Andrea Kuhlmann

This report shows that at this time, mortality rates were over 25% for children under 5 years old in Sing District. Over 12% for children 1 year and younger. THIS is the context of the US Drug War.

Assessment of Experience
with Alternative Development in
Lao People's Democratic Republic

Introduction

This paper has been prepared for the „International Conference on Alternative Development in Drug Control and Development Cooperation“
(January 2002) and aims at a comprehensive overview of the experiences with Alternative Development accumulated during the last 12 years by different national institutions and international donor agencies in the Lao PDR. It relies on project and country papers prepared for and presented at the Regional Seminar „Alternative Development for Illicit Crop Eradication: Policies, Strategies and Actions“ in Taunggyi, Myanmar (16-19 July 2001), different project documents and national policy papers.

Furthermore a questionnaire-survey had been prepared and given to all relevant agencies working in Alternative Development in the Lao PDR (LCDC, MoAF, UNDCP, NCA, US Embassy, GTZ). The questions focus on socio-demographic background data of the respective projects, the illicit drug situation they face as well as strategies for and experiences with AD. In only few cases a semi-structured interview could be held, accompanying the questionnaire. In the presentation Drug Control projects supported by the U.S. Embassy / Narcotic Affairs and the LG-PDC component in Bokeo could unfortunately not be taken into account in detail.

Furthermore due to time constraints, some points and questions could not be followed-up and analyzed deeper but are hoped to be discussed in more detail within the regional workshop at the International Conference on AD.

A resource person had been assigned and made responsible by GTZ for the process of data collection, interviews and the final write up of the presentation. Nevertheless the paper tries to represent and summarize the assessment given by the projects in an objective manner. In order to reach agreement on the country paper a draft version of this presentation has been sent for comments to the Project Facilitation Unit, comprising members of the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) and United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).

Socio-Economic Background Figures Lao PDR

Criteria                                                         National Average

Population                                                                 ~ 5 million

GNP per capita:                                                         330 USD*

Below national poverty line                                        46% of population *

Life expectancy at birth:                                            53.2 years**

Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births):                 75**

Pop. living in rural areas 2000:                                  80%**

Access to safe water in 2000:                                  53%**

Adult literacy rate (>15 years):                                  70%**

* World Bank 9/20/99

**Gov. Report to the 7th Round Table Meeting 8/2000

The Lao PDR counts among the Least Developed Countries. Human Development Indexes demonstrate a significant gap between urban centers and rural areas, where 80% of the population lives and earns its living through agriculture. Compared to the national average the respective figures in remote highland villages, where most of the opium poppy is produced, show a much lower living standard and basic needs fullfillment.

Socio-Economic situation in rural areas of AD projects

(rough average or example figures)

For comparison serve the average or lowest figures of highland target villages of responding AD Projects which are roughly as follows:

Access to safe water:                        average around 31%

Adult literacy rate:                              lowest: 2% male and 0% female adult population

Access to education services:          whereas enrolement in primary education reaches

levels up to 50% less than a fourth continues in

secondary schools.

Infant mortality rate (under 1):           120 / 1000 (Sing District; 1997: 142 / 1000)

Child mortality rate (under 5):            227 / 1000 (Sing District; 1997: 251 / 1000)

Some Highlights of 12 years of experiences

of Drug Control in the Lao PDR

Before 2000:

Drug Control in the Lao P.D.R started to be undertaken in a systematic way since 1989 and therefore counts now with 10 to 12 years of experiences and lessons learnt. A first pilot project for integrated highland development within drug plant producing areas started in 1989. With a budget of 6.68 million USD and a period of over 6 years it achieved its goal of complete opium elimination in its 10 target villages where 5089 people lived.

The so-called Palaveck project was presented at the Expo 2000 in Hannover and its experiences continue to be taken as a model to learn from. In 1990 the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC) was established as a high-level inter-ministerial co-ordinating body for drug control, which comprises 10 members and is chaired by the Minister to the Office of the President. LCDC released a decree instructing the provinces to replicate the structure and mandate of LCDC by creating Provincial Drug Control Committees, to be chaired by the Provincial Vice-Governors.

