not receive any payment or assistance. Group labor is available but not much utilized, nor are there any funds available for collective 29 activities. Arbitration in times of conflict is done by a three person arbitration council not including the village leader. Forest protection is carried out by the commune, with the village having only a reporting function. Leadership changes apparently only occur when necessary, with the new person being appointed by the commune People’s Committee. There are now moves toward an elected leader.

The management structure of a cooperative/village also includes the Communist party, the Fatherland front, Farmers union and the Women’s union. Their main task seems to be the mobilization of support for state initiated activities. The Fatherland front seems most active with activities including the organization of elections and the campaign against opium. The number of members is higher than the Women’s Union (Trung Thu only one per village) and the Farmers Union (only one member in all of Trung Thu commune).

The leader of the village has to be well respected, able to work hard and be successful. These characteristics were visible during most home visits. Other characteristics are: good physical health since the job involves a lot of walking; and the ability to speak Vietnamese, although regarded as a criterion of low priority. Age did not appear to be a very important criterion, but most leaders seemed to have young children. A kinship relation with the most common or second-most common lineage in the village was evident from the study although never explicitly stated.

Several village leaders reported that village meetings (FN 4) take place on demand and when people have time to meet, i.e. in the winter season. During this time there may be up to three meetings a month, while meetings during the production season occur only every two or three months. Both communes appear to have the same meeting schedule. The cooperative management board meets more often, although much is organised without meeting formally.

The Sinh Phinh cooperative manages primarily the paddy land and is strongly involved in managing the forest areas particularly for timber extraction. Other agricultural areas belonging to their resource pool, although they might be physically located elsewhere, are also managed. The villages in Trung Thu manage essentially the same resources, except the forests, but management is less intensive.

The primary objective of village and cooperative management is to control access to village resources by regulating utilization based on private ownership principles, and by not allowing outsiders to come and cultivate new plots. In Sinh Phinh timber extraction by the villagers requires permission from the manager, while in the case of a request for timber from non-residents the cooperative management board must decide.

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The rules of the village and cooperative are drawn up at village meetings following general consensus. The well defined conflict resolution and arbitration methods are described separately below. In addition to arbitration mechanisms, the village, under the decisive leadership of the commune People’s Committee, can call on the popular militia. This is reported in Trung Thu, where each village has a group of former army conscripts who maintain their skills by regular training. The team was informed of their enforcing role in the opium eradication campaign. Each village also has a police functionary.

5.1.4 Commune

The commune represents state management at its lowest tier in Viet Nam. All people resident within the commune boundary are subject to the management and regulations of commune authorities. The location of residence determines which commune a household belongs to regardless of the location of production areas. In general the areas around commune boundaries are uninhabitable (ridges or deep valleys), facilitating a clear separation of residence. The two communes have been ruled in the pre-1954 period by a local administrator (called ‘Tong Iy’). After 1954 the communes came into being and have followed national legislation on state organization.

Each commune has two major tasks; dealing with internal issues and with external issues. The balance that has to be found between the internal needs of the community for food production and income provision, as opposed to the external policies aiming at e.g. the protection of forest, is reflected in the administration structure and the election of authorities to the People’s Committee. The relevant internal affairs deal with the land allocation to villages, the protection of forests and water resources. The relevant external affairs are the reception and application of taxation issues, the reception and interpretation of policies on agriculture, forestry, sedentarisation, etc.

The primary decision making body is the commune People’s Council (19 members in Trung Thu). This is an elected body from which the standing members of the People’s Committee (3 persons) are elected. This People’s Committee arranges day to day affairs, implements the People’s Council policies and reports back to the People’s Council. The period of tenure on People’s Committee is now 5 years, after recent changes in national legislation.

The background influence of the Party organization seems similar to the situation in most of Viet Nam and is not elaborated upon. In addition to local government, the mass organizations also play a role in managing commune affairs by participating in the election issues. These organizations are mostly funded by the commune. Activities at commune level are scarce and were not further studied.

In Sinh Phinh the commune People’s Committee and/or People’s Council and Party meet every week on Saturday to discuss current affairs. In Trung Thu such regular meeting were not reported, but frequent communication occurred nevertheless. The Party here reported at least three meetings a month.

The two communes have slightly different priorities, with Sinh Phinh more open--minded, maintaining external contacts and Trung Thu much more focused on internal affairs. The management of forest and forest land is vested in Sinh Phinh cooperatives, in contrast Trung Thu forests are managed at the commune level by the People’s Committee.

With the commune not directly involved in exploitation the primary task is to delegate user responsibility of all areas within the commune boundaries. The objective of management is to achieve a balance between the external policies, now demanding forest protection and sedentarisation, and the internal demands of production of adequate food supplies and access to other materials needed by households.

