The Biodiversity on Rotation Land Farming

In an Indigenous Karen Community at Ban Mae Lankhum, Chiangmai

Varaluk Chaitap

Northern Farmer Network, Thailand1

1. Introduction

Surrounded by mountains at 500-1,424 above see level, Ban Mae Lankhum, a Karen village, is located in Amphur Sameung, Chaingmai.  This area is an important watershed of Mae Lanngen, Mae Lankhum, and Mae Lanluang creeks that flow into Mae Khan and Mae Ping rivers. 

The Mae Lan-khum area used to be Lua’s village.   After Lua left their habitation, Karenese (Sakor branch) settled in the place.  Lua temple and cemetery evidence still remained at Ban Hauyyasai, Ban Soblan, Ban Hauyhiay, Gueha, Khunvin, Pamiang and Wat Laung.  This community is estimated to be 700 years old.

‘Daelo’ (a Karen word that means a village skeleton) is indicated, since in the past and until the present time, several household clusters had been established in Mae Lankhum. Moreover, it also illustrates that Mae Lankhum villagers had been established in this area for a long time, as well as the fact that  the Karen rotation land farming has been practiced for a long time. 

Currently, Mae Lankhum consists of 98 households with a total population of 426. It is separated in five clusters namely:

1)       Ban Mae Lankhum cluster  consisting of 10 households, 10 families

1)       Ban Hauyhiay cluster consisting of 12 households, 12 families

1)       Ban Soblan cluster consisting of 18 households, 19 families

1)       Ban Mai cluster consisting of 29 households, 30 families

1)       Ban Hauyyasai cluster consisting of 25 households, 27 families

The land use in Mae Lankhum community is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Land Use in Mae Lankhum Community

2.       Relationship: Community and Biodiversity Management

Natural resource is the most important factor for the survival of local community, especially communities in the forested areas. Each locality has a unique culture and life style to manage natural resource relations.  As the result, the relationship between the community and natural resource is related to their beliefs, thought, and local wisdom of natural resource uses, including the power line relation or property ownership system (See Box 1). 

The System of Value and             Philosophy

                

Local Wisdom of Biodiversity Management

Production System and Biodiversity Maintenance

                                                                                     

The Ownership Relations  (to use, to manage, and to make decision)

                                                           

2.1   The community value and philosophy of natural resource management

The ethnic groups and local residents who had lived and depended on natural resource for long time must bind and respect nature that has given them lives to survive for many generations.

The Karenese of Mae Lankhum firmly believed that

 “Nature and all things on the earth do not belong to humans but to God.  Humans just asks for its use and to take care of them.”

A legend often told to the children is that “Ghokho is the god-like who came and created the earth.  Before he went back he assigned “Meukhaklor” to protect and keep eyes on everything on the earth.  Meukhaklor was the ancestor of all humans.  Later, the ancestor spirit became the guardian spirit of the forests (Seghorjar), the guardian spirit of the mountains (Khorjorghorjar), the guardian spirit of the water (Teeghorjar) and the guardian spirit of the earth (Horkhoghorjar).”

Because of these beliefs, villagers perform natural resource use-related ceremonies to ask permission through the spiritual leader or “Hikho”.  Hikho's position is passed directly to decendants.  The current Hikho is a descendant from the first Hikho since the village was established.  As result, Hikho is the social leader who plays an important role in assigning the natural resource uses for the community.  He chooses the locations for both the village and the site for rotation farm each year.  He leads the ceremonies related to natural resource (because he can  communicate to the natural owner) and oversee the village’s rules and traditions. 

However, the village’s beliefs are changing due to the current conditions and situations.  Nowadays, the community property ownership is developed through an agreement that is based on the situations and conditions between villagers and community property.  This agreement is still controlled by the community’s ideological natural resource manager or "Tarlorjoewlortor" (a Karenese word meaning sustainability to descendant).  It sustains the existence of the natural resources and the Karenese culture.  According to the community, the components of the natural resources are as follow:

·        The fertile land to produce plenty and safe food for all residents

·        The richness forest as watershed, and has rich biodiversity of plants and animals that support each other to balance the wild, to produce food (plant, animal, and mushroom) for both human and animal consumption, to provide medicine plant or herb, and wood for community uses.

·        The abundance of water resource that is clean and non-toxic, to support water for community drinking, cooking and using all year long.

