The mountain forests of Phin Ngan after a storm.

LISO moved here at the request of Lao Cai province after SPERI’s successful

land allocation programme with the Mong people of Simacai district

Stepped rice paddy and forest in Sung Hoang, Phin Ngan.

Most villagers don’t have official land use rights, cultivating on land

managed by protected forest management boards

LISO first step when coming to a community is to invite everyone to meet.

Here we ask villagers in Sung Hoang to discuss issues and problems they

are facing

Without villagers participation and agreement, land allocation cannot work.

Sung Hoang villagers ask LISO to facilitate an allocation process for household

and community rights.

LISO trains communities to understand and map the land use in their

commune. With their help villagers draw a cross sectional land use map of

Sai Duan and Sung Duan

Participation and consultation is the key to conflict resolution – LISO’s

methods rely heavily on community involvement in every step of the forest

land allocation process

Sai Duan villagers explain the rules and management of sacred forest

Research is essential to understand sacred forest worship and how it and other

management methods help ethnic minority communities protect their forests

Most important in the minds of ethnic minority people is the preservation of

sacred forest. Community members complete a map of the sacred forest of

Sai Duan village with accompanying management regulations

Natural forest products are very important for Red Dzao women. Mrs. Chan, a

member of the women’s union and village elder is actively involved in the

allocation process. Here she prepares forest vines for embroidery.

Forest land conflicts are commonly a result of unclear and overlapping

boundaries of current land use

As a first step in the forest land allocation process, villagers map the commune

The next step is mapping current land use in each village.

This community designed land use map of Sung Hoang village shows

locations of sacred forest and other land uses and ownership

As well as working closely with farmers, LISO has good relationships with local

authorities who have the power to allocate land. Here we are sharing information

in Bat Xat district office on the land and forest situation in Phin Ngan

Finally, at a ceremony in the forest, village representatives receive ‘red books’,

official land use rights over communal managed forest

After allocation come management, improving the quality of the forest and

deriving improved incomes. Dzao women cultivating cardamon under

regenerating forest

Rice paddies surrounded by newly allocated communal protected forest in

Sung Hoang. Improved water supply, more NTFPs and secure sacred forest

will result from this allocation process

In the distance, Phin Ngan community forest, now under strong protection