The expansion of the agricultural frontier in the northern Amazon region of Ecuador, 2000–2011: Process, causes, and impact

Oswaldo Viteri-Salazar and Lucía Toledo

Land Use Policy, 2020, vol. 99, issue C

Abstract: The Amazon forest has been characterized as one of the areas with the most extraordinary biodiversity in the world. However, the implementation of public policies throughout history has been one cause of an increasing presence of farmers who exert pressure on resources. The need to determine agricultural frontier growth and document the problem has been addressed by many authors who have focused their research on methodologies based on the use of geographic information systems. However, an approach based on quantitative and qualitative data could be constructive in validating and/or complementing such studies. In our case, from a historical contextualization, we identify the main causes of agricultural frontier expansion and, by analyzing information compiled from surveys and interviews, attempt to establish its main impacts. We found that the rate of deforestation for the period under review is at odds with rates determined by other methodologies. We also conclude that rapid population growth and the implementation of government projects in the area have led, first, to a division of land (farms) and a change in land use and, second, to a significant reduction in the forest cover.

Keywords: Ecuadorian Amazon; Agricultural frontier; Agricultural policies; Population growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N56 O13 Q01 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:99:y:2020:i:c:s0264837720302787

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104986

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