Concessions and Leases in the Lao PDR

I - INTRODUCTION
This publication presents the first nationwide analysis of land
concessions and leases in the Lao PDR. It comes at a pivotal
moment after investment in land has expanded significantly
throughout the country, sparking increased dialogue and a
greater level of scrutiny regarding the impacts of this expansion,
both inside the Government of the Lao PDR (GoL) and
throughout wider civil society. Investment in land, particularly
foreign direct investment, has been championed as an
effective development tool by a number of actors. Such
significant transformations in national landscapes, however,
could engender drastic socioeconomic and environmental
change, affect food security and traditional livelihoods and
could ultimately pose challenges to national sovereignty.
The publication is the outcome of a joint effort between the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE),
the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) and the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
(GIZ) 1, to consolidate the most comprehensive national
database on state land leases and concessions compiled by
MoNRE and GIZ (hereafter called the “inventory”).
The inventory represents a globally unique and extremely
valuable database from various perspectives. It is the first systematic
inventory that allows capturing, visualizing and
analysing the extent and dimensions of the concession phenomenon
for the entire country. The availability of detailed
information on land deals at a national level, and therefore
most dialogue and insight into this key issue, has been limited
to aggregated official data and specific case study information.
The inventory data presented in this publication, on
the other hand, has been collected at various administrative
levels and in a spatially explicit manner wherever possible, allowing
for its combination with other national level data in
order to provide further insight into the contexts in which
land concessions and leases occur in the Lao PDR.
The analysis begins by describing the contents of the inventory,
then goes on to examine spatial patterns as well as socioeconomic
and geophysical contexts of land investments in
the Lao PDR. Chapter 1 provides background information on
the Natural Resources and Environmental Information Centre
(NREIC) 2and
GIZ cooperation project regarding how data was
collected and compiled, as well as the strengths and weaknesses
of the project’s resulting database. The second part of
chapter 1 describes the methodology of data analysis and
related limitations.
Chapter 2 presents an analysis of the data included in the
inventory along with a detailed overview of the amount and
area of concession and lease projects in the Lao PDR
disaggregated by sector, subsector, product, location and
origin of investment.
Chapter 3 utilizes all spatially referenced inventory data in
combination with several other data layers. This chapter
aims to describe the socioeconomic setting, specifically
the characteristics of the population living in areas where
concessions and leases occur. Patterns related to biophysical
factors, regulatory land zones, accessibility and elevation
gradients are also explored in order to contribute greater
quantitative evidence to ongoing debates.
Chapter 4 provides final conclusions and summarizes
key insights and messages for policy makers and other stakeholders
in the land sector in the Lao PDR.
The Annex highlights a selection of case studies provided by
NREIC reflecting the most common limitations and issues within
land allocation, project implementation and monitoring in the
process of granting and managing land investment projects.
1 German International Cooperation (GIZ), formerly the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
2 The former name of the Natural Resources and Environmental Information Centre (NREIC), while still under the NLMA, was the “Land and Natural
Resources Research and Information Centre (LNRRIC)”. For simplicity, the most current name and acronym will be used here.
INTRODUCTION
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