With particular regard to forest, the commune in Trung Thu is the enforcer of bans on forest use. As such the entire forest is considered commune property. The objective of management is the non-use of forest land and wood, with an expressed secondary interest of maintaining water sources. In Trung Thu, forest protection is organized by the commune with regular inspection trips. Permission for logging of trees over 40 cm diameter requires the approval of the village leader and then commune authorities. A fee of VND 50.000 per m³has been levied since 1994 on wood extracted. No permission has recently been granted for clearing forest land for agriculture. All reported violations of forest clearing and logging regulations were fined either in kind, in cash or in labor, Commune authorities have no involvement in the management of agricultural land but they collect taxes, assessed on area of cultivated land per family.

5.1.5 District

In Table 14 the different state organisations operating at district level are presented. Several organisations have a working presence at commune level. The resources claimed by the state are primarily for the benefit of interests outside the community. For example, the strict ban on forest utilization is to maintain vegetation cover which is seen as an important protection mechanism for the Song Da watershed anti-sedimentation efforts. The particular ban on forest cultivation in De De Hu is motivated by securing water for drinking and irrigation purposes to the adjoining commune and district seat. Taxes levied from agricultural land are used in the state budget at the respective levels.

Table 14 Organizations in Tua Chua

5.2 Resource management

During the course of the study the resources were seen to be managed in different ways, as if the population paid more attention to some, but less to other resources. For analytical purposes, types of management are here distinguished to uncover management relationships. The main criteria used below are the strength of the household claim and the amount of interaction with others regarding land use management decisions.

One site may have a range of products, each one having its own management rules. The exploitation of each product is then regulated (i.e. judged upon in case of conflicts) separately under the condition that other products or resources are not damaged. Examples are: Iac host trees undercropped with maize; fields fallowed or not cropped are subject to grazing; timber trees are cut in managed forests; and fuelwood, grass and vegetables are collected above water sources.

5.2.1 Private resources

Private resources are those which households have established the exclusive right to access, thereby excluding other households from exploiting these resources. Virtually no interaction with other households takes place on management and use decisions.

Name of organization General duties Activities indirectly encountered in Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu

Forest Protection service Forest management

Forest protection

Forest land allocation (Lam ba papers)

Forest land allocation

Forest protection measures initiated Protection measures enforcement

Agriculture section

� Technology transfer station

� Seed station � Veterinary station � Plant protection station

(not directly observed)

Agriculture policy formulation production statistics

Implement extension through production and planting of seedlings

Produce seeds of important crops

Provide veterinary services in communes Sell veterinary drugs

Manage crop health in fields sell pesticides

Statistical information available

Plum seedlings procurement location

Manages the C3 tea plantation, provides technical advice on tea planting buffalo and pigs

none

Settlement board Sedentarise the population

Increase infrastructure and services

Increase production potential

Many investment, infrastructure and service projects and funding for productive activities

Cadastral office Registration of land use rights One commune level appointee, discussing village boundaries (Trung Thu)

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Most private resources have a heavy labor investment for productive purposes and for modification of the resource to meet production objectives. For example, paddy land is bounded and supplied with water, forest and fallow is cut for rice or maize production, etc..

The claim to user rights, in this report commonly refereed to as ‘ownership’, is established by tradition based on initial exploitation at the time when the resource was either collective or public. From there on the claim is maintained by continuous use or by marking boundaries or utilizing minor parts. With the resources adequately claimed, the claim becomes part of the common knowledge of the community. The announcement of the claim and the maintenance of it plays an important role in conflict resolution, as these aspects are the true indicators of ownership.

5.2.2 Collective resources:

These are the resources that are regarded as yielding insufficient benefit to warrant management by separate households. The term 'collective’ does not in itself imply any management action or claim by any unit, although that might be the case. Households apply claims on these resources with the objective of transforming them into recognized private resources. The resources are open to anyone until respective claims have been made, after which the claimed resources are exclusive to the claimant.

Collective resources are those that are essentially non-renewable or have a certain measure of scarcity or is intended to be exploited over a long time. The exploitation of these resources affects the productive capacity to the extent that renewal is likely to take a very long time, i.e. essentially irreversible. The period of evaluation for renewal appears to be limited to several months, maybe a year. Exercising a claim over a collective resource usually means the resource will be treated as private.

Each of these resources or products have their own management regulations, the basis of which is ‘first come first serve’and ‘who works will benefit’. For the forest to agriculture conversion and for timber exploitation there are procedures for considering supra household interest and inter household regulation. The maintenance and sanctioning of these regulations is done by the different levels of management such as the village/cooperative and the commune. The Imperata grass lands are claimed only for a period of one year, enough to provide for one house roof.

Water is a case on its own, with some sources claimed by inter-household group and only conflict resolution measures applied by the higher management levels.

