Land as a life force. A study of the gendered role of land in the livelihoods of the population in Xaifongneua, peri-urban Vientiane Capital

Abstract

The objective of this MSc thesis is to add to the academic literature and debate on the relationships between land tenure security, urbanisation and gender for the development of the livelihoods of local population in peri-urban Laos. The thesis describes the case study of Xaifongneua, a village in peri-urban Vientiane Capital in Laos. The three fields analysed were:

- Land tenure security: the solidity of the relationship people have with land. The real and felt certainty that one’s rights of usage, control and transfer to a parcel of land are recognized, respected by others for now and in the future. - Local livelihood capitals: the relationship with tenure security and the household capital assets; natural; human; financial; social; physical; and political. - Gender: the socio-cultural norms attached to the sex of a person, influencing their position in society and the household; and expectations, attributes and qualities assigned to them.

The location of the case study is essential in the thesis, as the peri-urban areas allows for a meeting of rural and urban spaces, creating a meddled patchwork of spatial, socio- cultural and economic identities, undergoing continuous rapid change. A mixed methods approach was used to gather secondary data on urbanization processes in and around Vientiane Capital and on laws, regulation and policy on land and gender. The findings stated numerous and diverse relations between the research fields and the overarching urbanization processes that are reciprocally influencing but rarely causal. Significant is the remarkably strong tenure security of women in peri-urban Vientiane compared to other studies, as a result of legal equality and matrilineal land traditions. Tenure security however is diminished by the existence of two worlds in Laos; one on paper and a reality that does not adhere to rules, regulation, policy or governance, as the Lao government lacks implementation power, execution power and legal perpetuity. The current and future urbanization trends, heightening pressure on both land and the urban government will likely stimulate the processes discernable: land conversion from agriculture land to urban land; rising land prices; and governance challenges. Land still carries an important role in the livelihoods of the local population, women in particular as it forms the basis for agriculture, an enormous economic sector in Laos. It is hopedthat this research highlights the positive relationships with land, as well as the land and societal developments threatening local’s relationship with land in the future.