Forest communities and legal timber in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract:

Three groups of people inhabit Ecuador’s amazonian ecosystems: indigenous peoples, settlers and a migratory population. indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of the region and live mostly in vast areas of tropical rainforest. They belong to 13 different nations. Together, indigenous groups and settlers own about 60% of the remaining forest area (palacios and Freire 2004); 40% is within protected areas (pas). Shifting cultivation has traditionally been practised in harmony with natural forest dynamics. With the construction of roads and the involvement of indigenous people in the market, however, the possibilities and need for income have increased (Fundación natura 2010). after 1970, more and more settlers began migrating to the amazon, converting the native forest into pastures and croplands while harvesting wood for sale. Their farmlands usually cover 40 to 50 hectares (Kautz 2004). The migratory population is linked to oil exploration and in many ways is responsible for most of the threats to the amazon rainforest. The opening of the forest by roads, the introduction of substantial economic resources and the demand for local resources have had a severe impact on the forest.

Año de publicación:

2010

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Fuente:

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