In anticipation of the need of any such resources, a household will scout the entire area available to identify the appropriate resource. Assessments are likely to be made on resource qualities, physical and legal access and the investment necessary. When a decision has been made, a claim on the resource is made by placing bamboo sticks in deep knife cuts in poles or bushes or clamped between some rocks. Other marks are made according to the availability of local material. An announcement of the claim is made. The resources are now considered private.

5.2.3 Public resources

Products of public resources are collected when required by the household. Access to these resources is open to anyone, possibly even to outsiders.

The labor investment is only for collection of the product, not to serve the resource, but at the same time the productive capacity of the resource must not be affected.

Most of these resources carry an expectation of renewal in the short term. Product value is low and they are relatively bountiful and needed/utilized on a fairly regular basis.

5.3 Conflict arbitration

When families have for some reason staked claims on the same resources they are obliged to resolve this conflict. If accidental, e.g. grazing damage to crops, fire damage to crops, fallow or property, the damage is assessed and compensated for. If deliberate, such as clearing fallow land or felling trees, negotiations will have to be held, dealing with acknowledgment of the claim and the act of utilization. If one of the parties is not satisfied with the results of the negotiation, the matter is referred to the village level. This will be done almost automatically if the older resource claim is exercised by village or commune management.

At the village level arbitration is attempted by consulting the two parties involved. The claims are evaluated and the act of utilization is discussed. Once a decision has been reached, the parties can either accept the consequences or refer to the commune level. Arbitration in Sinh Phinh seems to be done by the cooperative management board. In Trung Thu each village has an arbitration council for resolving conflicts, composed of respected and active elders. The fee for arbitration varies. In some villages in Sinh Phinh rates were mentioned at 10 000 Bong per case per party. Elsewhere mention was made of feeding the arbitration council or cooperative board for at least one day or for the duration of the consultation.

Cases referred to the commune level are dealt with by the vice chairman of the People’s Committee. The People’s Committee is also involved when the conflict occurs across village boundaries, with the respective village leaders acting as representatives. The procedure of consultation is repeated and resolutions reached. Arbitration at the commune level requires 25000 Bong. If further violations occur and further consultation is necessary, the amount is doubled. In case the violation is irreversible, e.g. logging, burning, a separate judgment is made on the utilization of the violated resources (Whether cleared land is permitted to be cultivated, cut trees can be used, etc.). If the resource claim is exercised by the village or commune, the matter can be settled directly by levying fines. All cases settled by the commune People’s Committee are to be reported to the district authorities, but interviews indicated that this process was not always completed.

The Sinh Phinh commune People’s Committee has resolved deep seated conflicts between villages around the Ta La Cao area by redistributing entire hills and paddy blocks. In approximately 1987-88 this happened for the last time, with now 6 villages cultivating land in the Ta La Cao paddy scheme and the same six villages cropping upland areas in the valley bottom. There is the opportunity to refer such cases to the district level, e.g. the police, court or Forest Protection service, depending on the nature of the case

If the case involves more than one commune the matter might be raised in district authority meetings and the district People’s Committee might become involved. All proceedings involving district authorities require the households to cover the incurred expenses.

Since 1992 Sinh Phinh commune reported to the Forest Protection service 17 cases regarding forest clearing in Ta Phinh commune and 70 cases in 1992 and 2 in 1994-5 of forest clearing in protected forest land in De De Hu. In Trung Thu, during the same period, the same reason was cited for a total of 7 cases. All cases brought to this level were fined cash.

6. SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

6.1 Resource use and management

Historically, the pattern of village growth has resulted in widely dispersed Iand ownership, crossing village and even commune boundaries. Each household claimed public and collective land resources over a long period of time which was then followed by the delineation of village boundaries. Cross-boundary cultivation patterns, therefore, easily arose but did not affect ownership status. Collectivisation of paddy land has had negative effects on output and, when policies have permitted, management-ownership has reverted to private ownership regulations of the community.

In summary, two major land use sub-systems emerge. The first, the agriculture sub-system, is the cropping, fallow and grazing complex with variations in soils, and thus crops, but otherwise fairly uniform. Paddy areas, also part of the agriculture subsystem, are a well protected and highly productive oddity in the landscape. The second sub-system is forest, which is highly variable because of site differences and stage of regeneration. It includes regenerating forest, old forest, planted forest and forests on limestone outcrops and alongside streams.

The agriculture sub-system has several land use types. Primarily it is the wide spread cultivation of rice and maize (FN 5). Land is cultivated over many years and in some cases is permanent (reportedly lasting decades). Fallow periods are reported to be one to several years in some areas, with minor areas having an important livestock fodder supply role. Cultivation practices (probably and notably, duration of cultivation, weeding methods, shortened fallow) have led to depletion of soil regenerative capacity, and subsequently to rather low yields. Livestock graze grass growing on plot boundaries and fields in the off season and fallows. The fodder demand suppresses regeneration of any type of edible vegetation, likely to include most tree species in sapling stage. Diminishing yields and increasing population numbers requires lengthening of cropping periods and intensification of landuse, particularly the creation of paddy land but also inter-cropping, e.g. with lacquer trees.

