SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

9 - Forestry4. Social consequences of deforestationDeforestation is also a major concern on both asocial and economic level. Across the basin,large numbers of people draw upon forestryresources for a high proportion of theirsubsistence and income needs. In Lao PDR, forexample, over 85 percent of the populationdepend upon forests for at least part of theirlivelihood. 43 Such people face numerousproblems when forests are destroyed. 44 The foodsecurity provided by NTFPs is lost, creating agreater need to generate cash income to buy foodon the market. Malnourishment often results, andis compounded by, the loss of good qualitydrinking water. Fuelwood gathering becomesRapid population growth in upland areas meansthat shifting agriculture can no longer be practicedsustainablymore difficult and takes more time away from other activities. The loss of livelihoods causes manymales to migrate in search of work, which can lead to family disintegration, greater workloads forwomen and a general lowering of female status as a result of the second marriages migrating menmay make. 45 The agricultural encroachment that follows deforestation often causes the loss oftraditional land use rights and traditional conservation mechanisms. Ethnic minority groups tend tosuffer these effects most severely and often find themselves pushed into increasingly marginal areasin the face of conflicts with governments or logging companies.5. Conclusion• The forestry sector is of major economic, social, and environmental importance in the LowerMekong Basin. Forest resources are exploited by commercial and smallholder operations fortimber, fuelwood, and non-timber forest products.• The commercial logging sector is characterised by active logging, often carried out on a crossborderbasis. The demand for wood in Thailand (where logging has been banned since 1989)and Viet Nam, is a major factor driving logging in Cambodia and Lao PDR.• Commercial forestry activity is often carried out on an unsustainable scale, with governmentregulatory controls sometimes unable to prevent overexploitation. There is a need for greaterresources for the management of forestry concessions and the enforcement of regulations.• Large numbers of smallholders also live in and around forests and draw all or part of their livingfrom the collection of fuelwood and non-timber forest products for household consumption andsometimes sale for small amounts of cash.• Forest resources are being used faster than natural or plantation regrowth can replenish them.Data shows that the average rate of deforestation across the LMB between 1993 and 1997 was0.53 percent per annum.• The available evidence suggests that logging is the most important activity causing the degradationof forested lands, and that degraded forests are commonly converted to agricultural use, causingloss of forest cover.199