Population, Land Use, and Deforestation Population, Land Use, and Deforestation in The Sierra de Lacandónin The Sierra de Lacandón

National Park, Petén, GuatemalaNational Park, Petén, Guatemala**

David L. CarrDavid L. CarrDepartment of Geography andDepartment of Geography andCarolina Population CenterCarolina Population CenterUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Project funding: The Mellon Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Fulbright-Hays Foundation, NASA, The Rand Corporation, Institute for the Study of World Politics, and The Nature Conservancy.

*Due to space constraints, this is a reduced version of the original paper.

2001 Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Research Community October 06th to 08th - 2001 - Rio de Janeiro

Exploring Colonization and Deforestation in Exploring Colonization and Deforestation in the Sierra de the Sierra de Lacandón National ParkLacandón National Park

0 200 Miles

N

EW

SSierra de Lacandon

National Park

Maya Biosphere Reserve

Guatemala

InterviewsInterviews with with community leaders community leaders in all of the twenty-in all of the twenty-eight communities eight communities responsible for responsible for LULCC in the LULCC in the SLNP.SLNP.

SurveysSurveys with 279 with 279 men and 220 men and 220 women from nine women from nine communities.communities.

ResearchResearch Methods and ResultsMethods and ResultsResearch Methods in the Area of Migration Destination: Research Methods in the Area of Migration Destination:

The Sierra de Lacandón National ParkThe Sierra de Lacandón National Park

CLEARED LAND Adjusted R Square: 0.585Unstandardized Standardized

B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

(Constant) 3.65 2.89 1.26 0.21

Household size 0.31 0.19 0.08 1.68 0.09

Educational Achievement -2.93 1.12 -0.11 -2.62 0.01

Land in previous residence 0.17 0.07 0.10 2.26 0.03

Off-farm labor -2.87 1.13 -0.11 -2.55 0.01

Rents land -4.75 1.57 -0.16 -3.02 0.00

Chainsaw Ownership -6.08 2.16 -0.13 -2.81 0.01

Farm size 0.22 0.03 0.40 6.97 0.00

Distance to Road -0.43 0.12 -0.17 -3.64 0.00

Additional agricultural fields 4.42 1.52 0.13 2.91 0.00

Duration on the Farm 1.88 1.15 0.07 1.63 0.10

Soil fertility -1.79 1.15 -0.07 -1.56 0.12

Pasture 5.33 1.49 0.18 3.58 0.00

Velvet Bean and/or herbicides 2.18 0.83 0.12 2.64 0.01

Crops 2008 1.05 0.58 0.08 1.80 0.07

Pasture in 2008 0.21 0.06 0.18 3.58 0.00

Intends to have cattle in 2008 -3.09 1.38 -0.12 -2.24 0.03

Dependent Variable: Cleared land sig. = or > .01 sig. = or > .10

A common denominator A common denominator of the geographically of the geographically diverse migration diverse migration source areas: source areas: unequal unequal access to resourcesaccess to resources due due to land concentration, to land concentration, underemployment, and underemployment, and rapid population rapid population growth.growth.

The Site of Migration Origin: Why did people migrate to the The Site of Migration Origin: Why did people migrate to the SLNP in the first place?SLNP in the first place?

Migration Origin DataPercent of adults engage in in seasonal migration from 1989 to 1999Men 50%Women 50%Principle Destinations Primary employmentGuatemala City Factory or Service worker 30%Local towns and plantations Agricultural laborer/Service worker 30%Peten Agricultural laborer 20%Alta Verapaz Plantation laborer 10%USA Factory or Service worker 10%

Percent of adults permanently out-migrating from 1989 to 1999Men 10%Women 10%Principal Destinations Primary employmentGuatemala City Factory or Service worker 35%Peten Agriculural day laborer 35%USA Factory or Service worker 10%Other Plantation laborer 10%Principal pushes/pulls Work 35%Land 30%Improve living standard/education 20%Natural disasters/Env. degradation 10%