Many different types of forests occur of varying species and age composition. All forests are considered to have a role in water conservation. The old forests and the older regenerating forests are a source of large construction timber, their extraction is subject to management rules, and of fuelwood and poles, which have no regulations for extraction. Possibly plantation forests can be utilized in similar ways but generally they are considered not to be productive. Forests alongside streams and on lime stone outcrops supply minor forest products, including fuelwood and grasses. The designated regenerating forests are fallow lands which have previously been cultivated and are thus regarded as lost opportunities for

Examples of collective resources and its products:

Forest land for conversion to agriculture Selected t rees in forest area for use as timber Iac host trees Impera ta grass, Chung Van Kho village, Trung Thu Water

Examples of public resources and its products:`

Forest products e.g. orchids, paper plant, vegetabl es, medicines Fuel wood and poles Horse grass Fodder sources on f allow land and in cropped fields during the off-season

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agriculture production.

The communities attach great value to the household’s ability to decide on the use of their resources. However, the inputs required for exclusive exploitation and management and the outputs that can be expected from such use and management must be weighed up to ensure a positive outcome. As such it is possible to identify three categories of management: private, collective and public.

Household assets such as paddy and upland fields come under private management. All benefits accrue to the owner, except those levied for taxes. The second category, collective resources, includes all those resources that are exploited with the objective of incorporating the resource or the product under private resource management. This occurs mostly in a situation of scarcity, under a measure of competition or under influence of external policies. With the management effort undertaken by a supra household entity such as village or commune, the resources yield no benefit to households until they are claimed and thus transferred to the private management category. Public resources are free access resources, mostly able to regenerate easily and tend not to be scarce. Benefits accrue to the collector without making inputs to protection or management in return.

Forests are the output objective of state management policies and are managed by a variety of collective and state initiated arrangements. Generally, the management of forest and forest land is vested in Sinh Phinh in the cooperative, with close links to the people, and in Trung Thu in the People’s Committee. The district, through its Forest Protection service, pays much attention to forest cover, especially in watersheds which supply irrigation and drinking water.

The local population regards forests as an opportunity for conversion to agriculture land and a source of timber, fuelwood, poles, grass, etc. Among these products it is only forest cover (in the general sense) and timber that come under the control of the respective managers. The conversion of forest to crop land is completely banned. Control of logging is oriented towards equitable distribution of resources, in harmony with the productive, or renewal, capacity of the forest.

With the implementation of State policies on forestry and sedentarisation, but very few measures to support increased food production, the population has experienced increasingly negative trends in food production. It can then be concluded that the presence of forest cover on land which is known to be able to support crops is the result of external policies and management objectives that are far removed from the objectives of those directly involved, i.e. the villagers.

6.2 Commune profiles

A summary of internal and external factors operating within the study area and relevant information from the interviews provides some further insights into various issues. The information presented on the case studies of Sinh Phinh and Trung Thu in Table 15 and below should be seen as providing an understanding of the situation, not as a comment on better or worse management systems.

From field observation, the forest in Trung Thu is denser and less degraded compared to Sinh Phinh. Also, at district level, the reputation of Trung Thu in terms of forest management is better. The Sinh Phinh population, however, has relatively less access to black soils, forcing them to focus on red soils for rice production with its lower yields and earlier soil exhaustion. The population density in Sinh Phinh is higher both in absolute terms and in terms of agricultural land available. As a result the area under cultivation needs to be larger in order to maintain adequate food production. Also villages are larger, closer together and have more different kinship groups, which has likely led to the maintenance of the cooperative management structures, which is also responsible for forest protection. Based on this information it seems that Trung Thu has less pressure on its forest resources.

Table 15: Comparison of issues between Trung Thu an d Sinh Phinh

7. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

Resource management options need to address the conflict between agriculture and forestry, taking into account internal versus external management. This also includes the villagers’perception of ‘us producing food’ versus ‘them promoting forest’. Without outside concern for the forest, the resource would be lost given the pressure it is subject to. It needs to be questioned, however, whether a forest cover is the only means of achieving the objectives of soil erosion and sedimentation control and water supply conservation.

External objectives need to be more in harmony with the exploitation and production objectives of the local population. Products such as grass (with the exclusion of livestock from particular areas and a ban on burning), bamboo, Iac host trees and improved fallow crops, that could possibly meet both external and local objectives, could be alternatives to forest products. Even cropping of rice and maize, combined with soil erosion control methods (e.g. hedgerows, and soil binding plants such as legumes or grasses, planted along field boundaries) might be appropriate.

