Two new village forest and NTFP management plans approved by officials in Lao PDR
Two villages in Nam Yone Valley, Houay Xai District, Bokeo Province, Lao PDR have recently received approval for their village forest and non-timber forest products management plans. The management plans were developed as a result of a series of consultation meetings among villages and government officials to discuss and decide on land uses, ownership status, and boundary demarcations.
The villages received support from RECOFTC's ForInfo project and the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) and the Nordic Development Fund. The initiative aims to clarify and formalize ownership and user rights of community forest villagers for the utilization of bamboo for regional energy and local banana plantation markets, as well as facilitate the equitable sharing of benefits for community members and bamboo managers.
This milestone marks the first approved village forest and NTFP management plan in Lao PDR that has been supported by RECOFTC. For more information on bamboo harvesting, watch our video at http://www.recoftc.org/project/forinfo/videos/bamboo-efficient-harvesting-better-livelihoods or visit http://www.recoftc.org/project/forinfo/policy-briefs/forinfo-factsheet-commercial-scale-community-bamboo-harvesting.