Are Ecological Modernization Narratives Useful for Understanding and Steering Social-Ecological Change in the Argentine Chaco?

Matías E. Mastrangelo and Sebastián Aguiar
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Matías E. Mastrangelo: Grupo de Estudio de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales (GEAP), Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Balcarce 7620, Argentina
Sebastián Aguiar: Laboratorio de Análisis Regional y Teledetección (LART), IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1417DSE, Argentina

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 13, 1-20

Abstract: During the past decades, the Ecological Modernization Theory, and associated ideas such as the Forest Transition Theory and Land Sparing Hypothesis, have dominated the academic and policy arenas regarding the solutions to current environmental crises. However, critiques were raised as these theories, originally conceived for developed countries, started to be applied in developing countries for explaining and prescribing social-ecological transitions. Here, we assess the validity of five key assumptions of Ecological Modernization narratives as applied to the Argentine Chaco, a global deforestation hotspot. We reviewed existing literature and conducted straightforward analysis to disentangle relationships among key variables. Although agriculture intensified, there is no evidence that this intensification inhibited agricultural expansion. Rural depopulation took place between 2001 and 2010; however, deforestation rates did not decrease, and the quality of life of migrants did not increase compared to those that stayed in rural areas. Our review suggests that the consequences of agriculture intensification on biodiversity and the provision of multiple ecosystem services exceeds the area used. Therefore, available evidence does not support the assumed causal relationships of Ecological Modernization, and even contradicts most assumptions. We propose a series of analytical shifts to better capture the complexity of social-ecological transitions in modern commodity frontiers.

Keywords: forest transition; land sparing; agricultural adjustment; rural-urban migrations; land use change; deforestation; agricultural frontiers; agriculture intensification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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