The Provincial and District Drug Control Committees are represented by Police, Customs, the provincial administration, Health, Agriculture and Education. The first Masterplan xComprehensive Drug Control Programmex was jointly elaborated with UNDCP and comprised all drug related issues for the period 1994 to 2000.

2000-2001:

In the last two years (2000/01) the pace of drug control related measures, institutional arrangements and instructions gained visible velocity with the xOpium Elimination Strategyx (elabroated in 1999) aiming at opium elimination in 2006 while the agreed ASEAN goal aims at a drug free zone in 2015.

The first national conference on drug control was convened in March 2000 followed by the Prime Ministers Order No.14 of 28th November 2000, instructing all governmental bodies, mass organizations, projects and the private sector to combat drug abuse, trafficking and opium poppy cultivation. In March 2001 the 7th Party Congress issued the ambitious resolution to eliminate opium by 2005 in close relation with the goal of shifting-cultivation stabilization. The establishment of Drug Control Units in relevant Line Ministries (MoAF, MoE, MoH, MoIC) and the clarification of the organizational structure and respective mandate of the secretariat of LCDC followed.

On provincial level job descriptions and mandate of the PCDCs have been refined and on 5th May 2001 LCDC instructs the PCDCs to elaborate a strategic 5 year plan for opium elimination in their respective provinces (Instruction No.185).

This overall process has been supported by different agencies for international cooperation like UNDCP, U.S. Embassy / Narcotic Affairs, GTZ and NCA which count among the most engaged agencies in Drug Control in the Lao P.D.R.

Following the Palaveck-project UNDCP can extend its work and starts cooperation with the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) in Xiengkhouang Highlands in 1992 which develops in 1999 into the Nonghet Alternative Development Project. Other UNDCP supported projects with Alternative Development components are: Beng Alternative Development Micro-Project in Oudomxay Province (since 1999) and the Village Based Development Component in the ADB Shifting Cultivation Stabilization Pilot Project in Houaphan Province –Micro project (since 2000). On behalf of UNDCP the Norwegian Church Aid agency (NCA) carries out the Long Alternative Development Project since 1993

The US Embassy until recently was engaged in Houaphan Province and supports at present 2 Alternative Development Projects in Phongsaly and Oudomsay Province.  A new Lao-American project for AD is under consideration in Luang Namtha Province

GTZ on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) started to support the Drug Control efforts of the Lao Government in 1999. The Lao-German Project Promotion of Drug Control (LG-PDC) cooperates with 3 ongoing projects in rural areas of Bokeo, Xiengkhouang and Luang Namtha Provinces. The project coordination unit (PCU) assists in concept and curriculi development, organizational strengthening and human resource development. The 3 rural projects incorporated a drug control component into their overall concept, implement drug demand reduction activities and alternative development measures in a balanced approach and feed back their experiences via PCU to the policy level.

National Policy

The structure of the Drug Control Administration of the Lao Government comprises all levels from village up to national level. The Drug Control Units (DCUs) in the Line Ministries were only recently established and will assure the integration of drug control aspects in the technical policy plans and budgeting of their respective ministries. On each level from district to central government, the respective bodies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, of Health, of Education and of Information and Culture are involved in drug control. The policy line from LCDC furthermore comprises Administration and Planning, Police, Transport and Communication, Customs.

