The war is over, yet the bombs remain: A minor field study exploring how unexploded ordnance affect rural livelihoods in Houamoung district, Laos.
(2019) EKHK18 20191Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- During the Secret War in Laos, 1964-1973, the United States dropped approximately 2 million tons of bombs in Laos. However, 30% of the employed bombs failed to detonate. It is estimated that 78 million unexploded ordance (UXO) still contaminate the land of Laos. This paper therefore aims to explore how UXO affect the possibilities for the rural population in Houamoung district to attain a sustainable livelihood in accordance with the definition offered by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The research explores the three dimensions of UXO victims; the direct victim, the household and the community. The study employs qualitative data collection methods. The main source of data was obtained from 11 UXOsurvivors through semi-structured... (More)
- During the Secret War in Laos, 1964-1973, the United States dropped approximately 2 million tons of bombs in Laos. However, 30% of the employed bombs failed to detonate. It is estimated that 78 million unexploded ordance (UXO) still contaminate the land of Laos. This paper therefore aims to explore how UXO affect the possibilities for the rural population in Houamoung district to attain a sustainable livelihood in accordance with the definition offered by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The research explores the three dimensions of UXO victims; the direct victim, the household and the community. The study employs qualitative data collection methods. The main source of data was obtained from 11 UXOsurvivors through semi-structured interviews as well as 7 focus group discussions with village committees. The final findings suggest UXO-accidents are great shocks to rural household where survivors and their dependent household members suffer from long-term losses in livelihood assets. The majority of the survivors struggle with chronic pain and life-long disabilities, resulting in a loss of labor productivity. The household must adjust for the loss of productivity, as all rural livelihood activities are essential for household survival. There is thus an increased burden on dependent household members. Nevertheless, the prevalence of UXO has little effect on community livelihood strategies. The rural population is fully aware of the risk of UXO, yet they continue to depend on the contaminated land as their main source of income. There is a lack of alternative livelihoods, forcing the rural population into agriculture to ensure future food security and household income. UXO is, however, affecting macro-economic processes such as the agricultural transformation, making it increasingly difficult for communities to escape the poverty trap. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8983213
- author
- Englund, Mathilda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHK18 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Unexploded ordnance, UXO, Laos, Sustainable Livelihood Framework, rural livelihoods
- language
- English
- id
- 8983213
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-17 13:12:59
- date last changed
- 2019-07-03 14:15:48
@misc{8983213,
abstract = {{During the Secret War in Laos, 1964-1973, the United States dropped approximately 2 million tons of bombs in Laos. However, 30% of the employed bombs failed to detonate. It is estimated that 78 million unexploded ordance (UXO) still contaminate the land of Laos. This paper therefore aims to explore how UXO affect the possibilities for the rural population in Houamoung district to attain a sustainable livelihood in accordance with the definition offered by the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The research explores the three dimensions of UXO victims; the direct victim, the household and the community. The study employs qualitative data collection methods. The main source of data was obtained from 11 UXOsurvivors through semi-structured interviews as well as 7 focus group discussions with village committees. The final findings suggest UXO-accidents are great shocks to rural household where survivors and their dependent household members suffer from long-term losses in livelihood assets. The majority of the survivors struggle with chronic pain and life-long disabilities, resulting in a loss of labor productivity. The household must adjust for the loss of productivity, as all rural livelihood activities are essential for household survival. There is thus an increased burden on dependent household members. Nevertheless, the prevalence of UXO has little effect on community livelihood strategies. The rural population is fully aware of the risk of UXO, yet they continue to depend on the contaminated land as their main source of income. There is a lack of alternative livelihoods, forcing the rural population into agriculture to ensure future food security and household income. UXO is, however, affecting macro-economic processes such as the agricultural transformation, making it increasingly difficult for communities to escape the poverty trap.}},
author = {{Englund, Mathilda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The war is over, yet the bombs remain: A minor field study exploring how unexploded ordnance affect rural livelihoods in Houamoung district, Laos.}},
year = {{2019}},
}