It is time to address the root cause of the pressure on forests, that is, the need to meet increasing food production requirements (FN 6). Policies stimulating agricultural production, be it

Issues Trung Thu Sinh Phinh

Forest � Relatively much forest cover � Old inaccessible forests � Old regenerating forest � Little degradation

� Relatively little forest cover � Little old accessible forest � Young regenerating forest � Much degradation

Agriculture � Maize primary crop for hh � Maize yields 900 kg/ha � Area paddy/hh slightly higher � Higher food availability

� Rice primary crop for hh � Rice yields 500 kg/ha � Area paddy/h slightly lower � Inadequate food availability

Population and society

� Population density 5.2 p/km2 � Village size 17-55 hh average 33

� Population density 8.5 p/km2 � Village size 17-87, average 47

Primary unit access to collectively owned forest products

� Commune for collective resources � Village protects against cross -

boundary resource use � * Households for private resources

� Cooperative for collective resources and paddy � Cooperative protects against cross-boundary resource use � Households for private resources

Controlling access to collectively owned forest products

� After approval of village head and obtaining a paid permit from commune

� After logging by outsides (Pa ham commune) was reported, the militia were sent after the violators

� request is to be issued to the cooperative manager, even when originating from outside the cooperative. � upon incursion from Muong Bang a report was sent to the commune and a call was merely made to the district Forest Protection service for assistance.

Leadership and decision making

� protection measures are under commune control, and no consultation on forest product utilization was reportedly held with the inhabitants, with the exception of the requesting party. The forests are otherwise seen more as final output of commune policy than as a useful resource for the people.

� The cooperative controls the forest with the consent of its members.

The members were directly or indirectly (via lineage or kinship lines) consulted on allocation of forest resources, e.g. the rate of house construction per year.

� The cooperative acts on behalf of its members to obtain land resources outside the original village area.

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for food or cash, need to be created. The agricultural support activities need to address soil fertility matters and labor input as these are the major constraints perceived by both the population and the study team. At a practical level topics of interest would be interventions in weed control measures, selection of varieties, very basic manuring practices (‘kraal’methods) and integration of green manuring methods in either the rotation or in the annual cropping, amongst others.

The stronger the external management is, the more requests there are to prevent further forest incursions, e.g. paid forest guards. Forest Protection service personnel, etc., all intend ‘to keep the people out’. The wisdom of maintaining the protection mode by external forces is here questioned.

In contrast, the population would benefit from paying more attention to the value of forests and the specific products it harbors. Incentives for active local participation in forest management would have to be found by identifying particular areas of interest and agreeing on a mode of production under predefine objectives. The involvement of the local population in deciding on management issues will clarify what the forests are actually yielding to the local population and what values are attached to these products.

Implementation guidelines or policies that allow more control by the local population over these resources should be encouraged. The primary obstacle to overcome is lack of transparency of use rights or ownership, i.e. the ability for the manager to reap benefits.

The lesson from the water source user groups is that the groups share one single objective, aided by common factors, e.g. kinship. Such groups can unite different families and households to take a stand on a single issue, but still keeping within the bounds of appropriate landuse. Joint agreements on management do not mean the contributed resources do not have to be relinquished in order to agree on the objective and the methods of achievement.

The water source areas which supply drinking and irrigation water might be good starting points for project interventions. These zones should be delineated as a functional entity and all useful products ought to be identified and exploitation principles agreed upon. If indeed a watershed is the target area, direct links should be introduced (including adjusting ownership rights) between the water users and the protected area.

These zones, covered with forest or alternative soil covers should be incorporated into the production strategies of the population through means of increasing the value of the products, increasing the volume of the product (e.g. increase stand density or productivity, etc. by silvicultural methods) and through excluding alternative users (e.g. fencing, agreed sanctions, etc.).

8. ANNEXES

ANNEX 1 TERMS OF REFERENCE

Diagnostic study on Natural Resource Management Str ategies of H’mong communities

in Tua Chua District - Lai Chau province

Introduction

One of the objectives of the SFDP Song Da is to improve natural resource management in the Song Da watershed, in particular with regard to management of forest and so-called forest lands. It is crucial to involve local communities in this management. During initial field visit it was obvious that many communities seem to have (traditional) arrangements concerning the use of their natural resources, like the extraction of forest products, selection of fields for cultivation, fallow management, use of fire, etc. There is however insufficient knowledge concerning the traditional natural resource management systems and arrangements and their sustainability. This is especially true for the mostly isolated H’mong communities. improved management Theoretically, these systems could form the basis for systems by the local communities, recognized and assisted by the forest administration. Therefore the SFDP has proposed an exploratory study on the natural resource management strategies in 6 H’mong communities in Tua Chua district, in close cooperation with the district Forestry Department. At the same time the study will serve as a training exercise for the involved forestry staff in the application of diagnostic tools.

