Swidden Land Research Articles

Safeguarding customary forest tenure in the Mekong Region: a legal analysis

ABSTRACT Customary forest tenure is under increasing pressure from various actors for economic, political, and environmental purposes. The erosion of customary forest tenure can impair societal nature relations, erode traditional practices, and contribute to environmental degradation. In the Mekong Region, customary forest tenure largely remains unprotected through national laws. This article presents a legal analysis examining the extent to which the legal frameworks of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam contain legal provisions for safeguarding customary forest tenure within different resource systems, agricultural land, swidden land and forests, drawing on Schlager and Ostrom’s bundle of property rights. The legal analysis shows significant gaps exist in legal frameworks to safeguard customary tenure. We recommend that policies toward statutory recognition be developed from the ground up and consider the harmonisation between land and forest laws and relevant implementing ministries.

Assessing swidden land use in Myanmar by decision tree-based detection method using landsat imagery

Swidden agriculture is a common land use found in the mountainous regions, especially in Southeast Asia. In Myanmar, the swidden agriculture has been practicing as an important livelihood strategy of millions of people, mainly by the ethnic groups. However, the extent of swidden agriculture in Myanmar is still in question. Therefore, we attempted to detect swidden patches and estimate the swidden extent in Myanmar using free available Landsat images on Google Earth Engine in combination with a decision tree-based plot detection method. We applied the commonly used indices such as dNBR, RdNBR, and dNDVI, statistically tested their threshold values to select the most appropriate combination of the indices and thresholds for the detection of swidden, and assessed the accuracy of each set of index and thresholds using ground truth data and visual interpretation of sample points outside the test site. The results showed that dNBR together with RdNBR, slope and elevation demonstrated higher accuracy (84.25%) compared to an all-index combination (dNBR, RdNBR, dNDVI, slope, and elevation). Using the best-fit pair, we estimated the extent of swidden at national level. The resulting map showed that the total extent of swidden in Myanmar was about 0.1 million ha in 2016, which is much smaller than other previously reported figures. Also, swidden patches were mostly observed in Shan State, followed by Chin State. In this way, this study primarily estimated the total extent of swidden area in Myanmar at national level and proved that the use of a decision tree-based detection method with appropriate vegetation indices and thresholds is highly applicable to the estimation of swidden extent on a regional basis. Also, as Myanmar is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia in area with a great majority of the population living in rural areas, and many in the mountains, its land resources are of great relevance to the people’s livelihoods and thereby the nation’s progress. Therefore, this study will contribute to sustainable land management planning on both regional and national scale.

Developing a Remote Sensing-based Mapping Method for Swidden Land Use Detection:

Developing a Remote Sensing-based Mapping Method for Swidden Land Use Detection:

KEBANGKITAN LADANG BERPINDAH DI NAGARI SILAYANG KECAMATAN MAPATTUNGGUL SELATAN KABUPATEN PASAMAN PROVINSI SUMATERA BARAT

Infrastructure development and ProRLK (deforested Land Rehabilitation Project) a Government of Indonesia collaboration prpject with The German Technical Coorperation Agency (GTZ) in 1992, has shifted the pattern of shifting cultivation to rubber farming in Nagari Silayang. Households engaged in shifting cultivation for food needs, stopped this entrenched practice, and focused on rubber plantations for food needs and financial means. But in recent years, the practice of shifting cultivation has been rife in Nagari Silayang. This phenomenon refutes the theory of agricultural transformastion in many previous studies, which concluded that shifting agricultural patterns lead to patterns that increasingly leave shifting cultivation. The purpose of this study, is to find the factors that cause farm households in Nagari Silayang to return to shifting cultivation, and find ways or strategies to stop forest clearing for swidden land. The research method used is descriptive qualitative and quantitative. Data collection uses observation, key informant interviews and household surveys. the results showed that the revival of shifting cultivation in Nagari Silayang was caused by the decline in global rubber prices, maintaining food security, and efforts to increase household income. This will have an impact on biodiversity damage and even natural disasters, because old forests are converted to agricultural land. This leads to negative impacts on biodiversity and can result in natural disasters, as old forests are converted to agricultural land.

