Hmong Livelihood Strategies: Factors Affecting Hunting, Agriculture, and Non-timber Forest Product Collection in Central Laos
Author(s):
Vue, Pao Xeempov Vwj
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2018.
Pages:
361
Language:
English
Abstract:
The Hmong are the third most populous ethnic group in Laos and tend to live near areas with important conservation values where they engage in swidden agriculture, hunting, and the collection of various kinds of non-timber forest products for both subsistence and commercial purposes. However, their livelihood strategies are currently undergoing drastic changes due to a range of factors that are making it harder year after year for them to meet household needs. This research investigates how government laws and policies designed to decrease swidden agriculture, the capitalistic market economy, and technological advancements are affecting how the Hmong in central Laos spatially navigate and use the surrounding lands to sustain and/or enhance their livelihoods. By examining how these factors are affecting Hmong livelihood strategies, I seek to expose variables that are contributing to the already heavy hunting and non-timber forest products usage by the Hmong ethnic group. I primarily conducted intensive ethnographic research which documented Hmong villagers’ daily livelihood activities in order to understand how beliefs and practices are produced, modified, and re-produced to allow for continual swidden agriculture, wildlife hunting, and the harvest of non-timber forest products. I found that, among various factors, government laws and policies aimed at protecting the forests and biodiversity have been important for increasing hunting and natural resource use in some parts of central Laos. My field work also revealed that technological advancements are rendering some cultural traditional Hmong beliefs that historically promoted forest and biodiversity conservation less influential, which in turn is also leading to increase hunting and resource use. Overall, my research enhances our understanding of the relationship between government policies, technological advancements, and the environment and how they are influence by the capitalistic market economy and discourses associated with ideas of modernization.