Methodology

Using diagnostic tool commonly used in participatory/ rapid rural appraisal (such as community mapping, transect sketches, timelines, semi-structured interviews, group discussion, etc.) the study is focus on the relationship between the community an issues related to its forest resources. This especially concerns the following subjects:

The study will take place in Trung Thu and Sinh Phinh communes. In both communes 3 representative villages will be selected in consultation with the district forestry officials. Preparation by consultant and Mr. Viet will take place in SFDP/FIPl - Hanoi to collect available background information and discuss the field methodology. This is followed by the a

Annex I Terms of Reference

Annex II Working program

Annex Ill People coordinated with the SFDP team

Annex IV Cultivation and calendar of the major crops

Annex V Maps of study area

Who: Siep Littooy (consultant) - Viet (FIPI Master brigade) - Xuan (Lai Chau FD) - Chieu (Lai Chau FD) -2 members of Tua Chua FD.

Where: Trung Thu and Sinh Phinh communes (Tua Chua district)

When: December 14- January 24 (42 days) Preparation in Hanoi

Travel Hanoi - Lai Chau - Tua Chua

Preparation in Tua Chua

Field work in Tua Chua

Presentation of findings in Tua Chua

Travel Tua Chua - Hanoi

Report writing

Presentation (January 23) + finalizing report

1. Decision making process (leadership, organization) within the community concerning forest utilization, shifting cultivation, use of fire, etc. Past, traditional and present management strategies are to be discussed in reply to a changing natural environment. If possible local names should be used to denominate the different issues.

2. Community forest values and perceptions, rules and regulations.

3. Forest products (utilization and economic value in cash and kind)

4. Perceived needs, problems and potential solutions for the natural resource management problems

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short visit to Lai Chau town to brief provincial authorities. After the field work a presentation of the findings will be held for the district officials in Tua Chua. The whole group will write a report on the findings in Hanoi in Vietnamese and English (assisted by SFDP interpreters). Presentation of the report will take place on January 23 in Hanoi.

ANNEX 2

WORKING PROGRAMME IN TRUNG THU COMMUNE

ANNEX 3

WORKING PROGRAMME IN SINH PHINH COMMUNE

No. Date Location Grouping Time and work

Morning Afternoon Evening

1 3 Jan. 95 Trung Thu People's Committee

I History of the commune, sketch - working with commune people's committee

2 4 Jan. 94 Trung Thu Commune I Sketch of the village

History of the village and field visit

- field visit to Trung Vang Kho village

3 5 Jan. 95 Trung Vang Kho Team I

Team II

History of the village

Sketch of the village


Survey of wood, fuelwood, rice and maize seeds

Field visit and survey of rice and maize seeds, cattle and utilization of forest products

Interviewing households on main incomes and the utilization of forest products

4 6 Jan. 95 Po Ka Dao I history of the village

sketch of the village

Interviewing on the history of forests, history of people living there.

5 7 Jan. 95 Phinh Ho Ke 2 teams Forest survey on transact sketch

Interviewing on rice and maize varieties

6 8 Jan. 95 Phinh Ho Ke Team I

Team II

7 9 Jan. 95 Back to district

8 10-16 Jan. 95 In the district Writing reports

No. Date Location Grouping Time and work

Morning Afternoon Evening

1 23 Dec. 94 Tua Chua district Working with District PC Team discussion

2 24 Dec. 94 Tua Chua district Presentation Discussion on working programme

3 25 Dec. 94 Sinh Phinh PC II, I Mapping general of the commune

4 26 Dec. 94 Team discussion Discussion within the team

5 27 Dec. 94 Ta Pao I

II



Survey on rice & maize varieties

6 28 Dec. 94 Thon II I History of the village Survey of livestock Interviewing households

7 29 Dec. 94 Thon II I

II

Field visit (maize field)




Interviewing households

8 30 Dec. 94 De De hu I

II



9 31 Dec. 94 De De hu II

II

Survey of forestry trees

Survey of home garden trees

Survey of forestry trees

Survey of home garden trees

Interviewing households

10 1 Jan 95 De De hu II

II

Survey of animal husbandry

Survey of rice & maize varieties

Survey of using wood for housing

2 Jan 95 District Presentation for the work in Trung Thu

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ANNEX 4:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MAJOR CROPS AND CALENDAR

1. Upland maize (ua te Pao cu)

An average household has 1- 5 different upland plots for maize, where legumes and other crops like millet and flax are inter-planted. The main objective of cultivating upland maize is to meet the demand of food and fodder for the animals. At the same time other products are grown like baby maize which is used to feed the livestock, flax for traditional weaving and millet and beans.

