Population Pressure, Deforestation, and Common Property Institutions: An Overview

Abstract

"Attempts to address the problem of deforestation in the developing world are often undermined by rapid population growth.It is currently estimated that more than six million hectares of closed moist tropical forests are lost each year primarily through conversion to forest farming. Because many of these lands have steep slopes and thin topsoil layers, they are susceptible to damaging soil erosion. When migrants initially colonize forest lands, productivity may be high, but yields progressively decline after two to three years of continuous cropping. A cycle of population pressure, resource degradation, and poverty evolves as intensive cultivation leads to deteriorating land productivity, denying migrants the secure livelihood they originally sought by settling in forest lands."