Environmental policy and administrative management

The project site is characterized by community led initiative to promote integrated farming by planting commercially valuable plant species called YangBong Persea kurzii, bark contains a gum and aromatic oils, used to make incense sticks and used commonly in Buddhist temples throughout Southeast Asia. It is also use as basis for mosquito coils and as glue in carton or particle board production. Bark mixed with soil is utilized for modelling and moulding to make statues in temples and in household item. Yangbong growing is carried out by the target villages to primarily supplement existing income generating activities of the community and ultimately compensate on the increasing threat of land degradation brought about by conversion of land to rubber plantation through private land concessions. The project also seeks to mitigate impacts of traditional farming method especially slash and burn farming technique employed by the villagers to produce crops for subsistence. Furthermore, the projects also provide local people the opportunity to share sustainable farming techniques by integrating crops to the current farming system e.g. rice farming. The project is situated in 5 villages namely Ban Lardhor, Ban Vunghai and Ban Sa Ved, Ban Nathone and Ban Panga, Xepone District, Savannakhet. The area is characterized by secondary forest with intermittent bamboo plantation landscape but is dominated by early growth dry dipterocarp forest. The first focal village is about 60 km from Xepone town, half of the road leading to the site is unpaved road and could be relatively a challenge to navigate during rainy season. Expansion of rubber is consistently evident and increasing in severity when a passing through villages and small areas of slash and burn patches are also visible from the distant. Total areas of degraded land (also considered as idle land) is estimated to be 25 hectares. An area potentially being managed by the project is approximately 4716.4 ha of protected forest and 366.4 ha forest reserve.

Lao Peoples Democratic Republic