The social dynamics of deforestation and of forest protection are the ongoing interactions amongst social actors and processes that determine the use and management of forests. Based on a vast amount of research and detailed case-studies in Brazil, Central America, Nepal and Tanzania as well as several papers dealing with wider themes and regions, this book argues that most current discussions of increased rates of deforestation and perceived accompanying environmental crises are overly simplistic. Institutional reforms and policy measures that have been undertaken in developing countries usually failed to protect either the forests or people's livelihoods. Technical solutions to deforestation are only one element in what are essentially political questions. The central issue is not how to halt deforestation but rather how to manage forest areas and natural resources in order to meet social goals on a more equitable and sustainable basis. Conventional wisdom that attributes deforestation primarily to peasant ignorance and population growth is questioned as are other single factor explanations such as market and policy failures.

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SOLON L. BARRACLOUGH
KRISHNA GHIMIRE

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Forests and Livelihoods
Book Subtitle: The Social Dynamics of Deforestation in Developing Countries
Authors: Solon L. Barraclough, Krishna B. Ghimire
Series Title: International Political Economy Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230375802
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance Collection, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 1995
eBook ISBN: 978-0-230-37580-2Published: 05 November 1995
Series ISSN: 2662-2483
Series E-ISSN: 2662-2491
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 259
Topics: Political Science, Human Geography, Nature Conservation, Sustainable Development, Development Studies, Sociology, general

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Front Matter

Introduction to Deforestation Issues and the Case-Studies

Deforestation in Historical Perspective

Deforestation and its Impacts in the Case-Study Areas

Grassroots Responses to Deforestation

National and International Forest Protection Initiatives

Constraints and Opportunities for Sustainable Forest Use

Protecting Forests and Livelihoods

Back Matter

About this book