Final Report Desakota, Part II G4. Case Study: Central Peruvian Amazon– a test case for desakota development in the Amazon.

Abstract

The Amazon region has been affected by many of the same changes seen in other developing country areas of the world. Globalization of the world economy has changed the outlook for resource use. Demand for land has increased in a few areas, particularly the southern Amazon in Brazil and Santa Cruz state in Bolivia. Increasing global demands for soy beans, sugar cane and ethanol, African palm oil, beef, and other high-demand, globally traded commodities have been drivers of land and resources use change. Many areas of the Amazon have been opened up to development, and have been subject to in-migration.

Have these changes led to a new type of rural development, one driven by new forces reaching into previously isolated rural areas? Has the Amazon experienced desakota-style rural development as seen in parts of Asia – that is, blurred distinctions between rural and urban, mixed economies and land use, space-time reduction in interactions with other places? How has recent rural development affected ecosystem services and poverty alleviation?

This report discusses these questions using the central Peruvian Amazon in the area surrounding the city of Pucallpa as a case study.

Citation

9 pp.

Final Report Desakota, Part II G4. Case Study: Central Peruvian Amazon– a test case for desakota development in the Amazon.

Published 1 January 2008