Deforestation in Central America: Historical and Contemporary Dynamics

Abstract

When reading about deforestation in Central America one is usually presented with a list of ‘causes’ which is likely to include the colonization of agrarian frontier regions by land-seeking peasants and commercial farmers, slash and burn agriculture, the so-called ‘hamburger connection’ involving the rapid conversion of forest land to pasture, the expansion of cash crops such as coffee and bananas, logging activities, fuelwood gathering, and additional pressures on forest land exerted through population growth and urbanization. Many of these ‘causes’ of deforestation, however, are really features of a particular style of development that began to take shape during the colonial era, became more pronounced during the late 1800s and ‘took off’ during the latter half of this century.

This paper draws partly on information and analysis contained in Utting (1993) Trees, People and Power: Social dimensions of deforestation and forest protection in Central America (London: Earthscan).