Understanding patterns of tropical deforestation is a crucial issue for Mexico, a country that has lost more than 95% of its original rainforest cover. This paper examines the causes of accelerated deforestation in the Sierra Santa Marta, Veracruz, Mexico, by looking at settlement history and the evolution of productive schemes in the villages of Venustiano Carranza and Magallanes. Both settlements were founded in the 1960s, after the government donated land to landless peasants. Conversion of forests into pastures, after several agricultural enterprises failed, resulted in more than 80% of the original tropical rainforests being removed in both communities between 1960 and 1998. The process of deforestation in the villages differed from models proposed for the Amazon and Central America, in which deforestation responded to capitalintensive efforts to open up the tropical frontier. In the villages, transformation of forests into pastures was, from the beginning, a smallholder phenomenon. Misguided policies and institutional malfunctions appeared to direct households toward deforestation. Nevertheless, environmental deterioration could not only be explained by external causes. Inside the communities, demographic pressure over land, the modification of traditional land tenure systems and the cultural adoption of cattle as a way to overcome poverty were significant factors in the relationship between colonization and forest clearance. Deforestation at Venustiano Carranza and Magallanes cannot be considered an ecologically destructive practice performed by peasants. In fact, the process reflects not only a lack of environmental awareness in national development policies, but also the intricate interaction of ecological, cultural, social and economical variables.
We examine the ways both deforestation and conservation are viewed by people of two villages with different ethnic composition located within the biosphere reserve of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. The rain forest is considered to be important, since it provides many resources and environmental benefits. Residents do notice forest degradation, although deforestation is not one of their major concerns. In the mestizo village, 65% of interviewees indicated they felt responsible for deforestation, while only 30% of indigenous villagers felt the same. In both communities, nearly half the respondents see themselves as powerless to take actions to preserve the forest. We analyzed the management plan for the reserve in light of our results, and found authorities' perceptions differ from that of local communities. This study emphasizes the lack of factual data and common goals for biodiversity conservation. Our work points to the urgency to build conservation efforts that involve the different social actors, who diverge in interests and views, particularly in countries like Mexico, where rich biodiversity regions are also broadly inhabited.
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