Income Options for the Poorest of the Poor: The Case of Cardamom in Northern Laos

This study examines the potential of cardamom for poverty alleviation and sustainable rural development under conditions of increased resource scarcity in the uplands of northern Laos. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative fieldwork in Luang Namtha province, the supply chain of cardamom is identified and the socio-economic opportunities for collectors and growers are examined. Rising demand in neighbouring countries, particularly China, provide sound income opportunities for all actors in the cardamom supply chain. Growing improved varieties has become a boon for farmers endowed with relatively large land areas with suitable agro-ecological conditions. However, land-poor and landless collectors of wild cardamom are facing increasing difficulties due to overharvesting, lower prices offered by middlemen, and the rapid conversion of remaining forests into monoculture plantations, especially rubber, which has reduced the natural habitat of cardamom and other non-timber forest products. The major policy implication is that protecting the remaining natural and secondary forests—for instance through making use of evolving international support mechanisms for community-based forest protection, including REDD-plus—will not only be of benefit for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, but would also enhance the livelihoods of the poorest groups in the uplands of northern Laos.     

Soil mapping for land‐use planning in a karst area of N Thailand with due consideration of local knowledge

For the development of sustainable land‐management systems in the highlands of N Thailand, detailed knowledge about soil distribution and soil properties is a prerequisite. Yet to date, there are hardly any detailed soil maps available on a watershed scale. In this study, soil maps on watershed level were evaluated with regard to their suitability for agricultural land‐use planning. In addition to common scientific methods (as underlying the WRB classification), participatory methods were used to exploit local knowledge about soils and to document it in a “Local Soil Map”. Where the WRB classification identified eight soil units, the farmers distinguished only five on the basis of soil color and “hardness”. The “Local Soil Map” shows little resemblance with the detailed, patchy pattern of the WRB‐based soil map. On the contrary, the “Local Soil Map” is fairly similar to the petrographic map suggesting that soil color is directly related to parent material. The farmers' perception about soil fertility and soil suitability for cropping could be confirmed by analytical data. We conclude that integrating local soil knowledge, petrographic information, and knowledge of local cropping practices allows for a rapid compilation of information for land‐evaluation purposes at watershed level. It is the most efficient way to build a base for regional land‐use planning.