Gender role and use of land under land allocation : case study of land allocation project in Luang Phabang Lao PDR | |
| Author | Sisomphet Souvanthalisith |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.GD-02-01 |
| Subject(s) | Land use--Laos--Luang Phabang Sex role--Laos--Luang Phabang |
| Note | A research submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Research studies project report ; no. GD-02-01 |
| Abstract | Silalek village is one of the poorest and remote areas of Xieng Ngueng district, the focal zone of Luang Phabang Province and the country. Being a traditional society guided by patriarchal ideology, there is a prevalence of inequality in gender roles, relations, responsibilities and access to resources and decision-making among men and women in this village. The Fourth Party Congress in 1986 led to policies for restriction of slash-and- bum and clearing of forest for farming and to arrangements of fixed agriculture plots for shifting cultivators. Many Decrees related to the issue of Land Allocation were put on the agenda more seriously after 1990. The strategy ofthe government is to provide individual rights to land ownership under the process of Land Allocation. This strategy is interested to motivate upland cultivators to invest in their allocated land and to conserve forest lands. A major purpose of this study is to examine household‘s access to resources before, during and after land allocation in LSFP. Did the land allocation measures increase women's work burden and reduce their rights in land? Or did such policy measure benefit women's interests and increase their participation in decision making? The field worked was conducted in Silalek village of Xieng Ngeun of Luang Prabang Province, in the northern part of Laos. It was found land allocation brought a number of changes. Some of the changes were a direct result of land allocation; other changes were indirect results because of the change in the system of cultivation. The unequal distribution of benefits between women and men under the process of Land Allocation is a major factor that may adversely affect the effectiveness of Land Allocation. This study focused on describing the changes in women's access to and control over land according to the land allocation procedure, also how it affects gender division of labor. Besides caring for the family, weeding in Hai for rice and also in the cash cr0p field is mostly the responsibility of women. But benefit of access to information and new knowledge of technologies is not the same for everyone in the household and tend to benefit men. For land issue, the land certificate was issued in this village only husband name, the list of entitled names for land allocation consisted of mostly men's names. There might be a risk that land certificates given after land allocation are mostly in the men's name in which case women will to have lost their control over land. Women and men's roles are complementary and intertwined, however, a lack of gender awareness can lead to policies and strategies that take into consideration only men's needs and interests. Which research attempts to carry out a baseline research on gender issues and to increase potential of bringing gender consideration in to Decision-Making in Land Use in the Household of the development planning at village level in corroboration with an LSFP in Silalek village. At the same time to take some actions to sensitize LSFP staff both in PAFOS and in the DAFOs. PAFOs and DAFOs government counterparts and some villagers on gender aspects. There is a need for methodology that facilitate researcher, the project staff, and villagers to fulfill these objectives. The existing situation of Silalek village suggests the need for improving it. It is lelt that the special attentiOn should be paid to gender division of labor pattern, which mostly do not relate to any of belief system of their family ghost it just the practice that have been following in generation by generation and become stereotyped ofwomen's tasks, Cunemly development patterns and workers need to be reconsidered. |
| Year | 2002 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Research studies project report ; no. GD-02-01 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Gender and Development Studies (GD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Bernadette Resurreccion; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Wickramanayake, B.W.E.;Kusakab, Kyoko; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Lao-Swedish Forestry Programme; |
| Degree | Research Studies Project Report (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2002 |