The Hakubi Project

   Over the past two decades, the government of Laos has pursued an ambitious policy of economic development referred to as “Turning Land into Capital”. Mirroring global trends of land grabbing, the policy includes various forms of land commodification but is epitomized by the granting of long-term, large-scale land concessions to foreign enterprises for agribusiness, mining, hydropower, and infrastructure projects. Having granted 1.1 million hectares, or five percent of the national territory, government land concessions hinge on the category of “state land” that can be leased to private capital. While plantation development is broadly associated with economic growth in Laos, its effects on rural development, agrarian livelihoods, and the environment are mixed and depend on the political-economic forms through which plantations are established. Large-scale, mono-culture plantations developed by agribusinesses have led to the displacement of farmers from their lands, polluted soils and streams, cleared forests, and provided little economic compensation or employment in return. Mobilizing ethnographic research conducted in Southern Laos between 2013 and 2015, this presentation examines how land is governed in a country that is transitioning from a socialist to market economy. It reflects on the emerging politics of land and plantations as well as potential future paths of economic development in Laos.

Opening talk
"Minerals in space"

• Speaker： Dr. Aki Takigawa (Hakubi 6th batch) from the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University.
• Date：October 29rd, 2019 (Tuesday), 16:30-16:50
• Venue:Conference Room 1&2,The first basement floor, Research Administration Building(Hakubi Center building)
• Presentation Language:English
• Format of the seminar:Closed (only staff of Kyoto University)