This report has been prepared by Earth Systems Lao (ESL) as part of the Socioeconomic Assessment for a proposed Stora Enso Eucalyptus plantation project (hereafter ‘the Project’). Earth Systems Lao is conducting the social assessment on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme Lao PDR (UNDP Lao PDR). 

Stora Enso is a large Finnish and Swedish paper, packaging and forest products company that currently operates a Pilot Eucalyptus plantation of 257 ha in Nong District, Savannakhet province and Ta oi district in Saravane province. The company is planning to establish 35,000 ha of Eucalyptus and Acacia plantations in Nong, Sepone, Ta oi, Vilabuly and Samuoi districts, within Savannakhet and Saravane provinces, Lao PDR.

The findings of the Socioeconomic Assessment will inform the Project’s overall Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) being coordinated by Salwood Asia Pacific. In addition to this study, Stora Enso has also engaged the IUCN Lao and the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) to assess the Project’s impacts on Biodiversity, Soil and Water and Carbon.

The Socioeconomic Assessment encompasses an assessment of the land, assets, and livelihood of communities living within and adjacent to the Project area that will be either directly impacted or indirectly impacted by the Project. In summary the scope of the Study includes

• Background review of previous studies and socioeconomic data relating to the Project and villages in the Project area;

• Background review of the Legal and Policy Framework for plantation development and Social Impact Assessment in Lao PDR and globally;

• Interviews with Stora Enso employees in Vientiane and the Project area;

• Detailed village-level surveys of all potentially directly impacted villages in the Project area;

• Consultation with District, Provincial and Central level government and Non-governmental and International Organisations; and

• Data analysis and report writing.