1. Geography of Rotational Shifting Cultivation
Landscapes in Northern Laos
Andreas Heinimann, Kaspar Hurni et al.
LIWG,VTE 29.3.2012
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2. Sources of knowledge on shifting cultivation?
 Mainly case studies & anecdotal information
LIWG, 29-3-12,
Heinimann et al.
What about the national level information on
dimension of shifting cultivation in Laos?
Who Area % territory Population
Fujisaka, - - 1- 1.2 mio
1991
Chavez, 4.8 mio ha 20 % -
1994
(1981/1982–
1988/1989)
Hanson 2- 2.5 mio ha 8.5 – 9.5% 1.8 mio
1998
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3. Problems of detecting
SC landscapes and
accounting for
population involved
is not a Laos or SEA
issue only
LIWG, 29-3-12,
Source: Mertz, Leisz, Heinimann, 2009 Heinimann et al.
Why is there not more reliable data
available?
• National land cover inventories do not depict
shifting cultivation landscapes as a class (as
technically not standard and political bias in
classification)
• Population Census do not depict any information
related to shifting cultivation
• Agricultural Census does not provide consistent
information related to non permanent form of
agriculture (FAO standard)
• No standard approach in Remote Sensing to detect
rotational land use systems (only land cover)
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4. New approaches to detect shifting cultivation
landscapes
LIWG, 29-3-12,
K. Hurni , et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
K. Hurni , et al, in prep
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5. K. Hurni , et al, in prep
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Combined approach of
medium spatial
resolution satellite
imagery with spatial
low resolution but
hyper-temporal
characteristics
LIWG, 29-3-12,
K. Hurni , et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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6. Approximation of shifting cultivation landscapes 2000 -2009
K. Hurni , et al, in prep
LIWG, 29-3-12,
Heinimann et al.
Patterns of
poverty and
market
accessibility
in
shifting
cultivation
landscapes
LIWG, 29-3-12,
A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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7. Approximation of shifting cultivation landscapes and basic
socio-economic characteristics 2000 -2009
LIWG, 29-3-12,
A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
Shifting cultivation landscapes - remoteness
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A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
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8. Shifting cultivation landscapes – Ethnolingusitic families
LIWG, 29-3-12,
A. Heinimann, et al, in prep Heinimann et al.
Socio-geography of shifting cultivation landscapes
Note: ..below.. means: better off then national rural average A. Heinimann, et al, in prep
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9. Shifting cultivation landscapes & land concessions
Source: CDE, MoNRE, GIZ
Preliminary results; do not cite
Some Conclusions
• The approach may be suitable for first tier operational
monitoring at landscape scale (but needs further testing and
validation)
• Shifting cultivation is still widespread with considerable
shares of the population living in shifting cultivation
landscapes
• Anecdotal information and case studies are confirmed that
SC landscapes are marginal from various perspectives
(remoteness, poverty, ethnicity) when considering the entity
of northern Laos
• This marginality is even increased over time as the SC
landscapes that “disappear” are in tendency in less marginal
regions
• This multi-marginality gives raise to doubts if these regions
can profit from the ongoing increase in rural accessibility and
market integration, as it may not only be a question of
accessibility but actual access to e.g. markets or other
services that are limiting
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10. Last, but crucial note:
The importance of proper integration of rotational
SC in village level land use planning
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Facilitate Information Access & Coordination:
Online Land Use Planning platform
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11. Pro memory: Shifting cultivation case study mapper
on www.tabi.la
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