Lao PDR - Rural life - Slash and burn cultivation

Slash and burn landscape, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. Swidden cultivation or ‘hai’ in Lao consists of cutting the natural vegetation, leaving it to dry and then burning it for temporary cropping of the land, the ash acting as a natural fertiliser. Shifting cultivation practices, although remarkably sustainable and adapted to their environment in the past, have come under increasing stress in recent decades and are now starting to be a major problem in Lao PDR, causing widespread deforestation and watershed degradation.

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Filename: A0016702cc_1.jpg
Copyright: Tessa Bunney
Image Size: 4000x3000 / 2.5MB; Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Laos Lao PDR Lao PDR Tessa Bunney rural life Phongsaly Phongsali remote countryside environment land landscape mountainous hilly hill hills trees tree forest jungle slash and burn slash burn rice swidden hai crop crops field farm farming subsistence work working food production agriculture steep hillside agriculture cultivation degradation deforestation
Contained in galleries: Tessa Bunney - All pics, Lao PDR - Rural Life

Slash and burn landscape, Phongsaly province, Lao PDR. Swidden cultivation or ‘hai’ in Lao consists of cutting the natural vegetation, leaving it to dry and then burning it for temporary cropping of the land, the ash acting as a natural fertiliser. Shifting cultivation practices, although remarkably sustainable and adapted to their environment in the past, have come under increasing stress in recent decades and are now starting to be a major problem in Lao PDR, causing widespread deforestation and watershed degradation.