”Tarsabel" is a Karenese word meaning an independent community, i.e., without trespasser, dominance and controller.  Tarsabel could mean “Peace and Freedom”.  The community proposed that:

·        The community can access, use, manage, take care of, make decision, and protect local natural resource.

·        Community can plan, and set procedure of using, managing and recovering local natural resource in an appropriate way for local community life style, wisdom, belief and tradition.

·        Community can choose and make decision related to community changes, such as development project, and cash crop extension, that came from outside.

All the above factors are reflections and thoughts of the local community on natural resource management and the rights relations.  The community classified the relationship between human and natural resource under the community right or power is public’s right to manage natural resource with community’s paradigm, knowledge, and belief by community.  The detail of the right system will be discussed in the next section.

2.2   Production System and Biodiversity Maintenance on farm

Short Cultivation period with long fallow, farming one year and leaving 5-7 years for recovery, is the major production system of Ban Mae Lankhum.  The other systems are paddy field, integrated farm, and agro-forest, tea tree or makawn in natural forest. This rotation farming system produces a variety of food plants.  The fallow period in the farming fields also produces a diversity of plants and animals, including medicines and other uses.

2.3   The Biodiversity on Rotation Land Farming

The Karen production system at Ban Mae Lankhum and its succession produces rich biodiversity (Table 2)

Table 2.  The Biodiversity on Rotation Land Farming

The Karen rotation farm system is like a local food plant genetic bank.  The documentation of food plant diversity in Ban Mae Lankhum illustrated both species richness and fundamental niches. 

Table 3.  The Variety of Food Plant on the Rotation Farming System

2.4   Local Knowledge of the Food Seed Variety Management

The Karenese elderly narrate that in the past time, the Karenese used to have more than 200 rice varieties.  However, at present time, only 28 varieties remain in the Mae Lankhum. The other remaining food plants consist of 29 species with varieties. The conditions for protecting native plant varieties are not only the rotation land farming system but also the knowledge on seeds that the female Karenese have kept, practiced and taught from one generation to another.

There s a Karenese saying that goes, “Rice paddy is men’s, Field is women’s.”   The Karenese clearly divide male and female roles based on differences in knowledge, ability, and strength. Uncle Tayae, an old Karen men said,

“Rice paddies require only the strength for ploughing the soil and to transplant rice seedlings. However, the field grows many plants and requires several skills, for instance, the appropriate location for each crop. The female is subtler. Particularly skill such as seed harvesting and selecting is an intensive work.  Each plant has a number of varieties that we (male) could not remember.  Women had learned from their mothers and they bring seeds from their parents’ homes to their husband's families.  Seeds are kept in the kitchen. This makes the women very knowledgeable about seeds.”

Although in rotation farm consists of planting a diversity of plants, these plants support each other.  So, the farmers must learn to fully comprehend the nature of the earth and the nature of each specific seed.  This knowledge had been learned, elevated to tribal wisdom, and passed from one generation to another. This Karenese women’s wisdom of seed management includes seed selection and preservation.  In addition, they are also knowledgeable about appropriate location for planting each crop, soil fertility and management and specific techniques for growing different species.   

2.5   Seed Selection and Preservation

The Karenese kitchen is not only a cooking room, but also serve as seed and tool storage room. The kitchen is a cleverly designed limited area to be useful and harmonious to their life style.  The fireplace has a quadrilateral zinc tray that contains soil and ash. It is set in equidistantly on a space on the floor. Set in a triangle, the three rocks make a perfect tripod oven that can support a pot and with enough space left for the firewood.  Above the fireplace, there is a set of bamboo shelves with  two - three levels.  The bamboo or rattan tool, such as mat, basket, spade-holder, and winnowing basket were put on the highest shelf.  These tools were smoked until dry, black shiny, and free from insect or wood weevil.  The second shelf is for newly acquired tools and the seed container.  Seeds were wrapped in cloth and put into the basket in preparation for growing in the garden or in the field. The lowest shelf is for the fresh food and food prepared for the next meal. Examples of those placed in this shelf are dry meat, rice in the husks for next day pounding, dry mashed soybean, salt, dry chili and other utensils.