Site selection and soil fertility management by the Outer Baduy People (Banten, Indonesia) in maintaining swidden cultivation productivity

Iskandar J, Iskandar BS, Partasasmita R. 2018. Site selection and soil fertility management by the Outer Baduy People (Banten, Indonesia) in maintaining swidden cultivation productivity. Biodiversitas 19: 1334-1346. The Outer Baduy people heavily depend on swidden cultivation for subsistence. They grow rice in the uplands every year based on their calendar. The cropping calendar and calendar of social events are often closely interlinked. There is also traditional wisdom for conservation of land and forest such as the zonation for land use system. The Outer Baduy swidden land productivity is mainly determined by the time period of forest fallow relative to that of the crops. The long-term success of the Outer Baduy swidden cultivation depends on how well the fallow period restores or maintain soil fertility. The aim of this research was to study the local knowledge of Outer Baduy of soil categories and soil fertility and the management of soil fertility in their traditional practice of swidden cultivation. The method used in this study was the qualitative one, applying observation and in-depth interviews to collect the primary data. In addition, soil analysis was conducted by the Laboratory of Soil, Faculty of Agriculture, Padjadjaran University, Sumedang, Indonesia. The results of this study showed that the soils are classified by the Outer Baduy based on color, water content, stoniness or rock parent material, and humus content. To maintain soil fertility in the swidden cultivation, the Outer Baduy people have developed some strategies, such as determining appropriate fallow time period, applying zero tillage, and planting legume crops in both the swidden fields and the fallow land. Traditionally, because the Outer Baduy are forbidden to use inorganic fertilizers, the length of fallow period and kind of vegetation succession have an important role in maintaining soil fertility.

Strategy of the Outer Baduy community of South Banten (Indonesia) to sustain their swidden farming traditions by temporary migration to non-Baduy areas

Iskandar BS, Iskandar J, Partasasmita R. 2018. Strategy of the Outer Baduy community of South Banten (Indonesia) to sustain their swidden farming traditions by temporary migration to non-Baduy areas. Biodiversitas 19: 453-464. The Baduy people live in the forest village of Kanekes, in Leuwidamar sub-district, Lebak district, Banten Province, Indonesia. They have long practiced a form of swidden farming based on traditional ecological knowledge and beliefs about the cosmos. Unlike the rest of the surrounding Sundanese society, the Baduy have prohibited wet rice field cultivation on their lands. Moreover, in conserving their traditional swidden farming system, the Baduy people have resisted the use of modern rice varieties, inorganic fertilizers, and synthetic pesticides. On the basis of Baduy culture, their swidden-produced rice is not sold, and for at least the past 50 years the harvested rice has not been stored away in barns but instead has been mainly used for daily home consumption and various traditional rituals. Nowadays, Baduy swidden farming is affected by many new pressures – particularly by population increase, and increasing food demand – but the forest land used for practicing their swidden farming is limited. Therefore, in order to maintain the sustainability of their swidden farming system, the Baduy people, particularly the Outer Baduy, have developed cultural strategies that include temporary outmigration (nganjor) to neighboring, non-Baduy areas where Muslim value-systems provide the main cultural dynamic. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to elucidate the cultural strategy of the Outer Baduy to maintain their sustainable swidden farming by temporary out-migration to non-Baduy areas in territory of the Muslim majority. The method used in this study was qualitative based on an ethno ecological approach. Several techniques were used, namely direct observation, participant observation, and deep interviews with competent informants who were purposively selected. The results of the study confirmed that up until now the Outer Baduy have maintained the sustainability of their swidden farming, by various means, especially by conducting contemporary outmigration to non-Baduy areas in Muslim majority territory. They plant swidden rice in a way that fulfills various traditional rituals, and by diversifying their non-rice-trading options that include growing a variety of mainly tree crops in their swidden land (huma) and in other anthropogenic land. This involves occasional negotiated out-migration to non-Baduy area for temporary swidden farming in surrounding Muslim majority territory. This has enabled the Outer Baduy swidden farming system to be maintained on a long-term basis.

