Abstract
Policies to promote tree plantations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have been developed since independence to support national socio-economic and environmental goals, and in response to domestic and international markets. The effectiveness of these policies has been variable, and the resulting plantation wood value chains are poorly developed due to contradictory and confusing laws and regulations with inconsistent application and high transaction costs. Consequently, there has been limited tree plantation investment, and few investments have realized the anticipated benefits. Renewed interest in plantations from the government, investors and other sectors in Laos has prompted policy reviews and recognition of the need for new policy settings. We reviewed the development of plantation policies in Laos and assessed policy effectiveness and barriers to policy options. Through document analysis, interviews with key stakeholders and actors, stakeholder forums, and field research, we found that smarter regulation, and facilitating value-chain partnerships and knowledge sharing, can motivate smallholders and industry investors in plantations, and increase community-level benefits and financial returns to the Government and private sector. These results are discussed in the context of current international developments in plantation policy and the convergence in related policy processes in Laos.
Highlights
There are many reasons for the global promotion of planted forests [1,2]
Future expansion of tree plantations should not be at the expense of natural forests [17], and is likely to compete with agricultural land uses (e.g., [18]) or with ecological restoration (e.g., [19])
The data and information utilized in this study were primarily collected through research activities undertaken as part of a project “Improving policies for forest plantations to balance smallholder, industry and environmental needs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Vietnam”
Summary
There are many reasons for the global promotion of planted forests [1,2]. In this context, and that of increasing demand for wood products [3], tree plantations and their contribution to wood supply are growing globally [4]. The area of planted forests increased from 167.5 to 277.9 M hectares (ha) from 1990 to 2015 [5], and the proportion of industrial roundwood sourced from plantations has grown to nearly 50% [4]. Future expansion of tree plantations should not be at the expense of natural forests [17], and is likely to compete with agricultural land uses (e.g., [18]) or with ecological restoration (e.g., [19])
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