Community Participation in Land Use Planning in Upper Nam Ton Watershed, Hinherb District, Vientiane Province, Lao PDR

Abstract

The objectives were to study the socioeconomic impact, land use type, level of community participation and factors affecting community participation in land use planning in the upper Nam Ton watershed in Hinherb district, Vientiane province, Lao People's Democratic Republic. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from 350 samples/households. Data analysis using statistical software computed the frequency, percentage, maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation. Hypothesis testing used both a t-test and F-test at a significance level of 0.05.

The study results showed that most respondents were male with an age range of 40-49 years, their religion was Buddhism and they came from the ethnic group of Upland Lao. The majority of the sample had completed primary school level education and held over 20 rai of land under a temporary land use certificate and had major and minor occupations in agriculture. The average household income and expenditure did not exceed 5,000 baht per month. The majority of respondents used their land for paddy rice, grassland, and upland rice and they participated in activities relating to land use planning at a low level.

Factors affecting community participation in land use planning in the upper Nam Ton watershed that were statistically significant at the level of 0.05 were: gender, age, status in the community, education, land use size, major occupation, and minor occupation.

Keywords: Participation, Land use planning