Discussions over rubber dispute to continue in Champassak

The Governor of Champassak province announced yesterday that there would be continued discussions to resolve the land concession dispute regarding a foreign-owned rubber tree plantation in Bachieng district.

“We will discuss and encourage the investors to implement the 2+3 policy as well as encourage villagers to grow rubber trees themselves for the market,” Mr Sonexay Siphandone said, referring to a policy that requires investors to allow villagers equal participation in their projects.

Mr Sonexay was speaking in an interview with Vientiane Times during a national governors' meeting in Vientiane yesterday.

Governors and representatives from all provinces met to discuss the best ways to speed up the poverty reduction process in Laos . The meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Standing Government Member Mr Somsavat Lengsavad.

Mr Sonexay said the Bachieng investors intended to implement the 2+3 policy as a pilot project, which meant they would provide funding, technical training and a ready market, while villagers would provide their land and labour.

In addition, the governor would ensure the proper allocation of land for villagers, which would make it easier for the government to attract foreign investors. Previously, villagers would take over areas of land without informing authorities.

“The government needs to centralise the allocation of land for villagers. It's always a problem when people just take the land for farming purposes,” Mr Sonexay said.

He emphasised that villagers in Bachieng district would be given priority when seeking employment in the rubber projects. “If the labour provided by this district is not enough, the companies can hire villagers from other areas,” he said.

“If villagers have jobs, they will have the means to escape from poverty.”

Mr Sonexay said he would study all issues in relation to land concessions, to ensure that all investments in the area were carried out in accordance with the laws.

He admitted that the current 50-year land concession was too long, and that he would cut it to 35 years. In December, the provincial authorities will evaluate the project to ensure locals are experiencing positive changes in lifestyle.

He accepted that the initial land dispute in Bachieng district had arisen when investors destroyed crops and teak owned by villagers to make way for rubber plantations, without informing them first.

Today, almost 10,000 hectares of rubber trees have been planted in Champassak province and, by 2010, this number is expected to have doubled, and to include areas currently occupied by villages.

But he maintained that the lives of villagers were changing for the better thanks to the arrival of rubber plantations, as many people had been able to get work as labourers.

But critics say that employing locals as labourers on rubber tree plantations does not contribute to sustainable development, as villagers don't have time to contribute to the market or to generate an income from their own crops.

Mr Sonexay envisaged that the demand for rubber would remain high in the next 20 or 30 years, as more people throughout the region and the world were consuming rubber products.

He said he had not assessed the feasibility study for planting rubber in the area, but claimed he had seen rubber trees planted during the French colonial period which had seen significant yields.

He also maintained that planting industrial trees should not entail cutting down natural forests.

“I believe our natural forests are valuable because they are plentiful and provide homes for a vast eco-system,” he said.

By Vientiane Times
(Latest Update May 10 , 2007)