Rubber Plantation Expansion Related Land Use Change along the Laos-China Border Region

Spatial-temporal changes of land use and land cover in Luang Namtha Province in northern part of Laos was analyzed using Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper)/ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper) images from 1990 to 2010 since the opening of the Boten border adjacent to China. The results showed that: (1) “forest land—cultivated land—grassland” was the primary landscape structure. Woodland was the major land cover type, while paddy field was the dominant land use type replaced by rubber plantation in 2010; (2) since the opening of the border crossings in 1994, the rate and intensity of land use change were accelerated and enhanced gradually, especially in the recent decade. Woodland decreased significantly, while shrubland, rubber plantation and swidden land increased obviously. Rubber plantation and swidden land showed the fastest growth derived from woodland and shrubland, indicating continuous human activities and slash-and-burn farming; and (3) during 1990–2010, swidden land was mainly located in northern mountainous areas with frequently increased changing spatial distribution in the recent decade. Rubber plantation was mainly distributed in the border region of China and Laos with the expansion from the border region into the non-frontier of Laos with Luang Namtha City as the center. Woodland reduction was so obvious along the Kunming-Bangkok highway.

Development of allometric models for above and belowground biomass in swidden cultivation fallows of Northern Laos

Shifting, or swidden, cultivation remains an important land use across Southeast Asia and other parts of the tropics, albeit under pressures from other land uses. The swidden cycle of cultivation and regrowth creates mosaic landscapes with regrowing fallows of various age interspersed with active fields and patches of mature forest. Quantifying tree biomass in these landscapes is limited by the availability of reliable allometric models, hindering accurate carbon stock estimation and thus quantification of GHG emission associated with land use transitions. We therefore developed new allometric models for the prediction of both above- and below-ground woody biomass in swidden systems based on a destructive harvest of 150 trees in Luang Prabang Province, Laos People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). This study is the first to develop allometric models of root biomass for swidden landscapes in this region, which we hypothesised would be a major carbon pool given that resprouting, and associated high root biomass, is a common physiological/morphological trait in regularly disturbed ecosystems. We found that a general model including tree diameter (DBH, cm) and height (H, m) was best for estimating aboveground biomass (AGB, kg) for both resprouts and trees growing from seed (AGB=1.09+0.027D2H) though the inclusion of H only resulted in a marginal increase in model performance meaning a DBH-only model is acceptable to use in the absence of height data (AGB=0.1286DBH2.134). Tree height was less important for estimating root biomass, with models including only DBH performing best. Re-sprouting trees exhibited greater root biomass (BGB=0.355DBH1.732) compared to those growing from seed (0.016DBH2.597) meaning different root allometric models were developed for each tree type. Thus, we suggest that field efforts should be directed towards checking resprouting status over the estimation of tree height. We also found that models fit using non-linear regression provided equally good fits to the data compared to the traditional approach of log-transforming the data. Our models were subsequently applied to 12 nearby plots spanning a chronosequence of fallows to examine the impact of re-sprouting allometry on biomass estimation. Root biomass stocks were on average 58% higher after accounting for the allometry of resprouting trees, resulting in an average 9% increase in total biomass stocks, highlighting the importance of choosing root allometrics based on growth form in swidden fallows. If re-sprouting status is unknown, a stand-level root:shoot ratio of 0.32 can be applied. Our analysis suggests that using our models will substantially improve the accuracy of estimates of tree biomass and its distribution among different pools in swidden fallows. This information is crucial in better quantifying carbon stock changes resulting from the conversion of swidden land to other land uses.

