Diversifying incomes and losing landscape complexity in Quilombola shifting cultivation communities of the atlantic rainforest (Brazil)

TY - JOUR

T1 - Diversifying incomes and losing landscape complexity in Quilombola shifting cultivation communities of the atlantic rainforest (Brazil)

AU - Adams, Cristina

AU - Munari, Lucia Chamlian

AU - van Vliet, Nathalie

AU - Murrieta, Riu Sergio Sereni

AU - Piperata, Barbara Ann

AU - Futemma, Celia

AU - Pedroso Jr., Nelson Novaes

AU - Taqueda, Carolina Santos

AU - Abrahão Crevelaro, Mirella

AU - Spressola-Prado, Vãnia Loísa

PY - 2013/2

Y1 - 2013/2

N2 - Shifting cultivation systems have been blamed as the primary cause of tropical deforestation and are being transformed through various forms of conservation and development policies and through the emergence of new markets for cash crops. Here, we analyze the outcomes of different policies on land use/land cover change (LUCC) in a traditional, shifting cultivation landscape in the Atlantic Forest (Brazil), one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots. We also investigate the impacts of those policies on the environment and local livelihoods in Quilombola communities, which are formed by descendants of former Maroon colonies. Our findings show that conservation and social policies have had mixed effects both on the conservation of the Atlantic Forest and on the livelihoods of the Quilombola. We conclude that future interventions in the region need to build on the new, functional links between sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity, where less restrictive state policies leave room for new opportunities in self-organization and innovation.

AB - Shifting cultivation systems have been blamed as the primary cause of tropical deforestation and are being transformed through various forms of conservation and development policies and through the emergence of new markets for cash crops. Here, we analyze the outcomes of different policies on land use/land cover change (LUCC) in a traditional, shifting cultivation landscape in the Atlantic Forest (Brazil), one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots. We also investigate the impacts of those policies on the environment and local livelihoods in Quilombola communities, which are formed by descendants of former Maroon colonies. Our findings show that conservation and social policies have had mixed effects both on the conservation of the Atlantic Forest and on the livelihoods of the Quilombola. We conclude that future interventions in the region need to build on the new, functional links between sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity, where less restrictive state policies leave room for new opportunities in self-organization and innovation.

U2 - 10.1007/s10745-012-9529-9

DO - 10.1007/s10745-012-9529-9

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0300-7839

VL - 41

SP - 119

EP - 137

JO - Human Ecology

JF - Human Ecology

IS - 1

ER -