Resistance and Contingent Contestations to Large-Scale Land Concessions in Southern Laos and Northeastern Cambodia

Ian Baird

doi:10.3390/land6010016

Abstract

Over the last decade, there have been considerable concerns raised regarding the social and environmental impacts of large-scale land concessions for plantation development in various parts of the world, especially in the tropics, including in Laos and Cambodia. However, there is still much to learn about the various connections and interactions associated with reactions to what are often referred to as “land grabs”, and the ways they are associated or not associated with broader social movements and networks opposed to land grabbing. There is also the need to develop language for discussing these circumstances, something I aim to contribute to in this article. Here, I present four different cases of types of resistance, or what I refer to as contingent contestations, to land concessions in southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia (two from each country), focusing on the perspectives and associated strategies of smallholder farmers, but without ignoring broader issues. I consider the roles of locals in these contestations, through emphasizing the importance of histories, identities/ethnicities, politics, and geography in determining the types of responses to these land deals that emerge, and the strategies that are adopted for contesting these developments.

Highlights

Over the last decade or so, a great deal of attention has been given to investigating large-scale land acquisitions in many parts of the world (Borras et al, 2011 [1]; White et al, 2012 [2]; Borras and Franco, 2013 [3]; Oberlack et al, 2016 [4])
This study looks at four particular places, two in southern Laos and two in northeastern Cambodia
The four case studies presented above all indicate the contingent nature of contestations to large-scale plantation-based land concessions

Summary

Introduction

Over the last decade or so, a great deal of attention has been given to investigating large-scale land acquisitions in many parts of the world (Borras et al, 2011 [1]; White et al, 2012 [2]; Borras and Franco, 2013 [3]; Oberlack et al, 2016 [4]). A large number of case studies situated in various parts of the world, and especially in developing countries in the tropics, have demonstrated that these developments have often resulted in the displacement of small-scale farmers from their farmlands, the loss of common lands and forests important for rural livelihoods, the loss of biodiversity and a reduction in landscape diversity, and various other socio-environmental impacts on rural communities (Hall et al, 2011 [7]; White et al, 2012 [2]; Borras and Franco, 2012 [8]; McMichael, 2012 [9]; Hall et al, 2015 [10]; Gingembre, 2015 [11]), including in mainland Southeast Asia (Barney, 2009 [12]; Baird, 2011 [13]; Delang et al, 2012 [14]; Kenney-Lazar, 2012 [15]; Global Witness, 2013 [16]; Neef et al, 2013 [17]; McAllister, 2015 [18]; Schönweger and Messerli, 2015 [19]; Messerli et al, 2015 [20]). A large number of researchers have expressed considerable concern and dismay about the trend in large-scale land acquisitions (Borras et al, 2011 [1]; Baird, 2011 [13]; Kenney-Lazar, 2012 [15]; White et al, 2012 [2]; Delang et al, 2012 [14]; Neef et al, 2013 [17]; Gingembre, 2015 [11])

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Conclusion