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 Printable version |
From forest landscape to tree landscape? The case of the Velasco Ibarra farming plots (Churute, Ecuador) |
Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 17, Number 5, 479-87, Septembre-Octobre 2008, Étude originale
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 Résumé
Article gratuit
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Author(s) : Samuel Perichon |
Summary : At the foot of Cerro Simalón, fifty forest plots measuring 74 acres were allocated to agricultural labour families in 1961. When they arrived in Churute, the settlers built small houses and established subsistence gardens. Thereafter, they deforested large areas to sow rice and build new houses on stilts made of bamboo and wood. Fire was the first tool that farmers used to destroy the forest. According to the Churute farmers, the conversion of native forest to commercial plantations and pasture land contributed to the economic growth and to the fight against poverty. However, what is right for a forest, may not be good for a tree. Indeed, the sale of fruit is an additional source of income. The farmers sell mainly cocoa, green lime and avocado. Several wholesale farmers’ markets are located in Milagro. On the other hand, timber production is not regarded as a priority, with financial returns seeming to be too far away to comprehend or to represent an advantage. The arrival of stockbreeders in the 1980s implied potential changes in the landscape composition and structure. Cattle breeding encourages a return to native trees in the direct form of support for the regeneration of pioneer trees or the planting of tree plantations and indirect support in the construction of defensive hedges. These changes in the landscape might be the visible consequences of the evolution of agricultural and social pratices. |
Keywords : economy and rural development, forestry, natural resources and environment |
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