THE TENSION BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTAL LAND USES AND THE CONSERVATION AREA DESIGNATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CREOLES IN CATANIAPO RIVER BASIN, VENEZUELA A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science Hector V. Blanco-Ponce June 2005 This thesis entitled THE TENSION BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTAL LAND USES AND THE CONSERVATION AREA DESIGNATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CREOLES IN CATANIAPO RIVER BASIN, VENEZUELA BY HECTOR V. BLANCO-PONCE has been approved for the Program of Environmental Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences by Nancy Bain Professor of Geography Leslie A. Flemming Dean, College of Arts and Science BLANCO-PONCE, HECTOR V. M.S. June 2005. Environmental Studies The Tension Between Developmental Land Uses and the Conservation Area Designation: A Case Study of the Creoles in Cataniapo River Basin, Venezuela (100 pp.) Director of Thesis: Nancy Bain Shifting cultivation is a contributing activity of deforestation in the Venezuelan tropical forest. It involves slash-and burn techniques as a cheap mean for clearing forestland for agriculture that is not compatible for conservation area designation. This study focuses on a case-study of small farmers settled on a protected area in Venezuela and addresses the question of what are the social aspects of deforestation. The data used to explore these issues consist of a survey of 83 households in 2005. Overall, results indicate that origin, product markets, and off-farm labor opportunities influence deforestation decisions. Households with greater levels of education and off-farm labor income or wealth are relatively new to the area, and are more likely to use the land for residential or recreational purposes. This introduces a new land use system to the area that suggests further research for land use and conservation planning. Approved: Nancy Bain Professor of Geography Acknowledgments This thesis was partially supported by the Fulbright Amazon Basin Program, and the Venezuelan Environment and Natural Resources Agency (MARN). This work could not have been accomplished without the help of the State of Amazonas Environmental Affairs Office (DEA-Amazonas) who provided the personnel and transportation to carry out the field survey and the LandSat-7 satellite image and the cartographic information of the study area. I would like to thank Domingo Noguera, Hugo Chacon, and Jose Sanchez for their help while visiting the farmers on the Cataniapo River Basin; I also would like to thank Kathy Devecka for her encouragement and spiritual support throughout this project, as well for the proofreading and presentation preparation. I am also committed to Dr. Brad Jokisch and Dr. Ariaster B. Chimeli for their constructive comments and advice. I am also especially thankful to Dr. Nancy Bain, my thesis advisor, for her encouragement, advice, and helpful discussions throughout the course of this project. I am indebted to Dr. Gene Mapes, Director of the Environmental Studies Program, for her unconditional support and guidance during my two years at Ohio University and along my stay for thesis defense. Finally I am grateful to my family, friends, and co-workers for all their moral support. 5 Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................4 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................7 List of Figures......................................................................................................................8 Chapter I. Introduction.......................................................................................................10 Background of the study ............................................................................10 Problem statement......................................................................................12 Significance of the study............................................................................13 Overview of methodology .........................................................................15 Delimitation of the study ...........................................................................15 Definitions..................................................................................................16 Chapter II. Literature Review ............................................................................................18 Theoretical literature..................................................................................19 Empirical research .....................................................................................24 Literature review of study area ..................................................................26 Background of the study area ....................................................................28 Chapter III. Hypothesis and Methodology.........................................................................34 Hypothesis..................................................................................................34 Methodology..............................................................................................35 Data collection ...........................................................................................35 Data Problems/Biases ................................................................................41 The biophysical settings.............................................................................42 Geology......................................................................................................43 Climate.......................................................................................................44 Drainage.....................................................................................................45 Vegetation..................................................................................................47 Chapter IV. Results............................................................................................................49 Secondary data collection results...............................................................49 Agricultural and economic uses of land.....................................................53 Households and lots characteristics ...........................................................57 Household agricultural production ............................................................65 Household deforestation ............................................................................69 6 Case study: Morichalito Hiwi Village .......................................................75 Case study: Arawak group family sharing common lands with ‘Las Pavas’ Piaroa Village.........................................................................78 Chapter V. Discussion .......................................................................................................81 Statement of the problem...........................................................................81 Review of the methodology.......................................................................82 Summary of the results ..............................................................................83 Discussion of the results ............................................................................83 References..........................................................................................................................93 7 List of Tables Table 3.1 Vegetation Cover on the Cataniapo River Basin in 1983......................................48 3.2 Landscape Units in Square Kilometers within the entire Cataniapo River Basin Between 1973,1979, and 1984 from Satellite Image Processing...........................48 4.1 Indigenous Communities by Ethnicity and Foundation Year in the Cataniapo River Basin.............................................................................................................51 4.2 Population Growths by Absolute and Rate Terms in the Cataniapo River Basin from1981 to 1999...................................................................................................52 4.3 Variable Definitions...............................................................................................58 4.4 Descriptive Statistics for Households in Cataniapo River Basin Protected Area, Venezuela, 2005.....................................................................................................61 4.5 Hiwi Household Characteristics, Located at the Village of Morichalito compared to Creoles settled on the Cataniapo River Protected Area, Venezuela, 2005........77 8 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Cataniapo River Basin Area.......................................................................................30 3.1 Photo by author: Farmer showing her small coffee plantation..................................36 3.2 Satellite Image of the study area................................................................................37 3.3 Photo by author: Interview carried out with a farmer................................................38 3.4 Photo by the author: Outcrop rock, dark color relates to Rapakivi texture ...............43 3.5 Monthly average precipitation on the upper section of the basin