ABSTRACT
The shifting cultivation systems of northern Laos have been the focus of many substantial studies in recent years (see, for example, Gillogly et al. 1990; van Gansberghe and Pals 1993; Chazee 1994; Chapman et al. 1997). The broad dynamics of change in these systems have been reasonably well understood for a long time. Under the combined pressures of increasing population and reduced length of fallow periods, with consequent severe weed problems and lower yields, shifting cultivation has become less sustainable. This has led to continuing efforts by both the Lao government and foreign aid donors to stabilize shifting cultivation. 1 The main objectives of this quest for “stabilization” include the following:
Alleviation of rural poverty and reduced livelihood risk;
Reduction of environmental degradation—and the risk of environmental degradation—including that caused by soil erosion, and lessening of the perceived threat from shifting cultivation to old-growth forests; and
Eradication of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) cultivation.