The common maize varieties found in the local area are: glutinous maize (Pao cu lau), Mongolian maize (Pao cu mong co), Thai maize (Pao cu Thailand), Bioseed, local white-seed maize (Pao cu do), Q2 maize, local orange-seed maize (Pao cu lang), local glutinous black-seed maize, and others. The requirement of soil type varies according to the maize variety. But the most suitable site for maize cultivation is in soils developed on limestone rocks, humic & fertile black soil, medium yellow -red soil and red - yellow soil. When the maize production starts to decline the Iand is left fallow for 1-3 years until the next cultivation cycle starts. At present, however, many plots are being cultivated permanently.

After Tet and the wedding season, everyone, except small children and elders, starts with land preparation (see table 1: Crop calendar in Tua Chua). Long knives are used to clear strips of land during the period from February 15 to March 15. When the plants get dry farmers set fire to them on one late afternoon. On slopes of about 18-25° the H'mong use buffalo and plough or their traditional hoes (only with upland on the limestone mountain) to prepare the land for cultivation. After the land is prepared, usually from March 15 to April 15, farmers use a pointed stick to make a hole on the ground and put down 2-3 seeds. They leave a small plot of land for millet or flax cultivation. Farmers use a simple rake to weed the plots. Soybean and other beans are inter-cropped with maize. In the more degraded soil where more weeds are found, a second weeding is required from May 15 to July 15 when farmers cut the young, non-cob maize plants to feed the animals.

During the cropping season the H'mong villagers usually have to stay on the field to safeguard the plants from the wild and domesticated animals. At the beginning of September when the maize is ripe, the best corns are chosen and kept unpeeled for the next season. The beans are also harvested at the same time with maize and transported home by horse (if the upland is close to the home) or stored in the upland house for later transportation (if the homestead is far away). Average production of maize is around 900 kg/ha and beans 20-40 kg/ HH.

2. Upland rice (ua te Ie)

At the same time with upland maize cultivation the H'mong also cultivate upland rice. An average household has access to 1-3 plots of upland rice and the management type is household based. The main objective of upland rice cultivation is to assure the food demand of the family while by-products like the straw, provide a substantial part of humus to improve the soil fertility.

Table 1: Seasonal calendar in Tua Chua district

The main rice varieties found in the two communes are: Chinese upland rice (le sua), upland glutinous rice (le lau cu po), white upland rice (/e pua de), red upland rice (le mua Chua), Cam glutinous rice (lau xa), upland rice (le to), red-husk rice (/a kho) and others. Different rice varieties also require different soil types but the most suitable are those with the color from dark-brown (for lau xa) to yellow-brown (for upland glutinous rice - Le pua do) and to poorly-humic yellow-red for red upland rice (le muc Chua). After the rice production goes down, farmers turn to maize, although the plots in De De hu village (Sinh Phinh) never been under maize but are cultivated continuously with rice.

Basically, there is no difference between maize and rice cultivation except that rice is not planted in holes like maize but scattered around and the harvest is earlier; around August 15 to September 30. Average production of the upland rice is 400 -600 kg/ ha.

Table 2: Upland cultivation proceedings

Item Jan Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

I. Cultivation Land preparation + transplanting weeding + tending harvest

1. Wet rice in terraces Land preparation + sowing first and second weeding harvest

2. Upland rice Land preparation + sowing harvest

3. Upland maize planting new tea harvest land preparation

4. Tea

II. Forestry

1. Protection

2. Shellac cultivation put new shellac (2nd time)

weeding protection ver. thief

harvest put new shellac (1st time)

III. Labour high labour peak labour peak

IV. Food short a bit short

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3. Irrigated rice (Ua le)

Beside upland cultivation the H'mong in the study area have experience with cultivating terraced fields. The result of this can be seen in two large paddy schemes: Chieu Tinh in Trung Thu and Ta La Cao in Sinh Phinh. In 1961 the State of Vietnam made all these plots public and put them in the cooperative management system. At that time farmers worked together and had their part through a ration based on labour-days. After a number of years the system proved to be insufficient and the land was then privatized to individual households. The allocation of paddy fields was based on the number of laborers in the family and since then the cooperative has only played the role of the tax collector.

During the years 1991 and 1992 due to strict forest protection and due to the degradation of most of the old terraces a number of households have opened new terraces where they do not have to pay taxes in the first 10 years. After that they are still entitled to farm on this land but have to pay taxes.

The main product of the terrace system is rice to meet the food requirement of the family while the by-product is straw, which is stored to feed the livestock in the dry season and when they have to work. The lowest part of the rice plants which get decomposed after the harvest will help to improve the soil fertility.

Although different rice varieties require different soils, the most important is a continuous water supply. Only one crop per year is possible in the local area, due to water shortages.

