Case Study: A Glimpse into Women’s Customary Forest Tenure Practices in Lao PDR

The case study explores the intersect between customary tenure systems and gender roles in two villages in Phongsali district in the north of Laos. Based on field research, the study compares two distinctly different ethnic groups, Khmou Ou and White Tai. It found that women have intimate relationships with their forests yet have less rights to forests than men (such as rights to inheritance and access to forest income).