The Case of the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Acre, Brazil
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DYNAMICS OF LAND USE IN AN AMAZONIAN EXTRACTIVE RESERVE: THE CASE OF THE CHICO MENDES EXTRACTIVE RESERVE IN ACRE, BRAZIL By CARLOS VALÉRIO AGUIAR GOMES A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2001 Copyright 2001 by Carlos Valério Aguiar Gomes To Leinha for everything ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support of a variety of friends, colleagues and mentors. First I thank Dr. Michael Binford, my supervisor for all his help, and constructive criticism, which helped me to strengthen my intellectual independence. I am very thankful to the members of my committee: Dr. Marianne Schmink, Dr. Nigel Smith and Dr. Stephen Perz for their valuable comments, suggestions and guidance. I specially wish to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Schmink for being a constant source of support and encouragement since I first thought about coming to study in the United States. I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Latin American Scholar Program for American Universities (LASPAU)-Fulbright Commission for the fellowship that allowed my enrollment in the graduate school at the University of Florida. In LASPAU I want to thank Ms. Sonia Wallemberg for her wonderful assistance and friendship. I am also grateful to Ms. Rebecca Smith-Murdock and Mr. Amir Abbassi (from the Intensive English Language Institute of the University of North Texas) for the fellowship for English language training. Moreover, I would like to thank the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Brazil), the Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD) at the University of Florida, and the Acre Environmental Agency (IMAC) for funding my research in Acre. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my friend and former advisor Dr. Irving Foster Brown at Federal University of Acre (UFAC). I thank him for his outstanding work iv helping me and many other Amazonian students to make realities out of our dreams. Without his help, mine would have stayed asleep. Also, I want to thank my colleagues and friends who have given me a great deal of help and encouragement to get to this point in my career: Andrea Alechandre, Silvia Brilhante, Hirome Sassagawa, Atila Cristina, William Flores, Eufran Amaral, Elsa Mendosa, Benedita Esteves and Monica de los Rios at the Zoobotanical Park at the UFAC; Arthur Leite, Juceir and Nuria Merched, at the Acre State Department of Forest and Extractivism; Jorge Rebouças at the Rubber Tapper National Council; Josemar Amorim, Manoel Feitosa and José Alberto at the National Center for Traditional Populations; Veronica Passos and Edgard de Deus at the Acre Environmental Agency. I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to Christiane Ehringhaus at Yale University for helping me very much throughout this entire work. I am flattered with the warmth from the rubber tapper families of the Chico Mendes reserve whom have taken me into their homes and shared their knowledge with me. I own them more than I can say. I also wish to thank Francisco C. dos Santos, my field assistant, for his great help. In addition, want to thank my friends at the University of Florida for their support: especially Olendina Cavalcante, Stacey Shankle, Brandon Knox, David Salisbury, Ronaldo Weigand and Richard Wallace. Last but definitely not least, I would like to express my love and thanks to my parents and family for continuously providing me with love and understanding. All of us agree that eleven years ago this degree would have been unthinkable. I specially thank my nephew Sallon Saad and my niece Susy Leia for their love and sweet words, which always energize me and remind me of what is important in life. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ix ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................xi CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 1.1 Problem Statement................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Central Questions ..................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Structure of the Study .............................................................................................. 9 2 DEBATE ABOUT EXTRACTIVE RESERVES ..........................................................11 2.1 Brief History of the Amazon Rubber Boom.......................................................... 11 2.2 Evolution of the Extractivist Development Model in Amazonia........................... 12 2.3 Analysis of the Extractive Reserve Literature ....................................................... 16 2.3.1 General Patterns and Trends in the Debate ..................................................... 17 2.3.2 Social Development Arguments ..................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Economic Arguments...................................................................................... 21 2.3.4 Ecological Arguments..................................................................................... 23 2.4 Achievements and Problems with Extractive Reseves .......................................... 24 3 STUDY SITES AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...............................................27 3.1 Study Site Selection ................................................................................................ 27 3.2 Survey Setting and Planning................................................................................... 30 3.3 Survey Methodology............................................................................................... 31 3.4 Other sources of Data.............................................................................................. 31 3.5 Data Processing Variables and Analysis................................................................. 32 3.6 Environmental Characterization of the CMER....................................................... 34 3.6.1 Climate ............................................................................................................. 34 3.6.2 Watershed/Hydrology...................................................................................... 35 3.6.3 Geology............................................................................................................ 35 vi 3.6.4 Pedology (Soils)............................................................................................... 37 3.6.5 Vegetation........................................................................................................ 37 4 DEFORESTATION TRENDS IN THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVE............................41 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 41 4.2 Deforestation and Land Use Trends in the State of Acre ...................................... 42 4.3 Deforestation rates in the CMER ........................................................................... 44 4.4 Deforestation at the Seringal Level........................................................................ 48 5 HOUSEHOLD DETERMINANTS OF FOREST AND NONFOREST ACTIVITIES54 5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 54 5.2 Characterization of Rubber Tappers’ Settlements in the CMER.......................... 54 5.3 Seasonality – The Rubber Tapper’s Year.............................................................. 55 5.4 Conceptualization of Outcome and Independent Variables................................... 59 5.4.1 Outcome Variables.......................................................................................... 59 5.4.2 Independent Variables..................................................................................... 63 5.5 Correlations Between Outcome and Independent Variables ................................. 66 5.6 Analysis of Multivariable Regression Models....................................................... 69 5.7 Discussion.............................................................................................................. 73 6 DRIVERS OF LAND USE CHANGE IN THE CMER................................................79 6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 79 6.2 Population Dynamics in the CMER....................................................................... 81 6.3 Population Dynamics in the Study Seringais......................................................... 86 6.4 Population Density and Deforestation in the Study Seringais ............................... 91 6.5 Settlement Dynamics in the Study Seringais......................................................... 94 6.6 Changes in the Production System: Seringal Paraguaçu ....................................... 98 6.7 Pasture and Cattle Raising Expansion in the Study Seringais ............................. 102 6.8 Social Organization