| Landscape change is a geographical phenomenon. The landscape has long been the subject of inquiry for many geographers. Like other artifacts, studying landscape allows insight into the people who live in, produce, and are guided by it. This study offers a look at the landscape of a large part of the country of Honduras. Thus, it offers a glimpse of many Hondurans and the contemporary situation of their lives.; Using Robert West's photographic archive as a baseline, I offer a study in change based on the technique of repeat photography. Carrying with me a collection of the photographs that he took throughout Honduras in 1957, I rephotographed the same scenes that he saw. I then compared the two sets of photographs. The photo sets provide a sort of sample of the landscape in Honduras. Ethnographic and other empirical data provide a context for the changes evident in the photographs.; Comparing the two sets of photographs, I found the expected developments in modernization and increased global linkages. I was surprised, however, by the appearance of more, rather than fewer, trees in 2001. I expected fewer. Most people, including most Hondurans, seemed to expect fewer too. Having found more trees—though not forest—I was compelled to ask both why they were there and why they were a surprise. The assumption—often assertions—on the part of so many Hondurans that their country had fewer trees in 2001, not more, also led me to look into the public discourse that influences people's landscape perception. This, in turn pointed back to the increases in global linkages and environmental discourse taking place in Honduras. The ecological situations in Honduras, and the Latin American tropics, are simply more complex than we assume. As well, the thoughts and perceptions, being different at times than the reality in the landscape, show that public discourse indeed affects how people think. Consequently, the future may not be as dark as many assume. |
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