Building powerful positive transformation in Laos

One of your current responsibilities is to act as an enabler and facilitator of the Hub Southeast Asia. Do you have a particular connection with this region?  

Having worked in and on Southeast Asia for more than two decades, and with my kids partly growing up there, I have developed a deep personal bond and emotional attachment to this region and its people. This connection can provide a unique perspective, you can understand many things differently and you're embedded in the region. Since the late 1990s, I have seen first-hand big changes in land use and infrastructure development in Laos. Based on the newly constructed Chinese high-speed train, you can now travel from Vientiane to Luang Prabang in two hours. Only a few years ago, the same route used to take seven hours by car. Clearly, there is a need for infrastructure development, but there are frequently only a few winners and many losers. While the macroeconomic development of Laos is stunning and poverty rates are declining, inequality is on the rise.

Laos is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Can you tell us about what you’ve encountered there?

Besides remaining old grown forests in protected areas, Laos harbors a lot of biological assets in its still widespread diverse mosaic landscapes. This includes small-scale agriculture, secondary forest, and aquatic resources. We call it a multifunctional landscape, as it delivers a bundle of different services to many actors from a local to a global level. However, the development rationale of the local political system is still focused on economic development and turning land into capital. The multifunctional landscapes are strongly undervalued in this approach. Laos would have a unique chance to maintain these landscapes and not follow a “develop and clean up later” trajectory as many countries did. At the Wyss Academy, we aim to make a difference by concretely exploring and testing approaches towards another pathway.

The Hub Southeast Asia has undergone a few developments. Where does it currently stand?

Out of the four regional hubs, Southeast Asia is the youngest. Laos implemented some of the strictest COVID-19 measures, including the complete closure of borders until May 2022, which prevented traveling to the country. Digital meetings have limited value in setting up a hub institutionally and building partnerships. So, during this time we have launched some small activities. For example, working with an organization in Thailand to find new ways for small landholders to reinsert native multi-purpose trees into a mono-cultural landscape of maize. This solution promotes landscape heterogeneity with co-benefits for people and nature.

Today, we are very happy to have found a hosting agreement with the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC). This is a regional organization with a vision for local communities and they are actively managing forests in Asia and the Pacific to ensure optimal social, economic, and environmental benefits. Our organizations match very well, and with this locally respected organization we now have a legal basis to work in the region. The next step will be to recruit staff and then things will really start to move.

One of the University of Bern’s strategic research centers, the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), has been a key partner in the region. How are you building on their knowledge?

I was involved with CDE in Laos for a considerable period of time prior to joining the Wyss Academy. CDE is strongly engaged in research for development and at the science-policy interface. It is also highly respected in the region. I would even say they are champions in the field of breaking silos in data and knowledge sharing. They know how to cooperate with multiple ministries and many online data platforms. So yes, we will continue to work with CDE once our hub is established, as they are a valuable knowledge partner in our efforts. We are convinced that sharing our experiences will lead to an even greater impact.

Why is it important to engage partners from the private sector?

Innovation doesn't necessarily come out of science. Frequently, it comes from entrepreneurs at the fringes of science and practice. The private sector, especially social entrepreneurs and startups are a huge source of innovation. Of course, we need to deal with risks like greenwashing, but there's great potential for innovation and we really want to tap into it. One of our partners is Brainforest, a venture studio for forests and climate. We are currently developing an innovation fund mechanism at the Wyss Academy with help from Brainforest and other private sector partners. They have much more experience in-house than we do and we see a lot of mutual benefits. The innovation fund will be piloted and deployed across the hubs in 2023. This has the potential for a powerful positive transformation.