Some kind of seeds are hanged on the shelf poles or tucked in the kitchen roof.  Each plant needs different heat and moisture.  The heat from fireplace dries the seeds to appropriate moisture content that is specific for different types of seeds. The heat gradient is created by the difference in the distance of the shelves from the heat source. Meanwhile, the smoke from the fireplace repels wood weevil, insect, and mouse. Women have to understand the nature of plants in order to store them in different locations.  This knowledge was accumulated for a longtime.

The varieties of the seeds of food plants in each family come from both internal and external community exchanges.  For example, some plants were Hmoung (a highland tribe) varieties such as Beukaekha (Hmoung term for corn).  Furthermore, some seed were sometimes acquired   accidentally.  An example is the rice variety 'Beushorme'. A tribesman caught a wild chicken and found found rice grains in that chicken’s neck when it was he cut. He grew that rice and named it “wild chicken rice” (Beushorme).

Women or housewives play an important role of seed preservation because they are more meticulous. Consequently, it became a woman's traditional role in Karen agriculture. Although they freely share or exchange seeds among families and communities, there is a condition related to their belief.  The Karenese believe that the spirit, fate or primary element between seeds and humans, and between seeds and earth (niche ecosystem) would protect the community seeds.  For them, all seeds have spirits, so that only the right person, whose spirit, fate or primary element is compatible with seed’s, could grow and propagate that seed successfully.  The seed guardian would not give any seed to the others unless people ask for it at home and the owner (housewife) has final decision on whether the seed would be given or not. In case the decision is to give the seed, the owner would not give more than three varieties of the seed to others.

Additionally, there are several factors related to the existence of the indigenous seeds.  The internal conditions are the niche ecosystem, including climate, soil, forest, and farming ceremonies. The external conditions are the government policy, such as the proclamation to conserve forest, the diminishing farmlands, slowing field recovery, and commercial crop extension programs.  All of these factors effect on land biophysical and local seed extinction. 

Table 4.  Local Food Plant Seed Selection and Preservation

Table 5. Examples of Rice Selection and Preservation at Mae Lankhum

2.6   Local wisdom for soil identification for proper plant growth

In addition to the wealth of wisdom of the Karen women on the nature of the seed, they also have a comprehensive knowledge about the nature of the earth/soil for proper growth of plants. Each crop species requires different soil characteristic. Knowledge about soil characteristics for proper plant growth is based on the following:

1.       Haukhoblour is 'termite-hill' soil. The farmers piled up with tree branches and grass over it and burn it.  This soil is good for "pop rice" (Burnatee, Burpurlur, Burpator, Buryurmae), sweet potato, and chili.

2.       Haukhoaulocgu is the soil near the root zone of burned stump. This soil is red-pink in color and is good for planting Kheu or taro.

3.       Haukhojeuyu is the soil in the area where tree branches and leaves were burned.  During field clearing, farmers collect small pieces of branches and piled them up then burn them. This soil is good for chili pepper and eggplant.

4.       Haukhoshorshaevuy is small-decomposed soil grains.  When stepped on, it merges into the earth because of air spaces inside.  This kind of soil is not good for any plant.  Rice would initially thrive until it is about 6 inches in height, then it would turn yellow and dry.

5.       Haukholourborbaegla is gritty soil.  It is not proper for any plant. Rice could grow on it but will not give good results.

6.       Haukhosu is black soil.  This kind of soil is located on the creekside.  It is proper for all plants, but farmers would usually grow chili pepper, eggplant, corn, Chinese parsley, Hauwo, Surglour, and Solanum sp in this type of soil.

7.       Haukhoteeneethi is soil close to the creek.  It is ideal for sugarcane growing.

2.7   The Wisdom of Plant Growing Technique Related to Farm Location

1.       The common property, state property and private property in natural resource management are quite distinct Fence plants are pumpkin, wax-gourd, yam and gourd.  Because these creeper plants climb around poles if planted in the rice field, it would provide an obstacle while harvesting rice.

2.       The other plants that could be mixed with rice include cucumbers, beans, and Shipode.  These creeper plants grow on the earth so they did not climb on the rice stem.

3.       Red and yellow flower seeds are contained in spade holder. When farmers spades the ground to make a hole for seed, those flower seeds also fell off.  The colorful flowers that are produced makes the field colorful and makes the farmers work with joy.   

4.       Plants such are sorghum, Peacherplo, Peaserbare, cotton, corn, and popped rice are broadcasted or scattered in the field. These plants grow easily germinates easily. However, if grown to close to each other, there would be competition for food, water and light and weak plants will result. .