Goal:

Elimination of  Opium Poppy Production by  2005/06 in close connection with stabilization  of slash-and-burn practices

Frame:

“Opium Elimination Strategy” (2000-2006),  national strategy for poverty alleviation,  policies of decentralization & shifting cultivation stabilization, focus on highland  areas in Agricultural Vision

The Government has opted for a gradual but firm approach, by warning the rural populations of the opium prohibition, and with international assistance, promoting alternative development before phasing out poppy cultivation. The opium elimination strategy targets provinces and districts with the largest poppy cultivation areas. The 1997/98 national opium survey had identified 21 high priority districts in 6 provinces and alternative development programme modules in these provinces have been formulated. Alternative development projects are ongoing in the provinces of Luang Namtha (NCA & GTZ), Oudomxay (US and UNDCP), Xiengkhouang (a UN inter-agency initiative & GTZ), Bokeo (GTZ), Phongsaly (US) and Houaphan (UNDCP micro-project designed to implement the village-based development component of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) project „Shifting cultivation stabilisation pilot project“). In another initiative with ADB, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed, comitting ADB to providing road access in opium producing areas in Houaphan province, thereby opening up opportunities for diversified agricultural production and access to services and markets.

In general it can be stated that the close relation between poverty and opium poppy cultivation and abuse is widely recognized and more strongly reflected in recent strategy papers and project/donor engagement in the northern provinces.

Present Situation of demand and supply

The main findings of the 2000 national opium survey show the following situation:

In the season 1999-2000 an estimated 19,052 ha of opium poppy were cultivated. This represents a reduction in the total opium poppy area of nearly 30% compared with 1998. The national yield average was estimated at 8.7kg with considerable provincial variations. The total production ranged at about 167 tons of raw opium. 6 provinces targeted by the Opium Elimination Programme accounted for 93% of the total area under cultivation. Yet, in every district where alternative development projects are being implemented, a significant decrease was noticeable.

At the country level, the farm gate price was estimated at around 92 USD/kg, an increase by over 30% (1998: 65 USD/kg)

The survey estimated the total number of opium addicts at 62,895 persons, which represents only a slight decrease compared to 1998. At the national level, 2.26% of the population (above 15 years) is addicted to opium, whereas in the northern provinces this rate increases to 4.84%.

Influence of Alternative Development in illicit drug production

As has been stated, the 2000 Opium Survey found that there has been a significant decrease of opium poppy cultivation in every district, where alternative development projects are being implemented.

Nevertheless, AD projects responding to the questionnaire state that more time is needed to be able to evaluate their impact as most of the implementation started too recently, identification of viable alternatives is still limited  and experiences in key issues like marketing and credit as well as trans-sectoral themes like gender are not yet well established and analyzed.

Furthermore, some projects also experience un-linear developments, where farmers in some pocket areas take „their last chance“ and increase their opium poppy cultivation before the growing pressure finally will prohibit it. Another tendency that has been observed in some areas is a growing professionalization in the field, with contracted farmers who produce for others.

These are indications that despite growing presence of AD-projects increased drug control efforts might have temporarily an adverse effect, which should be taken into account in the national drug control strategy.

First measurements and development indicators

In general projects rely on the national opium survey, which uses a set of methodologies and instruments approved and supported by UNDCP, to assess the drug situation in their project area. The analysis of the questionnaire reveals that half of the responding projects identify poverty alleviation/livelihood improvement as (part of) their main goal. Drug control measures are seen as a means through which this goal can be achieved. The other half of the projects puts a slightly different emphasis, naming the very reduction of opium production and drug abuse as their main goal. It is proposed to discuss at the regional workshop if this difference in the definition of a project´s goal has impacts on the definition of indicators for success/ goal achievements and in what this impact exists. With respect to indicators measuring the success of concrete AD activities the following range was mentioned:

·     Measurement of improved subsistence and/or food security

·     Growing acceptance of activities/interventions by farmers. Measured by number of farm HHs involved and taking over introduced innovations or by the area under cultivation of alternative/new crops

·     Existence of additional income opportunity

·     New jobs created in consequence of project interventions

·     Amount of reduction of opium poppy cultivation area

In general the responses to the questionnaire leave the impression that the definition of indicators to measure  quality and sustainability of impacts in a gender oriented way is still weak and needs further discussion and refinement.

