New Mandala

One of the most fascinating transformations that has occurred recently in the uplands of southeast Asia is the rapid adoption of rubber in the border districts of north-western Laos. In many upland regions, tree crops are seen as a desirable alternative by state agencies seeking to “stabilise” shifting cultivation systems. In north-western Laos rapidly improving [...]

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The Bangkok Post reports on an address given by James Bond (Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) to the Mekong River Commission.
Here is an extract from Bond’s speech:
The third consideration is properly mitigating the impact on the environment and the people affected. While stakeholder participation and engagement is important throughout [...]

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From the TLC list:
I am very excited to announce the publication of the quite monumental “Recherches nouvelles sur le Laos” (New Research on Laos) edited by Yves Goudineau and Michael Lorrillard (Paris and Vientiane: L’École française d’Extrême-Orient, 2008). It has about 29 articles (some in French and some in English) covering many aspects of Lao [...]

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Here is a nice example of the hydrological mythology that often informs discussions of forest in southeast Asia, and elsewhere. This is from a Voice of America piece about forests in Laos:
The shrinking of forest areas has affected the country’s energy production. Officials say electricity produced by their country’s numerous dams was down 15% last [...]

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Mong bang mum khong withi chiwit “maeying lao” phan mummong khong  “maeying lao” (Aspects of Lao women’s lives, through their own eyes) (2007) by “Nang Thaenkhun” (ISBN: 9789746722711). The book is a welcome contribution on a neglected topic: a study of family law, with special emphasis on divorce law, in Laos. The author is concerned [...]

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The resettlement of villagers displaced by the Nam Theun 2 dam appears to be turning into a livelihood disaster. This is an entirely predictable outcome of a pooly thought out and poorly designed resettlement action plan.
The latest report from the “panel of experts” (engaged by the World Bank to monitor the project since 1997) contains some disturbing information. Here [...]

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I recently read a report that Laos is going to embark on a spate of tree-planting:
A report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry last week said that Laos plans to plant trees covering at least 25,000 hectares this year.  This is a part of the bigger plan to reforest covering up to 53% [...]

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This new study by Soren Ivarsson is an important contribution to the growing body of academic literature on Laos. Challenging conventional nationalist histories that seek to trace the origins of the nation back into the mists of time, Ivarsson argues that the origins of Laos can be found in the colonial contact zone between Thailand [...]

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I’ve been meaning to blog about this for quite a while…
Occasional New Mandala contributor, and ex-ANU researcher, Sarinda Singh has written two reports on trade in natural resources in the border regions of southern Laos and Cambodia. Here is a summary of the reports from TRAFFIC:
Two reports recently launched by TRAFFIC reveal the critical importance [...]

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The recent discussion here on New Mandala about elephant tusks reminded me of the work of Sarinda Singh, a former PhD student at the ANU (and now at the University of Queensland). Her PhD thesis dealt with the complex relationship forests and state power in Laos. One chapter focussed specifically on the symbolism of elephants. [...]

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