Saving Forests, Protecting People?: Environmental Conservation in Central America

Pfeffer (development sociology, Cornell U.) and Schelhas (research forestry, USDA Forest Service, Tuskegee U., Alabama) look at the inherently conflicting dynamics between environmental conservation efforts and indigenous land use choices in Central America. Their research takes place in Costa Rica and Honduras and focuses on conservation as represented by the national parks, and land use as represented by the choices of small farmers, or campesinos. With a limited amount of land under their control, what choices do the farmers makes as to land use and why? The authors attempt to show the farmers' underlying environmental values, how those values are formed in the context of culture, and how those values change; and they examine the relation of perceived livelihood improvements to changing attitudes toward conservation. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John Schelhas is research forester with the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service stationed at Tuskegee University in Alabama. Max J. Pfeffer is International Professor of Development Sociology and chair of the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University.