After Tet, the H'mong work on the terraces. Usually several households choose their fields in one area and cooperate together in making a ditch for irrigation. Having selected a suitable site those farmers use shovels and hoes to create terraces of 2-3 m wide each, according to the contour lines. The height difference of the two neighboring terraces varies according to the slope class, but usually between 0.5- 1 m. After the terrace is made, by the end of March or beginning of April, plowing is done by buffalo and the soil is left to dry. At the same time the land is prepared for the production of young rice plants in a separate plot.

Which rice variety is chosen depends on the preference of the households: either glutinous rice (lau do), or China white rice (le do trung cua), common paddy rice (le la), white rice (lenh su), white glutinous rice (laulu tang) or others.

By the end of April and the beginning of May when the first rains occur farmers use tools to make ditches connecting their fields to the water sources. Animal compost is put right at the upper part of the ditch to save labor from transporting it to the field. By this time they use a buffalo to plow the land for the second time. A harrow made from hard wood is used to prepare the soil, then the rice is transplanted by mid-May. If necessary, weeding takes place by mid-June. In the following period water is irrigated to the field continuously to help the rice develop.

By mid-September when the rice ripens farmers use sickles to cut the rice which is then piled up for several days before it is threshed. The grain is then transported home by horse while the straw is kept to feed the animals when grass is scarce. The cultivation activity on terrace takes place once a year and continuously, the land has not ever been idle. Average production is between 1.8 -2.1 ton/ha.

4. Home garden

An average H'mong household usually has a small garden close to their homestead which is well protected by a stone wall or by a fence. The soil in the garden is rather fertile due to the compost produced by the livestock. In the garden vegetables and beans are cultivated for home consumption. When a lot of vegetables are produced the farmer usually dries and stores it for provision in the vegetable-scarce month(s). Around the garden fruit trees like pear (chi cho), lemon (chi ly cau), guava (chi thau), orange (chi lu tang), peach (chi dua) sugar cane (quan dua) and others are planted for home consumption. Besides, other medicinal plants are planted to heal less serious diseases like tong do tau to treat stomach problems, hua su for broken bones, etc., as well as trees like Schima superba (tong vang mu), Castanopsis (tong khe), bamboo (sung), cinnamon (ky pi), Talauma gioi (tong Iang). There are gardens where only Thysano Iacma makina (cho khau Chua) and other grasses are planted to feed the horse when the farmer is too busy to cut the fodder or during the cold winter days.

5. Tea plantation

Tea cultivation was initiated in Sinh Phinh as early as 1967. Sinh Phinh tea has been famous in Lai Chau province. Until now there are 60 ha of tea plantation in the whole commune, 40 ha out of which are productive, the rest 20 ha have been newly planted. The main objective of the tea plantation is to improve the household income. At the same time the tea plantation area can be used for grazing.

At present, 4 ha of the productive tea area have been allocated to the district’ Seed Protection Station, the rest is allocated to individual households in Ta Pao village, Thon I, II and Ill in Sinh Phinh who have to give 30% of the tea production back to the commune. In 1994, thanks to an investment by the Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarization Program each member of the family in the H'mong villages has received an additional 250 sq. m of land for more tea cultivation.

Tea farming techniques are insufficient for good production; the farmers do not apply fertilizer, weeding or other tending activities. When the tea becomes productive the buds are collected and processed by hand. Because the plantation area is small and decentralized and the farming is very extensive, the farmers cannot estimate how much the production is in one hectare per year. In November and December when the harvesting is finished the tea plants are pruned. The price of dry, processed tea in 1994 is reportedly between 25,000-30,000 VND.

NOTES

1 Statistical data for the commune level were supplied by the commune People’s Committee and cross checked with sources at the district Forest Protection service, Statistical office and Tax office. Village based data have been extracted from district Forest Protection plans and commune reports to the team. The accuracy of all figures supplied is questionable since comparable data from different sources were not identical. The data supplied, however, does indicate the scale and orientation of the production process.

2 In the interviews yield was given as the number of horseoads per kg of seed planted. The study team then calculated the yield figures based on estimates of 40 Kg of maize per horse, 30 Kg of grain maize per horse.

3 At the beginning of 1993, Tua Chua district set up a project for the extraction of resin from the pine plantations. The instruments were purchased and the local people were instructed and employed but the project was discontinued since too little resin could be extracted.

4 It has been suggested externally that village meetings are organised with kinship group leaders, who in turn meet with their kin and lineage in order to organize the entire village in two steps. No confirmation can be given in this study

5 The role of opium is not well understood in the entire report/study. Opium was (and ceased to be, according to scores of interviews) cultivated on maize fields and in home gardens in the winter season. Using land in the winter season, it did not demand additional land but might have caused additional depletion of soils, although no evidence of this was encountered, judging the very long cropping periods of maize fields reported.

6 Population growth contributes to increasing resource scarcity. It is however outside scope of this study to further discuss constraints and options addressing this.

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natural resources management of h'mong communities in tua … · 2011-11-14 · nguyen ngoc...

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