The document summarizes initial findings on the scale and patterns of land concessions in Lao PDR based on systematic national data. Over 3,600 land deals were identified covering around 1.1 million hectares, with the majority being concessions for agriculture (140,000 hectares) and forestry (300,000 hectares). Spatial analysis found that around 15% of villages had at least one concession. Foreign direct investment deals tended to be larger in scale and located in more remote areas compared to domestic deals. While concessions were not solely located in marginal areas, some evidence indicates land deals are occurring in regions with rotational agricultural systems and could be contributing to shifts in subsistence farming to more remote locations.

1. Beyond anecdotal evidence of land
acquisitions in Lao PDR
First results on: Dimension and Geography of LA in
Lao PDR
Andreas Heinimann, Oliver Schoenweger, Michael Epprecht,
Palikone Thalongsengchan
LIWG Food security WS
1st June 2012

2. Mushrooming of land concessions & leases in the last decade
Nr. of land concessions & leases

3. CPL induced landscape transformation

4. Information and knowledge sources:
Local case studies & Systematic national data
evidence Dimension, contexts
 processes and pattern
 3’600 deals, whereof
2’640 concessions
type, 1,350 with spatial
reference
 1.1 Mio ha concessions
(without mining
exploration)
 Agri 140’000 ha &
forestry: 300’000 ha
 ~15% of all villages
have a least 1
concession

5. Emerging patterns by sector
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

6. Products of agricultural concessions
N = 360, Area = 140’000 ha
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

7. Products of forestry concessions
N = 367, Area = 306’000 ha
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

8. Spatial patterns by Investor
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

9. Pattern by Investor: Focus on Agri & forestry sectors
Sugarcane
Jatropha
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

10. Contexts of concessions: e.g. Poverty
Av. National
poverty rate
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

11. Contexts of concessions: Accessibility
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite

12. Contexts of concessions: Land cover
Note:
Caution is needed
when
interpreting, as
2002 land cover
data is
problematic (e.g.
“unstocked forest”
or “forest issue”)

13. Tendency of shifting upland crops to hinterland due to
commercial crop pressure in well accessibly regions
Shifting cultivation dominated landscapes between 2001 - 2009
K. Hurni , et al, in prep

14. Summary & some key messages
• This is first , one point in time, picture of dimension and
context of land deals. (But 1. contract farming not included
in this and 2. the distributed mandates among the sectors
do not yet ensure consistent monitoring & sharing)
• Only very few products dominate the land rented out in the
agriculture and forestry sector
• FDI deals are on average by factor 3 -5 time larger in terms
of area granted than domestic ones, and by tendency in
more remote regions
• Land deals are not mainly in the very marginal areas (in
terms of poverty, accessibility and ethnicity), but still a
considerable share of such regions is potentially affected
• Some indications that land deals are to a considerable
share taking place in regions with rotational agricultural
systems
• Some signs that, due to CPL pressure in better accessible
regions, subsistence food production is shifted to more
remote location (temporary symptom only ?)

16. NOTE: Hydropower reservoirs are NOT
concessions, hence not in this inventory