Migration and a New Landscape of Forest Use and Conservation

Abstract

The nature of migration-forest linkages in migrant-sending regions is underreported and poorly understood. In rural Latin America and elsewhere, out-migration, together with agricultural crises and the deterritorialization of rural livelihood, are transforming forests and the communities that manage them. Drawing on research in indigenous communities of Oaxaca (Mexico), we identify the parameters of a new landscape of forest use and conservation, finding that: migration challenges community practices for self-governance of forest resources; declines in agriculture create new spaces for forest recovery and use; and forest conservation policies create economic opportunities around both extractive and non-extractive forest use.