Browsing by Author "Hager, Jorg"

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Dynamics of Water Tenure and Management among Thai Groups in Highland Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Muang-Fai Systems in Thailand and Vietnam
(2006) Neef, Andreas; Elstner, Peter; Hager, Jorg
"Community-based water management systems for irrigation have been extensively described for the lowlands of Thailand and Vietnam as participatory, sustainable and fairly equitable water allocation institutions. Much less is known about the structure and dynamics of the so- called 'muang-fai' systems of different Thai groups in highland areas. Muang- fai irrigation systems of Thai communities in Thailand and Vietnam share the same long-standing tradition and consist of a sophisticated network of canals (muang) and weirs (fai). The impact of the markedly different political and economic developments in the past decades on community-based water management, however, has induced diverging trajectories of the systems in the two countries. "The objectives of this paper are to present the complexity of water rights and to analyze the dynamics in tenure systems and the driving forces behind changes in water management. The study is based on in- depth surveys conducted between 2002 and 2005 in a Thai market-oriented village in Mae Rim district, Chiang Mai province, a subsistence-oriented Shan village in Pang Ma Pha district, Mae Hong Son province, both in Thailand, and a subsistence-oriented Black Thai village in Yen Chau district, Son La province of Vietnam. Semi-structured interviews with key persons, quantitative farm household surveys and a GIS-based inventory of water storage and conveyance systems provided insights into local water management schemes from various perspectives and different data sources. "Results suggest that control and use rights of water in both study villages in Thailand are characterized by a high tenure complexity and reflect local power relations but differ strongly depending on the degree of market integration. In the Shan village water is still communally managed in a fairly intact 'muang-fai' system, while in the Thai community a dramatic shift from communal to individual management of water resources has occurred in recent years, reflected in the construction of private wells. However, in many cases individual water rights remain bound to former membership of the 'muang-fai' system despite the rapid decline of its physical existence. Results in the study village in Vietnam show a community-based water management that owes its complexity both to the traditional, pre-socialist 'muang-fai' system of the Black Thai and to the remnants of the cooperative system of the 1980s and the early 1990s. A more pluralistic water governance system is currently evolving with indicators for an individualization of water rights at the village level and an increasing control over water resources by local government bodies at the provincial and district level. "We conclude that while communal water management institutions have remained resilient for centuries, they are now facing increasing pressure to adapt to new economic and political realities. Instead of being simply replaced, they form part of a more diverse portfolio of water governance institutions. Recognition of this legal complexity of local water tenure regimes and a careful assessment of location-specific management systems are keys for identifying sustainable solutions to increased competition for scarce water resources."
Effects of the Land Allocation Process and Market-Oriented Economy on Common Grazing Land of Ethnic Minorities in Northwest Vietnam
(2006) Hager, Jorg
"Grazing lands can be described as typical common-pool resources in Northwest Vietnam's mountainous areas. The traditional common property regimes governing land tenure have undergone several transformations since the victory of the communist Vietnamese over the French in 1954. The collectivization process initiated in the 1970s led to a supply bottleneck due to insufficient agricultural production inducing the de-collectivization process and eventually 'doi moi', an economically and politically opening policy. Today, land resources are utilized in a post 'doi moi' and gradually market oriented environment and land tenure systems have fundamentally been altered by the 1993 Land Law. The land reform launched a process of allocating individualized long-term use rights for agricultural land to all households. At the same time the state has tightened its grip on control over land use patterns in order to fulfill the default development plans and goals. "The objectives of this paper are to present the impact of political and economic changes and innovations on the existence and tenure of common grazing land in the agricultural systems of Black Thai and Hmong peoples in Northwest Vietnam. Furthermore, driving forces behind the fundamental changes in the use of common land are identified and the effects of a significant decrease of common land are valuated. Quantitative and qualitative research, including individual as well as group interviews and participant observation, was carried out between 2003-2005 in 3 Black Thai and 3 Hmong villages in mountainous Northwest Vietnam. "Results suggest that the land allocation process since 1993 and the gradual orientation towards market production with cash crops (e.g. maize and cotton) cause a significant reduction of common land used for grazing ruminants. The doubled population together with the expansion and intensification of agriculture put even more pressure on the common land. After an equal area of agricultural land were allocated to each household proportionate to the number of household members and the declaration of vast areas as protection forest common grazing land was diminished or even disappeared in the study area. Additionally, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, common property systems are not formally recognized by state law and no legal base exists to protect the access and use rights on common land. Consequently, commonly used grazing land is governed by informal customary laws unofficially tolerated by local authorities. "The conclusion is that the importance of and interest in common grazing land is decreasing due to individualized land use rights and increasing market production. The role of common grazing land and ruminant raising in local farming systems is minor compared to the possible income generated by cash cropping. Finally, without recognition of common-property regimes by state law a sustainable use and management of common grazing land is not viable."