The Resettlement Son La Hydropower Project Perspective Practicces and Custom Farming Practices of Ethnic Minority Northwest

Abstract

This study was carried out in Tua Chua district and Muong Lay town (Dien Bien province) in order to understand Northwest ethnic minority customs and farming changes related to resettlement program and to recommend appropriate solutions for better stable livelihood of local people affected
by the program. 80 households in two resettlement areas in Tua Chua district and 100 households in resettlement area of Muong Lay town were interviewed by the standard questionnaire. The results reveal that: (i) a resettlement area is often designed for 100 households with an average residential plot of 300 to 500 m2. In the past, local people were living in villages consisted of 30 to 50 households with a residential plot of 1.750 to 3.000 m2. In addition, the socioeconomic structure of the communities after resettlement has been changed to compare with the past. (ii) similarly, farming practices have also been changed after resettlement. For instance, in the new areas, permanent agriculture was dominant with average of 1.6 ha land per household. In the contrast, in former areas, agriculture was characterized by rotation swidden practices with an average area of 3.4 ha per household or paddy rice production. (iii) on-site resettlement schemes produced less negative impacts on farming practices and socioeconomic structure of resettled communities with almost nochange in agricultural and forest land. This study recommends that the resettlement schemes without
adequate consideration on local customs and ethnic characteristics have thus resulted in difficulties for the resettled communities.