| Guatemala is experiencing a very high rate of deforestation, with an estimated 90,000 hectares of forest being cleared every year. Deforestation is especially severe in the Peten, which occupies the northern one-third of the country. This thesis examines the process of deforestation in the Peten and the conservation efforts created to deal with this problem.;The Peten is a vast lowland rainforest area which, until the 1960s, was only sparsely settled. Over the past few decades, in-migration from southern Guatemala has resulted in a tenfold expansion of the Peten population. This rapid population growth is the factor most often cited as the primary cause of forest loss in the area. Taking a political ecology approach, an approach which combines the perspectives of political economy and ecology, it is argued in this thesis that the process of deforestation in the Peten must be understood within a broader historical and geographical context which considers the complex of social, economic, political, and ecological factors underlying land degradation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
