Theorizing Land Cover and Land Use Change: The Peasant Economy of Amazonian Deforestation

Abstract

This article addresses deforestation processes in the Amazon basin, using regression analysis to assess the impact of household structure and economic circumstances on land use decisions made by colonist farmers in the forest frontiers of Brazil. Unlike many previous regression-based studies, the methodology implemented analyzes behavior at the level of the individual property, using both survey data and information derived from the classification of remotely sensed imagery. The regressions correct for endogenous relationships between key variables and spatial autocorrelation, as necessary. Variables used in the analysis are specified, in part, by a theoretical development integrating the Chayanovian concept of the peasant household with spatial considerations stemming from von Thünen. Results from the empirical model indicate that demographic characteristics of households, as well as market factors, affect deforestation in the Amazon basin associated with colonists. Therefore, statistical results from studies that do not include household-scale information may be subject to error. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that environmental policies in the Amazon based on market incentives to small farmers may not be as effective as hoped, given the importance of household factors in catalyzing the demand for land. The article concludes by noting that household decisions regarding land use and deforestation are not independent of broader social circumstances, and that a full understanding of Amazonian deforestation will require insight into why poor families find it necessary to settle the frontier in the first place.

Rural household demographics, livelihoods and the environment

“…Chayanov, a Soviet economist, observed that peasant farming households possessed farms of different sizes, and that well-endowed households with many family workers typically possessed larger holdings than those constrained by labor shortages; aging couples then bequeathed land to their children in a subsequent stage of asset disinvestment. Although not explicitly developed for frontier situations, his theory suggests that household size at a given time is related to the amount of land that would be cleared for cultivation in environments characterized by land abundance and labor scarcity Caldas et al, 2007).…”

“…More recent work in Altamira, Santarém, and Uruará (all in Pará, Brazil) questions the interpretations of past findings as household life cycle effects. Once the time since acquiring the property is controlled, the household age has no significant effect on land use (VanWey et al, 2006;Caldas et al, 2007). In addition, the pace of conversion to profit-oriented systems, especially ranching, appears to occur very quickly, too "fast" for the impacts of dependency on household decision-making to manifest, as anticipated by Chayanov (Aldrich et al, 2006).…”

“…Studies have sought to go beyond the attribution of environmental degradation to high fertility and associated population increase. Instead, they have investigated the relationships among population variables (household size, age and sex composition, fertility, on-farm population density, migration, and mortality), biophysical variables (forest cover, coastal mangroves, and soil quality), and natural resources (firewood, timber, non-timber forest products, bushmeat and water) in the Amazon Basin, Central America, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania, and Africa (e.g., Walker and Homma, 1996;Homewood, 1997;Pichón, 1997;Entwisle et al, 1998;Zaba and Madulu, 1998;Ezra and Kiros, 2001;Adger et al, 2002;McCracken et al, 2002;Vance and Geoghegan, 2002;Liu et al, 2005;Moran et al, 2005;Caldas et al, 2007). The research teams involved in these efforts have spanned the social and environmental sciences and have employed a wide range of methodologies, such as household surveys, participant observation, ground-level analyses of biophysical variables, and integration of remotely sensed imagery.…”

Procesos políticos y estructurales de la deforestación en la Amazonía: el caso de Tena, Ecuador (2014)

“…Aunque en ciertas regiones de la Amazonía la agricultura a gran escala para la producción de biocombustibles se ha expandido de forma muy extensa y visible, la agrícola migratoria sigue muy vigente entre unidades familiares de agricultores y ganaderos, particularmente migrantes o colonos, no solo en diversas regiones tropicales de América Latina, sino también en África y en Asia (Caldas et al, 2007;Aldrich et al, 2006;Brondizio, 2009;Perz, Aramburú y Bremmer, 2005;Perz, 2002;Bilsborrow, 1997). Es por ello que, como resultado del calentamiento global, la agricultura de roza y quema ha adquirido nuevamente un interés tanto el mundo académico como en aquellas instituciones públicas encargadas de enfrentar y mitigar el impacto de la deforestación del bosque tropical y su contribución al propio cambio climático.…”

Assessing the Impact of Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) on the Livelihood Assets of Women in the Sheabutter Processing Business in Karaga District of Northern Ghana

“…However, majority of these women do not have adequate access to capital and training. Sheabutter processing, groundnut oil processing, local soap production and petty trading are some of the major activities that these women are engaged in and which can improve the livelihoods of rural women (Caldas et al, 2007). It is against this background that the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) is embarking on micro-credit scheme in the Karaga, Gushegu and Yendi districts of the Northern region of Ghana to provide financial and social intermediation services to women to enable them improve upon their micro-businesses for improved livelihoods.…”