Socioeconomic Drivers of Deforestation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon |
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Authors: | Carlos F Mena Richard E Bilsborrow Michael E McClain |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Geography and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 321 Saunders Hall, CB# 3220, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA;(2) Department of Biostatistics and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA;(3) Environmental Studies Department, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA |
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Abstract: | Investigations of land use/land cover (LULC) change and forest management are limited by a lack of understanding of how socioeconomic
factors affect land use. This lack also constrains the predictions of future deforestation, which is especially important
in the Amazon basin, where large tracts of natural forest are being converted to managed uses. Research presented in this
article was conducted to address this lack of understanding. Its objectives are (a) to quantify deforestation in the Northern
Ecuadorian Amazon (NEA) during the periods 1986–1996 and 1996–2002; and (b) to determine the significance and magnitude of
the effects of socioeconomic factors on deforestation rates at both the parroquia (parish) and finca (farm) levels. Annual
deforestation rates were quantified via satellite image processing and geographic information systems. Linear spatial lag
regression analyses were then used to explore relationships between socioeconomic factors and deforestation. Socioeconomic
factors were obtained, at the finca level, from a detailed household survey carried out in 1990 and 1999, and at the parroquia
level from data in the 1990 and 2001 Ecuadorian censuses of population. We found that the average annual deforestation rate
was 2.5% and 1.8%/year for 1986–1996 and 1996–2002, respectively. At the parroquia level, variables representing demographic
factors (i.e., population density) and accessibility factors (i.e., road density), among others, were found to be significantly
related to deforestation. At the farm level, the factors related to deforestation were household size, distance by road to
main cities, education, and hired labor. The findings of this research demonstrate both the severity of deforestation in the
Northern Ecuadorian Amazon and the array of factors affecting deforestation in the tropics. |
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Keywords: | Amazon Ecuador Deforestation Population-environment Colonization Socioeconomic drivers Land use/land cover (LULC) |
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