Poverty, coffee cultivation and deforestation in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest: Achieving a sustainable livelihood through education and public participation

Moira Achinelli (2004)

INTRODUCTION

Previous research by Watson (2000) in the Rosário da Limeira municipality, indicates that the major cause related to the Brazilian Mata Atlântica rain forest destruction has been connected to the expansion of the agricultural frontier principally for coffee cultivation. Therefore, a land management strategy has been proposed by the author to break out of the cycle of deforestation, coffee cultivation and land degradation.

AIMS

The paper analyzes livelihood diversification through community education as a strategy to promote economic diversification and agriculture as a sideline activity in order to reduce poverty and prevent deforestation. The land management plan proposed by Watson (2000) to tackle the problem of land degradation during the transition period is evaluated. In addition, the importance of public participation to implement the land management plan is discussed, as well as, to improve the family income during the transition term. It is argued that education is not only a necessary requisite for livelihood diversification but also to promote and improve public participation.

METHODOLOGY

The study of the local conditions, as well as the interviews were carried out with the assistance of the Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research Center. Research consisted of daily interaction with Amigos de Iracambi and informal conversations with local peasants, rural women and community leaders. In addition, the author participated in local activities, events and talks.  Supplementary primary sources were obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants, including local community leaders, as well as key actors from local agricultural organizations, associations and NGOs. Additional interviews were also conducted with groups of rural women and farmers, children from different communities and from the local school.

DISCUSSION

It is argued throughout this paper that poverty is not the primary cause behind deforestation, and that the main driving forces of deforestation in the Rosário da Limeira and Muriaé municipalities are the economic pattern of development. The study is concerned not only with poverty as a cause of deforestation but also with poverty in itself in order to show possible pathways towards a more sustainable livelihood. Third, the land management plan proposed by Watson (2000) is considered to be a valuable short-term strategy to slow deforestation but not sustainable in the long run. The paper analyzes the livelihood diversification through community education as a strategy to promote economic diversification and agriculture as a sideline activity in order to reduce poverty and prevent deforestation. It is argued that education is not only a necessary requisite for livelihood diversification but also to promote and improve public participation.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the analysis demonstrate that the possibilities of a sustainable agricultural use of the land, if a land management plan were implemented, are rather limited. In addition, this study reveals that although poor people clear forested areas to maintain or improve their income levels, poverty is only the proximate cause of deforestation in the Rosário da Limeira and Muriaé regions and that the steel and iron industry charcoal demand, as well as the expansion of the agricultural frontier are the primary causes of deforestation in the region. The extension of the agricultural frontier for coffee cultivation in the Minas Gerais state can be attributed to the country’s reliance on export crops, as well as to the shifting composition in crop cultivation within the São Paulo and Paraná states. The foreign debt, as well as the conditional reforms supported by the World Bank and the IMF to generate export income have encouraged coffee cultivation. In addition, economic policies aimed to promote the industrialization of the country have promoted coffee cultivation and encouraged charcoal production in the region.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• In order to prevent the Rosário da Limiera and Muriaé regions from further deforestation, coffee should be gradually eradicated and agriculture should be transformed to a side-line activity.
• Additional non-agricultural sources of income generation are needed for the farmers if coffee plantations are to be gradually replaced with native forest and agricultural activities restricted to the bottomlands.
• Capital, local and international social networks are necessary to improve current side-line activities, and to create other income generating works.
• Government’s efforts should concentrate on means to oblige the industry to shift to 100% coke-base production.
• Investment allocated to education is indispensable to find new non-agricultural income opportunities, and to improve the living conditions in the Rosário da Limiera and Muriaé rural communities while at the same time maintaining the natural resource base.