5.       Seeds that are scattered near burnt stump, branches and termite mound are eggplant, chili pepper, lettuce, Hauwo, Nor, tobacco, and sesame because these plants thrive in the ash soil.

6.       Seeds of creeping plants that are scattered around to grow and climb on dead trees in the field are Turgosa, Borbasa, and Borbapurvi. Dead trees such as Saecake are left in the field for the creeper plants.   

12.   The Property Ownership System in Natural Resource of the Community

Property ownership of natural resource is traditionally “Common Property”.  However, nowadays, the concepts of "State Property" and "Private Property" have intruded into community.  Each community has different ways to adjust to the new situation depending on several factors.  However, the traditional system of valuation and the philosophy related common property is still strong in the communities (Fig 2). 

Figure 2.  The Comparison of the Property Ownership Relations of State/ Private Property and Common Property

	State/ Private Property

-         Control -         Effective -         Economical profit

                                                       

                                                        State

                                                      Private                Common

                                                       Monopoly          Liberty

                                                         Value and Philosophy

-         Community liberty -         Natural resource sustainable -         Food security

                                                                                                                                                                                     

Common Property

                                                              

                                                         Families    Community     

                                                 Use and utilization

                                                 Communication

                                                 Negotiation

                                                 Agreement

12.1            Common Property : Community-Based Natural Resource Management

Asset in farm land

The assets in a farmland include natural food, water resource, medicine, wood, firewood, and whatever is found in that farmland.  Generally, private property is absolutely owned by the owner, both land and all assets contained therein.  In contrast, common property does not separate between occupancy and utilization of the land. The asset in farmland is public and community member may able to use it. As the Karenese would say,  “He who works, owns”. The tradition of sharing and giving are still very strong in the community.

Rotation Land Farm.

In Ban Mae Lankhum, the family which has continuously used the land, gets the right to the land. The family can pass on this right to the children or grandchildren. However, in the rotation land farming system, even if the a family occupies the land already, the other families may be able to use that land in cases of a land crisis. Furthermore, farm activities, such as field clearing, dousing of forest fires, planting and harvesting are collaborative activities involving all households. As the result, the harvested crops in the field are not reserved solely the landowner. Other families that have insufficient products could share with their relatives. Since the first to sixth year in in non-farmed fields has different varieties of food plants, medicines, animals, wood etc, all community members can access and use all of these assets.

Decision making about rotation land use is the public’s decision. For instance the community must agree in a before any family can change the land use for other purposes, such as converting a rice paddy field or garden to permanent cash crops.  The rotation land farming system is managed as community property, but the family and relatives own the products from the land.

Garden

A typical Ban Mae Lankhum Karenese garden includes “makhan”(a spicy plant), tea and mixed garden.  The community accepts that the pioneer farmer who first farms that garden has the right to use and benefit from garden and all assets without any exclusion. Generally, the owner who first occupied and uses both natural trees such as makhan or tea and planted fruit trees such as banana, pomelo, jackfruit and mango has the right to its production. However, depending on community context and community procedure, rule and agreement, the community would participate in the land management.

Patee Dang, as an example, owns two makhan gardens. These garden used to be field, but it is located nearby the creek and its ecosystem is proper for tree and rattan. During the past 4-5 years, makhan became a commercial crop that the merchants from town needs.   Patee Dang decided to quit farming, and let makhan grow.  Now, in this 5 rai plantation, he has 60 makhans, 20 rattan, and 5 pomelo trees. Other people could not have the makhan, rattan and pomelo without his permission, but they get medicine herb, riverbank vegetable, and fishes for food. 

Rice Paddy Field 

This is similar to garden system, e.g. that the pioneer farmer is the owner.  The other assets in rice paddy are not as diverse as in rotation land and gardens.  The owner’s family and relatives get the rice yield while members of the community are allowed to harvest vegetables and access to other animals, such as mouse, frog, fish, crab, shrimp, and shell, etc.