Alternative Development programmes in the country

Donor                    Imple. Agency       Province                                Funds                    No. of villages      No. of Population

1.Various                UNDCP                  Oudomxay              900.000 USD                         12                           3,609

2.Various                UNDCP                  Houaphan               2,100,000 USD                      48                           12,600

3.Various                UNDCP                  Xg. Khouang           3,642,200 USD                      55                           19,458

4. Various               NCA / UNDCP        Luang Namtha        2,000,000 USD                      19                           3500

5. BMZ*                  GTZ                        Xg. Khouang           250,000 DM                           24                           12,189

for supply reduction

6. BMZ*                  GTZ                        Luang Namtha        1,400,000 DM                        63                           13,720

The list comprises only the projects that answered to the questionnaire and are presently ongoing or very recently phased out. Besides differences in funding there are some remarkable differences in the number of target population reached by the projects.

*BMZ/GTZ budgets do not include the general budget of the cooperating projects but only the drug control component, in Xieng Khouang exclusively for supply reduction.

Balance between Alternative Development programmes

and law enforcement

All projects reported that they do not integrate law enforcement activities into their implementation. In the majority of cases law enforcement is done by Lao Government authorities, considered a necessary and helpful parallel measure to demand reduction and alternative development activities. Nevertheless it was also stated that law enforcement and alternative development might not be implemented in a balanced way, as experiences and progress in viable alternatives are still too limited. The definition of „balance“ in this respect appears to be a sensitive issue and might be taken up at the regional workshop.

Situation of Opium Poppy producing farmers in project areas

All AD projects work in areas where different, at least 3 ethnic groups live. Some projects work with the 3-fold concept of the rough geographic location of the people, which offers the categorization of Lowland Lao (Lao Loum), Highland Lao (Lao Theung) and Upland/Mountain Lao (Lao Sung). Others specify the ethno-linguistic groups. The indicators of social development and for satisfaction of basic needs reported by the projects show huge differences between different groups also in the same region.

If AD projects are to support development efforts and policies that allow ethnic minorities to live with dignity, with lawful, economically viable and sustainbale means of income as well as improved livelihoods, projects have to take into account these socio-cultural differences and can´t apply standard programs. (see also Boonwaat, Leik: „An Overview of Alternative Development and Illicit Crop Eradication Policies, Strategies and Actions in the Region“, July 2001)

Other comparable Indicators

This table considers other socio-economic indicators which represent the situation in the different project areas and have been mentioned by the projects in a comparable way in the questionnaire.

Addiction rates: The Houaphan project reports 4000 addicts out of 12,600 people, equivalent to an addiction rate of 31.7%. The addiction rates in the other project areas range from 2.6 to 7.7%

Rice sufficiency ranges from 20% to 60% and may be different for the respective ethnic groups in the same project area. In other words all the projects have to adapt their strategy and interventions of AD to at least 40% of HH that can not meet their daily staple food requirements. Here the question comes up in how far concentrated efforts for economic, off-farm development are appropriate for this group.

The availability of and distance to the markets have to be taken into account for marketing possibilities of alternative produce. Average market distances vary from 45 min to 5 hours and from 8 km to up to 25 km. Improvement of the accessibility to the remote areas and of market access has been expressed by the projects as a high priority requirement in order to facilitate success of alternative development.

Assessment of these experiences

On the implementing level projects emphasize a stringent participatory approach. All stakeholders should be involved at every stage of the activities. Technical and/or organizational innovations should be introduced only after discussion and awareness raising on related aspects, thereby assuring that activities be demand driven.

Whereas all the projects state that experiences with marketing are still limited, some experienced success with different interventions, which they qualify replicable: This is the case for asparagus, sericulture, plum, small irrigation schemes and livestock (cows) in UNDCP supported projects, except Long. Short yielding crops are given preference and maize, asparagus, garlic, water melon, sugar cane, coffee, grapefruit, peach, orange, litchi, logan, lemon, plum and mulberry are all on trial. Up to now an increase in the yield of these agricultural products in every season is reported. The inroads projects made into the communities are considered encouraging and initial assessments demonstrate that they are being successful in achieving their goals and objectives. The support and cooperation of especially district and provincial authorities, specially in law enforcement, is judged crucial in these successes.

