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3. People, Natural Resource Management,and Conservation of Ecosystems

3-1. Spirit Worship and Forest Conservationin the Mekong BasinSpirit Worship and Natural Resources Management
In China’s Yunnan Province, Laos, northeastern Thailand, and northwestern Vietnam’s Mekong River
Basin area, the Dai, Hani, Lao and other ethnic groups still practice ceremonies for spirits that live inthe forests. There are also various taboos that are still respected today when using the forests. Spirit
worship has functioned to deter excessive forest use and logging.
Ethnic group

Locations

Description of Forest Spirit Worship

SourceSouthern Yunnan, China and along The Hani believe that each spirit has its own Xu et al. (2005)
the northern borders of Burma, Laos, abode (such as a wetland, pond, rock, andHani
special tree). Many of these spirits reside in(Akha in northern and Vietnam
the forests. In such forests, it is taboo for Hani
Burma,Laos, andvillagers to take forest products, hunt animals,
Thailand)or cut down trees.
Southern Yunnan, eastern Burma, the The Dai have traditionally believed that forests, Xu et al. (2005)
mountain regions of Laos, northern animals, and plants have natural powers withThailand, and northwestern Vietnam spiritual and religious meanings. Inciting thewrath of spirits inhabiting various natural
phenomena with inappropriate behavior brings
disaster or great misfortune to the village.
Among the Dai people, it is encouraged to livein harmony with the environment that surrounds
them.
Dien Bien Dong District of Vietnam’s Dai villages have sacred forests where ancestral Tran et al. (2007)
Lai Chau Province
spirits live, and their protection is veryDai
important to the villagers. Those who violate
the sacred forests will have their souls stolenby angry spirits, and it is believed that theyeither go insane or die. To atone for the sins,the imposter is punished according to village
rules, and a water buffalo or other animals may
be sacrificed. On the other hand, these sacredforests are also the common property of thevillage, so when forest resources are sold, theincome is put into a common community fundand is managed in accordance with certain rules.
Northeastern Thailand
Among the Lao ethnic group in northeastern interviews byThailand, villagers respect forests called Don Mekong Watch
Phu Ta in which spirits are said to reside. Even (2012)
in northeastern Thailand where much logging
takes place, Don Phu Ta have been left inLao
good condition, and some of them are nowclassified as conservation forests or villagecommon property, and are the targets of modern
conservation efforts.
Table: Examples of Forest Spirit Worship in the Mekong Basin

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Spirit Forests of Savannakhet Province, LaosA forest called Don Nathat Nong Lom in That Ing-han Village of Kaisorn (formally Kantaburi)
District of Savannakhet Province in central Laos has been kept in good condition. According to village
records, this forest has an area of about 4,300 hectares, and is also an important regional water source.
It is now publicly designated as a conservation forest (Pa Saguan), but this forest has also traditionallybeen respected by villagers because they believed that strong spirits reside there. These beliefs are still
upheld today, and in Savannakhet Province, these forests
are known as Mahasaek forests.
In the village, there is a Buddhist temple with a tower
called That Ing-han, which is deeply respected amongvillagers. The taboos of the forest are now explained in
Buddhist terms. The forest borders a marsh called Nong
Lom, but this marsh is also seen to belong to spirits, and
it is prohibited to send boats out to fish or to hunt certain
animals that the Buddha is said to have forbidden eating(e.g., snakes and monkeys).

Spirit houses in Sisaket Province, northeastern
Thailand.

Every year in March of the lunar calendar, ceremonies for the spirits are conducted, and offerings
excluding meat and alcohol are offered. Villagers today still believe that taking timber products fromthe forest without the permission of the spirits, cutting trees, and neglecting ceremonies is taboo. If
someone violates these rules, it is greatly feared that villagers will either fall ill or die. It is said thatseveral decades ago, because Buddhist ceremonies had become more important in a certain village,
the village elders stopped conducting ceremonies for the spirits. Then, in the midst of a Buddhist
ceremony, a large storm ravaged only this village, so they realized they had to continue the ceremonies
for the spirits. Also, if someone in the village violates the taboos, strange phenomena are said tooccur, such as an invisible horse running around the village through the night. Therefore, if it becomes
known that someone has violated the taboos, villagers discuss the matter and a ceremony is done toappease the spirits in order to prevent disaster from befalling the village.

Sustainable Use of Spirit Forests
While villagers hold the forest in awe, they also use it on a daily basis. Cutting trees is possible if
permission is received. According to village officials, about 100 of the 360 households of That Inghan Village are using the resources of the forest, but many households from 13 other villages insurrounding areas also come to the forest to take what they need. When it is mushroom collecting
season, people from even further away come to collect them.
In this forest, villagers collect edible mushrooms, wild grasses, honey, and resin used as fuel. Because
it recently became a conservation forest, it is prohibited to collect firewood. The explanation given forthis change was that there were increasing numbers of people collecting firewood not for their own
use, but to sell, so it was a necessary measure to protect the forest.
Also, forest products are a means of gaining cash income. In the dry season, villagers collect tree
resin called nam man yang. This is used as fuel for torches called kabong. Electrification is spreading<3-1>
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in Laos, so these torches are not used for light, but are sold in the markets as fire starters for charcoal
stoves. Some are even exported to Thailand. To collect the resin, people first dig a hole in the trunk ofa tree. Then a fire is lit in the hole to remove the resin, but the trees do not die in this process. Every
few years, the villagers will dig a hole in a different place, and the old hole is no longer used, so it fills
up and recovers. The process is thus managed so that the tree does not die.
Traditionally, a dry dipterocarp tree will belong to one household that has the right to take resin fromit. One household may have 7 or 8 trees, and at most 10. While it is permitted to take resin, there is noright to log. The right to take resin is handed down from generation to generation.

Crisis of Spirit Forests
In central Laos, some venerated forests thus became conservation forests. Examples of the deep
connection between people’s lives and the forest—as seen in Don Natha Nong Lam where villagers
limited firewood collection of their own initiative—show the potential for effective resource
management by villagers themselves.
Now, however, forests which were once protected by people’s awe of spirits are now being threatenedby expanding plantation forests like rubber, pulp, and sugarcane plantations, because these commercial
activities often involve logging of natural forests. Laos is also rapidly modernizing, so there is a highdemand for non-timber forest products, and there is great interest in dry dipterocarp as timber. As apolicy, Laos is aiming to increase forest cover with commercial forests, but in the past, there havebeen many reports of afforestation projects being used as an excuse to log natural forests.
Effective forest conservation in the Mekong River Basin requires not only taking biodiversity andfood security into consideration, but calls for respecting the value of forests that have been protectedby villagers and spirits. It is important to implement forest management that is appropriate to theregion and not overly obsessed with numerical targets.
ReferencesTran, C. T., X. Q. Le, and V. H. Vu. 2007. The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Development: A Case Study of theVietnam Mountain Regions. In E. K. Boon and L. Hens (eds.) Tribes and Tribals, Special Volume No. 1 Indigenous Knowledge Systems
and Sustainable Development: Relevance for Africa. Kamla-Raj Enterprises 215-224.
Xu, Jianchu, Erzi T. Ma, Duojie Tashi, Yongshou Fu, Zhi Lu, and David Melick. 2005. Integrating Sacred Knowledge for Conservation:
Cultures and Landscapes in Southwest China. Ecology and Society Vol. 10 Issue 2:7.
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss2/art7/

Yuka Kiguchi<3-1>3