00:01Hello, good afternoon everyone. Thank you for coming to our exhibition and attending my talk.
00:09My name is Wei Wipyongong, a researcher from Fairbendium.
00:15Today I'd like to talk about our research in Northern Laos.
00:22So, first I'd like to note that this presentation is prepared and designed for a non-academic audience and the
00:33general public.
00:34And the talk is based on our published research paper that you can find with the chef in Northern Laos.
00:42Today I'd like to discuss how commercial family is changing the rural lives in Northern Laos.
00:54And the key question we explore is, how does commercial family shape rural livelihoods, fairness and wellbeing?
01:06So, I think many of you may have heard of the country Laos. Officially it's called the Laos People's Democratic
01:16Republic.
01:18For short, I will just call it Laos. So the country is a landmark country in Southeast Asia.
01:26So that means it has no sea, no beaches and no ports. And the population is very low.
01:37It's a sparsely populated country with only 7 to 8 million people.
01:43And this is only above 6% of Japan's population.
01:48And the major issue is poverty and the country's main economic sector is based on the agriculture.
01:59So the government of Laos tries to change the country.
02:06So over the last few decades, the country has changed significantly.
02:10In terms of economic development, hydropower purchase, transportation and road construction and tourism have been rapidly transforming the country.
02:23Nowadays, we can see new roads, railways, investment and trade from China, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries which contributed to
02:36these changes rapidly.
02:37So today, Laos is often said to be no longer isolated and it has become more regionally collected.
02:50These new infrastructure projects, developments and changes are beneficial in some ways.
02:57But they also have significant influences and impacts on rural communities.
03:03So in terms of agricultural business, there has been a sharp increase in agricultural investment and commercial agricultural activities.
03:17This is because the government used the agricultural commercialization as the key policy instrument for improving the livelihoods of farm
03:30households and contributing to real
03:34So commercialization is slowly imposed from above.
03:40Research shows that many farmers are also actively adopting cash crops because they provide income.
03:50But adoption does not necessarily mean that the benefits are equal or fairly distributed.
03:58So this is exactly why we started and what we started.
04:05So here, let me briefly explain what is well-being and how this is connected to fairness.
04:14So the framework we used is adapted from, basically from Millennial Ecosystem Services, MEA.
04:25So it is five components but we modified into four components.
04:32So basically well-being is not just above how much money people can make or make.
04:39It also includes social relationships, the environment and whether things are fair or not.
04:49So fairness is important because it affects who gets to make decisions, who benefits and who ends up paying the
04:58cost.
04:58When people feel decisions above land and resources are unfair, it lowers their trust and motivation, even if income's rights.
05:12Looking at what we, this way helps us understand people's real experiences, not just their income, but their freedom, dignity
05:22and sense of fairness too.
05:23So we study in two purposes in Northern Laos, both are undergoing rapid landscape transformation.
05:37So if we see, if we see the communities living there in the forest, they rely on the forest.
05:46Nearby for a plant-rise growing, which is important for their cultural and livelihoods and collective forest products such as
05:57mushrooms, bamboos, rattan, honey and other edible and non-edible, but useful products.
06:04But nowadays, things have changed and are changing.
06:09So the study, the findings of the studies show that if you see the spider webs, spider charts on both
06:18sides, it shows the many farmers.
06:22The nature, it comes from the cashier family and agriculture sector.
06:33So many farmers are making more money now, about 87%.
06:40Sad, the income has increased.
06:42But what we found is, not everyone benefits the same way.
06:48For example, farmers would also land the end the most, while those with little land, they often end up walking
06:57as laborers.
06:58So even though, in terms of growth overall, the gap between the rich and the poor farmers seem getting bigger.
07:06This is a real problem in those egalitarian societies.
07:13And as farming became more commercial, the farmers started using more chemicals and expanding plantations.
07:22This put pressure on the forest and nature, leading to deforestation and less access to forest resources.
07:29These environmental changes affect everyday life, like the food people eat, the water they drink, and their home.
07:41Poorer families are hit the hardest, because they rely more on local forest and clean water to support themselves.
07:53And another interesting finding is that the changes to the family didn't just happen on their own.
08:00Government policies and social pressure pushed farmers toward industry of family and big plantations.
08:08So I compare two families on the left side and both sides.
08:14So many farmers felt they didn't really have a choice if they wanted to keep them.
08:21So for example, one raw growing family makes good money and they can buy.
08:28Things like a car, nearby families, they feel precious to do the same.
08:34Because of this, the shift happened very first, and it was difficult for communities to manage.
08:41So if you see the two families, this family has a car and a better housing compared to the next
08:49family.
08:50This is what is happening to Northern Laos.
08:55So for managers, well-being is not just about money, it's also about only land and being treated fairly.
09:04People, people, they care a lot about, they care a lot about having secure land rights and being included in
09:12decisions that affect them.
09:14One, their land is taken unfairly, it leads to frustration, conflict, and a strong sense of injustice.
09:24So this slide looks like the capability approach.
09:31So this is a conceptual approach, looking at what people can do in their daily lives.
09:41So in Northern Laos, many farmers say they have lost access to forests and land.
09:47This makes it harder for them to grow their own food and keep up important cultural traditions, like collecting forest
09:57products.
09:57What's striking is that these efforts, almost everyone, almost everyone, rich or poor.
10:07As commercial families expanded, land use policies changed.
10:12Most farmers saw their everyday freedoms and self-sufficiency shrink.
10:19As commercial families expanded.
10:20I'd like to conclude, the main finding is a real commercial family helped people and more money.
10:28But it also created bigger gaps between rich and poor and healthy environment.
10:33This is why fairness really matters here.
10:37It's central to what it means.
10:40What's happening in Northern Laos shows why economic growth needs to be fairer, especially when changes happen quickly.
10:50That's all.
10:51Thank you for your attention.
10:54If you have questions or comments.
