A Look at Amazon Basin Seasonal Dynamics with the Biophysical ...

Population, Economy and Land Use in the EcuadorianAmazonRichard E. Bilsborrow and William K.Y. PanCarolina Population CenterUniversity of North Carolina123 W. Franklin StreetChapel Hill, NC 27516USArichard_bilsborrow@unc.eduThis paper will bring together some results from a longitudinal study ofpopulation, socio-economic factors, and land use (including deforestation) in thenorthern Ecuadorian Amazon. This region, comprising the provinces ofSucumbios and Orellana, has experienced an intense process of colonizationduring the past three decades following the discovery of large petroleum fieldsin 1967 near what is now the largest city in the Ecuadorian Amazon, LagoAgrio. To extract the oil, oil companies built a network of roads connectinghundreds of wells to oil pipelines which ultimately fed into the TransAndeanPipeline to the Pacific port of Esmeraldas. The roads made the regionaccessible for the first time to land-starved farmers who migrated to the regionmainly from the Sierra or highlands region. Since the Amazon of Ecuador isone of the world’s 11 “hotspots” of biodiversity (according to the ecologist,Myers), the clearing of its forests to create farms has high ecological costs. Atthe same time, most colonist families are poor. It is therefore important todevelop policies that are more sustainable in the region to both improve thelivelihoods of the poor migrant families as well as to reduce the high rate ofdegradation of the stunning natural environment.As a result we designed a survey of migrant farm households in 1990 to collectdata to investigate these phenomena. With access to lists of colonist settlementareas (called sectors) and the number of original farms per sector from thegovernment Institute of Land Reform and Colonization (IERAC), we were ableto select a probability sample of migrant farm plots. On each plots weinterviewed both heads of households and spouses, obtaining a wealth ofinformation on household composition, fertility and health, migration, land titling,land use and technology, cattle, income, environmental problems, timberextraction, assets, use of local infrastructure, etc. In 1999 we repeated thesurvey on the same plots, providing a rich longitudinal data base on populationand land use. By 1999 the population living on the plots had grown by half dueto both continuing in-migration and subdivision of plots among heirs. At thesame time, forest cover declined from 56 % to 45 %, indicating continuing forestclearing. Data will be shown on demographic changes, socio-economic factors,changes in land use and technology, and interrelationships. In addition, farmplots, households, roads, rivers, local community centers and infrastructure,etc., were all geo-referenced in 1999-2000, permitting placing the study in abroader spatial context. The paper will conclude with a discussion of policyrecommendations and further research needs.