Livelihoods matter – A comparative political ecology of forest use on Hispaniola
Marzelius, Milla and Droste, Nils LU
(2022)
In Forest Policy and Economics
141.
- Abstract
Forests provide grounds for human well-being through direct material, indirect environmental, and immaterial contributions. Here, we analyze the example of Hispaniola to understand reasons for (un)sustainable forest use. We pursue a dynamic comparative case study of the island's two countries from a political ecology perspective. From the literature, we derive a set of socio-economic hypotheses for the cause of de- and reforestation. Methodologically, we combine historical analysis and longitudinal comparisons with institutional analysis. We find that it was a governance mix of economic incentives, civil society driven initiatives, and alternative sources of energy that made the difference between reforestation in the Dominican Republic... (More)
Forests provide grounds for human well-being through direct material, indirect environmental, and immaterial contributions. Here, we analyze the example of Hispaniola to understand reasons for (un)sustainable forest use. We pursue a dynamic comparative case study of the island's two countries from a political ecology perspective. From the literature, we derive a set of socio-economic hypotheses for the cause of de- and reforestation. Methodologically, we combine historical analysis and longitudinal comparisons with institutional analysis. We find that it was a governance mix of economic incentives, civil society driven initiatives, and alternative sources of energy that made the difference between reforestation in the Dominican Republic and deforestation in Haiti. We do not find evidence that it was population density or education levels that caused the difference. Colonial history can explain older differences but not divergent trends that started in the 1980s. Our findings suggest that if people shall stop overusing forests, they need alternative opportunities to maintain their livelihood and show how this has been accomplished in the Dominican Republic.
(Less)
- author
- Marzelius, Milla
and Droste, Nils
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Dynamic comparative case-study, Political ecology, Sustainable land use
- in
- Forest Policy and Economics
- volume
- 141
- article number
- 102765
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85131349536
- ISSN
- 1389-9341
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102765
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors
- id
- bb72a04d-8f85-4500-87be-e61ebccfbba3
- date added to LUP
- 2022-07-16 16:06:11
- date last changed
- 2023-05-10 11:43:46
@article{bb72a04d-8f85-4500-87be-e61ebccfbba3,
abstract = {{<p>Forests provide grounds for human well-being through direct material, indirect environmental, and immaterial contributions. Here, we analyze the example of Hispaniola to understand reasons for (un)sustainable forest use. We pursue a dynamic comparative case study of the island's two countries from a political ecology perspective. From the literature, we derive a set of socio-economic hypotheses for the cause of de- and reforestation. Methodologically, we combine historical analysis and longitudinal comparisons with institutional analysis. We find that it was a governance mix of economic incentives, civil society driven initiatives, and alternative sources of energy that made the difference between reforestation in the Dominican Republic and deforestation in Haiti. We do not find evidence that it was population density or education levels that caused the difference. Colonial history can explain older differences but not divergent trends that started in the 1980s. Our findings suggest that if people shall stop overusing forests, they need alternative opportunities to maintain their livelihood and show how this has been accomplished in the Dominican Republic.</p>}},
author = {{Marzelius, Milla and Droste, Nils}},
issn = {{1389-9341}},
keywords = {{Dynamic comparative case-study; Political ecology; Sustainable land use}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Forest Policy and Economics}},
title = {{Livelihoods matter – A comparative political ecology of forest use on Hispaniola}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102765}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102765}},
volume = {{141}},
year = {{2022}},
}