Agrobiodiversity and Biocultural Heritage in the Dulong Valley, China

Swidden agriculture is central to the livelihoods and culture of the Dulong people in northwest Yunnan, China. In 2002, the Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) was first being implemented in the Dulong Valley. Under this program, all swidden land and most permanent arable lands were converted to forest, in return for which villagers received grain subsidies. In view of the importance of traditional agriculture in Dulong livelihoods and culture, and the potential uniqueness of agrobiodiversity in the Dulong Valley, the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge (CBIK), a nongovernmental organization based in Yunnan, has been undertaking surveys and action research on the impacts of the SLCP since 2005. By drawing on previous studies, data provided by the local government, and a new survey of the current status of traditional crop cultivation conducted in 2 villages in 2009, this article describes some of the impacts of the SLCP on agrobiodiversity, livelihoods, and traditional culture in the Dulong Valley. Results of surveys found that, before 2002, at least 12 crop types were commonly planted in swiddens, including 7 underutilized species. By 2009, only a minority of households continued to cultivate these crops. Changes in land use and grain availability have also led to a significant reduction in the number of livestock raised, and, in some cases, animal genetic diversity is being threatened. Elder Dulong villagers are concerned that these changes will lead to the erosion of traditional culture. The article also describes activities that are now being conducted to conserve agrobiodiversity and support cultural transmission in Dulong Valley. Events such as seed fairs, arts competitions, and revival of swidden cultivation on a small scale have attracted the attention of villagers and local government, and conservation of agrobiodiversity through value addition is now on the agenda.

Stable Forest Cover under Increasing Populations of Swidden Cultivators in Central Laos: the Roles of Intrinsic Culture and Extrinsic Wildlife Trade

Robichaud, W. G., A. R.E. Sinclair, N. Odarkor-Lanquaye, and B. Klinkenberg. 2009. Stable forest cover under increasing populations of swidden cultivators in central Laos: the roles of intrinsic culture and extrinsic wildlife trade. Ecology and Society 14(1): 33. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02873-140133

Observations on Natural Resource Use and Conservation by the Shuar in Ecuador's Cordillera del Cóndor

Understanding how indigenous people use and manage natural resources is essential for promoting conservation on indigenous lands. I evaluated how one Shuar indigenous community in the Cordillera del Cóndor of Ecuador use woody taxa in mature and secondary forest, cultivate swidden land, value natural resources and view changes to their environment. Field research, conducted from January February of 2003, involved ethnobotanical survey methods and interviews with 25 community members. A total of 104 plant species were classified according to ethnobotanical use. Food, forage, construction and fuel were the most common use categories for forest plants. In the swidden plot, most plants were used for food, with native trees protected among a diversity of cultivars, primarily to attract wildlife. Mining is considered the biggest threat to conservation in the Cordillera del Cóndor’s proposed Shuar Protected Area and will need to be addressed by the Shuar, supporting NGOs and the Ecuadorian government.

Developing a methodology for identifying, mapping and potentially monitoring the distribution of general farming system types in Vietnam’s northern mountain region

This study tests a method to identify and map the spatial distribution of general farming system types in five districts of the northern mountain region (NMR) of Vietnam. Over the last 50 years the NMR has suffered from a large loss of forest cover, often blamed on the swidden farming systems that are found in the mountains. As a result different programs have been put forward to change local land use practices: to decrease the amount of swidden land, “sedentarize” farmers responsible for practicing swidden agriculture, and introduce new farming systems. However, some researchers have identified one type of swidden farming system, composite swiddening, as ecologically more stable, causing little net deforestation and less environmental degradation than other farming systems in the NMR. To date no study has identified how widespread this or other types of farming systems are in the NMR. This study makes use of geographic data for five districts in the NMR within a GIS, combined with field checking, to characterize, identify and map the spatial distribution of the general farming system types, including composite swiddening, by commune for these districts. The results of the mapping indicate that there are few communes where a single farming system type is found. As these districts are spread over five provinces, the results reinforce the view that in Vietnam’s NMR, farming system types vary down to below the commune level. An 80% agreement between the results shown on the map and field checking resulted from an examination of 19 communes in the districts mapped. A comparison was done of 2000 data to 1992 data for one district. An analysis of the communes’ farming systems for 1992 and for 2000 indicate that permanent agriculture farming systems of both rice paddy agriculture and permanent upland agriculture are appearing and replacing swiddening systems.