Teak plantation smallholders in Lao PDR: what influences compliance with plantation regulations?

Past policies to promote the planting of trees by smallholders have been effective in Lao PDR. In Luang Prabang Province over 15 000 ha of teak (Tectona grandis) have been established. New policies to stop illegal logging, promote timber legality of wood exports and encourage domestic wood processing aim to mobilise this teak resource as an alternative to timber from natural forests. Several factors are thought to inhibit smallholder participation in the timber value chain and this risks their exclusion from international markets. These factors include the hidden nature of their teak plantation resource, inability to comply with complex regulations and limited capacity to engage with markets. This paper explores the policy and regulatory environment for smallholder plantation teak to understand how instrumental and normative factors may influence compliance with plantation regulations and affect participation in new governance structures such as grower groups. The results emphasise the need for policies, regulations and governance to take into account the human factor if value chains that depend on smallholder plantations are to be effective.