Family Property

The house property of each family includes the house, land, animal, and plants. Traditionally, Karenese family descends from the female. When they get married, the man would move in with the wife's family. The wife’s parents would divide land for new couple. If the new family needs to use wood to build their own house, they need permission from community’s committee before they can cut any trees. They could build their house in the parents’ land if the other relatives allow. But, if they would like to build in public land, the community members would discuss and make decision in the community meeting. Once the house is built, it became family property. However, this arrangement is not absolute. The community situation and agreement could make changes.  An example of this issue happened when a Karenese woman got married to a man. After marriage, that woman’s parents passed a way so she inherited her parents’ house. However, the husband asked the wife to move with him in his house in the town. He also contracted to sale the house and land to the another lowland person without seeking advise from the community.  Later, the new owner decided to demolish the property to build a new house.  The community discussed and  finally decided use the community fund to buy back the land and house back. 

13.   The Community Right in Natural Resource Management

The Mae Lankhum community views natural resource management, including bio-resources based on the following figure:

Community Right All resource and land in the community are common property. There are community land management map, agreement, and procedure to control and manage natural resource and land. Approved by Community Forestry Bill -         Community procedure of community forestry -         Clearly management plan -         Community organization -         Community forest committee to work with organization -         The committee from outside as stated in community forest bill Common Property -         Community occupy -         Family manage and use -         Procedure of decision making -         Agreement of use and benefit for community Private (Family)-Common Property -         Family occupy -         Family use, manage, benefit -         Community make decision of use base on community procedure

              Community   Rotation  Rice Paddy                              

                    forest    land        garden  

                                             house                 

   Community forest

                                                                                    -

            Rotation land                                        

                     Rice paddy

                   Garden/house

14.   The Community Procedure and Agreement of Land and Assets Management

The following summarizes the prohibitions and duties related to land and assets management.

Community right or common property is absolutely distinct from the liberal concept, which implies that they were same. The management in common property system emphasizes equity, and sustainability, but not competitiveness to strive and destroy.  Moreover, the moral and ethic philosophies are important control system of community uses. The case study found that community potentials of nature and biodiversity maintenance are completely related to community philosophy, local wisdom and the system of power line management between human and community property. The most important external condition that destroys community potential is the economic development from the outside. If internal relationship systems were neglected, community would weak and became dependent.

Furthermore, the policy of preservation forest and conservation forest that claims on community land is another factor affecting on community management.   On one hand, it pressured community to oppose the government. For example, the government is proposing community right systems such as community forestry for natural resource management, aquatic animal preserve zone, community procedure and plan of land management. These proposals tend to oppress the community system of natural resource management and local farming system. Arresting villagers for clearing their rotation land, un-farmimg and pressuring them to plant monoculture forest on community rotation land destroy the community's ability towards sustainable land and natural management.  If the monoculture forest was planted over villagers’rotation land, the villagers had to decrease land recovery period from 6 years to 2-3 years.  Consequently, soil quality will diminish, and some local food plants will became distinct because they could not grow in poor soil.

In conclusion, “Community potential of bio-resource diversity maintenance” is related to several issues (Fig 3).

            Figure 3 Factors of Community Potential of Bio-resource Diversity Maintenance

In addition of internal community factors that provide community potential of bio-resource maintenance, the policy support and community working process are important in strengthening the community as well.

The case study recommends the following for policy related to “community rights” as a means to sustainable natural resource management.  

1.       The government should admit that  “community rights” is property ownership system equal to state and private property ownership system.  This should be considered could by the parliament who approved community forest bill and people’s draft. The government should enact laws that recognize fundamental community rights.  The government could also set new laws to support community-based natural resource management, for example, land laws for common property confirmation. 

2.       The learning process of bio-resource management and the importance of local wisdom should be promoted.  The promotion should emphasize learning by participation rather than by direct education. For example, there should be a local curriculum about the important of bio- resource and local wisdom and how the local people could participate in activities related to this.  Campaigning or public forum should be provide to the public on these issues; bio-resource situation, bio-piracy, patenting, intellectual property law, plant species protection bill, and Thai traditional medicine and wisdom protection bill.

3.       Participatory research should be provided and supported at community level to raise local people awareness and participation in bio-resource protection.  The action research should be conducted to collaborate with local communities to plan bio-resource management, such as, community’s plans of indigenous seeds management and herb and wisdom of traditional medicine.

4.      The government should recognize and support the varieties of local community in natural resource management and farming system. For instance, rotation land farming, tea and makhan agroforestry, rice and maize field, etc because these systems protect bio-resource in the ecosystem.     

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