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| Property relations of the Hmong in Laos |
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Reference |
| Bouapao, Lilao. 2003. "Property Relations of the Hmong in Laos." Presented at "Politics of the Commons: Articulating Development and Strengthening Local Practices", Chiang Mai, Thailand, July 11-14, 2003. |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| The common property institution and the change in property relations of the Hmong in Namon Neua, Laos show how land sharing, a form of redistribution and coping strategies, can help with environmental protection as well as building and maintenance of social relationships. Namon Neua, is a Hmong village under Vang Vieng district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. Hmong, a community living traditionally in mountain villages in southern China and adjacent areas of Vietnam and Laos and Thailand are the residents of this village. The property relations amongst this community like coping strategies such as the sharing of lands provides more earning, preserving more forest, save more water, and promote warmer or maintain a warm atmosphere of social relationships. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: Namon Neua, a Hmong village under Vang Vieng district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR. The village has a total population of 954 persons, in 133 households, and 121 houses. There are 9 clans. The majority is animist. Most of the population (80 percent) practice wet-rice (naa), the remainders are shifting cultivators, and wage labourers. Public/communal lands and forest in Namon Neua includes protection forests, regeneration forests, preservation forests, consumption forests, and cemetery forests Social Boundaries: Hmong ( A community living traditionally in mountain villages in southern China and adjacent areas of Vietnam and Laos and Thailand) |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Before the change in political regime in 1975, most of the common such as lands and forest were managed by the clan (seem) leaders. Utilization of lands and forests was based on consensus such as marking lands for next crops and penalties for breaking the customary rules such as exploiting lands that have already been marked by others intentionally. Although families own some lands especially during the utilization of the lands for production, the lands are controlled by clan.If a family leaves for other places, the family’s lands automatically becomes clan’s property. Clan leaders have still an influential role within each clan although their power in the community as a whole becomes less due to the fact that there are more clans in the village. However, their leaderships in a manner of memberships in a village committee known as "elder group" is an important part of the village power in decision making and social management. Decision-making process at the latter period involved those of the former plus the party unit, and other recognized mass organizations such as the elder groups, the youth union, and women’ union. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| In the policy context of property in the Lao PDR, it is officially recognized that properties such as lands, forests, and water are ‘national’ property. Individual can not own these but has the right to use them. You can not buy/sell lands, but you can buy/sell the right to use them. To respond to the land limit due to the division of lands into categories, sharing of lands is a way to cope with such a pressure. Sharing land in the dry season is a form of redistribution because all the people in the village have the right to claim for the lands and it is very unusual thatthe landowners refuse unless there are valid reasons. Land sharing brings about a number of benefits to the environment as well as to the society. These include forest conservation, management of water quantity and maintenance of fish population, maintenance of social relationships, and other benefits. Management of water is carried out through a head of water users. The water user head is the one whose paddy is the very bottom. This is because he is affected the most by too little or too much water. Significant decision on the water user system is based on consensus, but the water user Head has the power to supervise, monitor, and request for minor or major maintenance. There is no pay for his service. Use of natural resource between villages is also common. These natural resources can be exploited by other villagers, but with limits. Other villagers can cut down some small trees, collect some wild vegetables, fish, butthey are not allowed for firewood collection. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| 1) During the period of around 1975, in Namon Neua there was a battle over lands between the Hmong and the Khmu. This is because in Namon Neua, there have been residents of 5 major ethnic groups and approximately 20 sub-groups including Hmong and Khmu. Finally, the Hmong had more valid reasons and they wined the conflict over the village. The reasons were that the existing wet-rice fields (naa) and irrigation canals (muang fai) were the works of Hmong, the Green Hmong, not Khamu. Also the Hmong had a reasonable leader.2) In Namon Neua, concerning demarcation of the village boundaries there were no problems claimed by villagers, but there have been problems in other communities. There were problems because of gains and losses causing continuous dissatisfaction and conflict.3) Sharing of the land of course sometimes causes misunderstanding and conflict. But, in Ban Namon Nuea, there have not been significant conflicts during the past few years. There were only some minor conflicts over the distribution of water. Sometimes water is not equally distributed causing water insufficiency or flood. But this is quite rare. |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| 1) Despite of the restriction of exploitation of natural resources, there has been extensive collection of wild vegetables and firewood resulted in significant reduction in some species such as firewood and rattan. According to village leaders, much forest in the South-West of the Phou Nyang (Mountain) has been cleared for firewood and household consumption by both Namon Tai and Namon Neua since access was available. Also birds, rats, crabs, fish have been reduced dramatically although hunting has been banned by the government.2) Undeveloped grazing lands in Namon Neua are expanding and following former shifting cultivation sites. This causes problems for upland rice producers. Grazing lands are expanding while the upland crops (hai) are rotating. The hai farmers will experience problem when they come back to the former sites because the sites already become grazing lands.3) There have been problems between new and old villages because the new villages are almost perceived as infringing on the territory and livelihood of the old villages and response of the new villages would be ‘we did not want to be here, but were placed here by the government’. |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| After 1975, under the new Independent State, particularly in 1978, the village become a multi-clan village. Although clan leaders are still playing an important role in the leadership for each clan, overall management is not the same as before. Not long after the arrival of the Hmong in the village, a policy of collective was heard. Although cooperative policy at the National level occurred during the late 1970s and continued to mid 1980s, this happened in Namon Neua from 1979-81. Individual household lands were transferred to the use and management of the cooperative. Due to the failure of the cooperative policy, in 1982, paddy lands were returned to each individual household. Initially the collective lands were returned to each clan or groups. Implementation of the land and forest allocation programme and the effects of other development activities such as the road construction project that links the village to the main stream society have contributed to the change in the way in which people use and manage their common such as firewood, grazing lands, and water. |
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Purpose |
| Managing the common property relations in the community |
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Country |
| Lao PDR |
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Region |
| Namon Neua, a Hmong village under Vang Vieng district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR |
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