The German supported project in Luang Namtha has been putting a basic needs approach into the center of its activities. The significant increase of rice production that could be reached within 6 years of project interventions is considered one of the main successes to help reduce the economic dependence of the population from opium poppy cultivation. Nevertheless due to the ongoing development and market integration in the region new (basic) needs and demands appear and/or are created among the highland population. In order to be able to purchase basic goods in the market farming families might even experience an increased need of secured cash availability. Here a slight change in the role of opium might have developed recently: For food secure families opium does not continue to be important to bridge the gap of rice deficit months but to bridge the gap to the market oriented mainstream society.

Therefore it is considered that AD has to reach food security first but can´t stop there. The challenge is to provide secure alternative income possibilities that are able to cover costs of (new) demands for (basic) consumer goods.  In Namtha as elsewhere some NTFP products seem promising but e.g. cardamom, tea and coffee are still on trial basis and some climatic difficulties as well as non-acceptance by farmes with respect to coffee have been experienced. While aiming to sustain and extend their level of food security, activities are geared more and more to economic development, including off-farm activities (food processing, handicraft, tourism) and the development of appropriate and diversified farming systems including large ruminants where grazing areas are available.

At the moment it is still too early to assess these experiences. In order to prevent or minimize the gap between better off and marginal HH, HH that are not yet food secure and not yet ready for further economic development are supported through Food for Work with the aim to improve their productive situation.

Assumptions of „when AD is NOT successful in the Lao P.D.R“

The German supported project in Xieng Khouang integrated alternative development into the overall project approach of sustainable natural resource management (SNRM). It emphasises participatory land use management planning and land allocation (PLUM/LA) and identified community agro-forestry (establishment of private plantation forests/woodlots with usufruct rights given to HH) as a promising alternative but reports to face some difficulties of political acceptance of this approach. Sericulture is considered to be promising but was only recently started with the involvement of a sub-contracted local private enterprise. Raising of small and large livestock is seen as a viable alternative if problems of disease control can be solved. Trials on temperate fruit trees are undertaken but will need up to 20 years to develop the full potential. Therefore it is not yet possible to assess the potential for alternative development of these plantations.

On the social and/or institutional level the projects assess their experiences as follows: Innovations have to be accompanied by village based capacity building and the integration and management of activities at village level. Without strong identification and villagers taking decisions in an informed way, and parallel to this without development oriented planning on district level and strong technical institutions able to provide basic public services to remote areas, AD efforts will not reach sustainability

Parallel to these challenges, the projects state that there is more need of savings and credit opportunities as well as for infrastructure. Here better coordination with other funding agencies is required. First steps in this direction are currently undertaken between UNDCP and ADB engagement in Houaphan Province.

With respect to gender it is reported that women are increasingly participating in the process and credit schemes targeting women are generally quite successful. Nevertheless some of the provided data indicates that activities are not always monitored in a gender sensitive way and projects admit that there is still a lot to be done in this field. In some projects the explicit inclusion of women in the village development committees (VDCs) were helpful to include women´s agenda into the planning and the activities on village level.

Determinant factors for success and failure

As mentioned above the structure of the national Drug Control Administration was only recently completed with the set up of the Drug Control Units in the relevant Line Ministries and with the clarification of roles and mandates of LCDC and PCDCs. All these changes are still in the process of being operationalized and/or applied so that it may be premature to evaluate their impact. Nevertheless the hope associated with these changes is to avoid doubling of work, to reach more efficiency and synergy and to create a close link between technical departments, sector policies and drug control.

The respondent projects to the questionnaire identified the following factors as being determinant for:

1. Succes: Sense of ownership of the project/activities by the village/district authorities; improved cooperation between different projects/agencies, improvement of accessibility of rural areas, availability of electricity for food-processing/agri-business, long term committment for financing and implementation of the projects

2.Constraints: Lack of qualified human resources and unwillingness of qualified national staff to work in remote areas, projects/funding with too short committment; non-existence of quality standards and limited marketing knowhow and networks.

3. As can be seen in the table, with respect to the question of determinant factors for AD, projects referred much to the institutional level and framework conditions (infrastructure). For the activity level it can be deducted, that longterm implementation is needed and should be assured by appropriate financing (timeframe). Activities for systematic human resource development on village and district level are prerequisits for quality implementation of participatory, demand driven approaches. Here the government is requested to provide favorable policies and conditions.

Further requirements

Asked which further action at macro, meso and micro level are required in the Lao PDR to facilitate implementation and success of AD projects the above points were raised:

On Macro-level projects identified the need for long-term commitment by the different regional and donor governments. The national government should reallocate budget for the development of remote areas of the northern provinces, recognize the work of its civil servants in remote areas through appropriate salaries and thereby gaining better and more government presence in these areas. A high need for gender mainstreaming from central to local level was expressed as well as for national regular information sharing and more interaction between the different AD projects.

On Meso-level needs for increased efforts in Human Resource Development and Strategy/Policy development and adaptation have been identified. There is need for coordination of all relevant actors on provincial level. Better coordination of available funds for infrastructure should also lead to the improved accessibility of rural areas. In order to facilitate the success of AD projects the provincial governments should endorse and operationalize the decree on decentralization. Furthermore a need to adapt the present national forest policy in order to provide villagers with usufruct rights of plantation and production forests and the permission to harvest and sell timber on a controlled, sustainable basis is expressed. Without this policy adaptation alternative livelihood options to an economy/livelihood based on shifting-culture and opium would be very limited in the remote areas.

On Micro-level general requirements as seen by the projects are: Improved accessibility to the villages by feeder roads. The need for capacity building for district staff as well as for strengthening of village institutions, their planning and implementation capacities has been further identified. Nevertheless a case to case approach for the alternative development efforts is recommended.

Outlook

As the promotion of drug control has become a top priority for the government the outlook for promoting AD is seen promising. The seriousness of the political intention cannot be doubted.

After initial success of AD projects, resulting in an enhanced economic status of the beneficiaries and reduction in the cultivation of opium poppy the challenge will be to sustain and extend these achievements to all opium poppy cultivating farmers.  This will need appropriate policies, legislation and measures by the government at all levels, sufficient institutional capacities and trained staff, awareness for the need to eliminate poppy cultivation, experiences in AD, well planned programmes/projects and adequate human and financial resources (internal and external funding).

With more coordination and sharing of experiences a huge potential for successful AD projects is seen. Therefore AD should become better integrated into the overall development efforts in the northern highlands and not be treated as a „special agenda“. The application of the „Poppy Clause“ should be made compulsary in all rural development projects with coverage of villages with drug abuse problems. Reduction/elimination of opium poppy production can only be achieved, if basic needs of communities with dependency on drugs are met.

Therefore access to basic health and education services and markets have to be integral parts of AD. Law enforcement should be planned and implemented in areas of successful trial and implementation of AD-measures.

Instead of conclusions

In the analysis of the questionnaire, discussions and consultation of available documents on experiences with Alternative Development in the Lao PDR some open points and questions emerged and/or have directly been mentioned by different projects. In stead of conclusions they shall be raised here for further discussion:

·    How to integrate the rising ATS problem into the national Drug Control Strategy and respective donor support

·    Which functions of different actors and aspects in the relation of drug control and rural development should be better coordinated, how should this be done and who is to lead this process? Is the relation between PFU of LCDC and UNDCP with other donor coordination units in Drug Control clarified?

·    How to assure not only sustainability of initial successes in project areas but how to scale them up and replicate them in broader areas?

·    How to assure gender mainstreaming? Would it be helpful to jointly treat this and other transsectoral subjects between all AD projects? Who is to lead the process?

·    Clarification and refinement of gender oriented indicators seem compulsary

·    Is the existing division of labour between the different actors appropriate with respect to funding, necessity of long term implementation for rural development and quality advice on drug control?