Showing papers by "Michael R. Dove published in 1993"

A Revisionist View of Tropical Deforestation and Development

Abstract: The study begins with a parable from Kalimantan, relating how the discovery of a big diamond can bring misfortune to a poor miner. It is suggested that this parable applies more generally to resource development in the tropical forest, and that the major challenge is not to give more development opportunities to forest peoples but to take fewer away. This thesis of resource exploitation is at variance with the `rain forest crunch' premise: namely, forest reserves are being over-exploited by forest dwellers, the reason for this is the absence of other sources of income, and the solution is to help forest dwellers find such sources. It is suggested that there has been no lack of such sources in the past, and that the problem has been in maintaining the forest peoples' control of them. The lesson of this analysis is not to ignore minor forest products, but to clearly place them - and their potential development value for indigenous forest peoples - within their proper political-economic context. Any resolution of the problems of tropical forest development and conservation must begin not by searching for resources that forest dwellers do not already have, but by first searching for the institutional forces that restrict their ownership and productive use of existing resources. De-mystification of the current debate over tropical deforestation and development is needed.

A Revisionist View of Tropical Deforestation and Development

Abstract: This study critiques one of the prevailing theories of tropical deforestation, namely that the forest is being cleared because its riches have been overlooked (the purported solution to which is the marketing of ‘rainforest crunch’). Edelman's work on the language of ‘helping’ is drawn on to suggest that a focus on the microeconomics of forest dwellers diverts attention from macro-economic and political issues whose impact on the forest is far more serious.The study begins with a parable from Kalimantan, relating how the discovery of a big diamond can bring misfortune to a poor miner. It is suggested that this parable applies more generally to resource development in tropical forests, and that the major challenge is not to give more development opportunities to forest peoples but to take fewer away.This principal is illustrated with respect to gold mining, rattan gathering, and truck-farming, in Indonesia. In each case, when a forest resource acquires greater value in the broader society, it is appropriated by external entrepreneurs at the expense of local communities. A detailed case-study is presented of the development of Para Rubber cultivation. Smallholders currently dominate this cultivation, despite steadfast opposition by both contemporary and colonial governments, whose self-interests are better served by the cultivation of the Rubber on large estates.Each of these cases illustrates the predisposition of political and economic forces in the broader society to take over successful resource development in the tropical forest. Contemporary efforts to develop ‘non-timber forest products’ are reinterpreted, in this light, as attempts to allocate to the forest dwellers the resources of least interest to the broader society. The absence of research in this area is attributed not to academic oversight but to conflicting political-economic interests.This thesis of resource exploitation is at variance with the ‘rain-forest crunch’ premise: namely that forest reserves are being overexploited by forest dwellers, that this is due to the absence of other sources of income, and that the solution is to help forest dwellers to find such sources. It is suggested that there has been no lack of such sources in the past, and that the problem has been in maintaining the forest peoples' control of them. The lesson of this analysis is not to ignore minor forest products, but to place them — and their potential development value for indigenous forest peoples — clearly within their proper political-economic context.Any resolution of the problems of tropical forest development and conservation must begin, not by searching for resources that forest dwellers do not already have, but by first searching for the institutional forces which restrict the forest dwellers' ownership and productive use of existing resources. One of these institutional forces is discourse. It is widely understood that state elites seek to control valuable forest resources; it is less widely understood that an important means to this end is the control of resource-related discourse. De-mystification of the current debate over tropical deforestation and development is thus sorely needed.

Smallholder rubber and swidden agriculture in Borneo: A sustainable adaptation to the ecology and economy of the tropical forest

Abstract: This is a study of the role of Para rubber cultivation in a system of swidden agriculture in Indonesian Borneo. Such smallholdings produce most of Indonesia’s rubber, which is the country’s largest agricultural generator of foreign exchange. Rubber integrates well into Bornean systems of swidden agriculture: the comparative ecology and economy of Para rubber and upland swidden rice result in minimal competition in the use of land and labor — and even in mutual enhancement — between the two systems. Rubber occupies a distinct niche in the farm economy: it meets the need for market goods, while the swiddens meet subsistence needs. The intensity of production on these smallholdings is, as a result, characteristically low (and may even vary inversely with market prices). This reflects the independence of these smallholders from external economic and political influences, which has been the key to their historical success. The special virtues of such “composite systems” merit greater attention by development planners.

Uncertainty, Humility and Adaptation to the Tropical Forest: The Agricultural Augury of the Kantu

Abstract: The most problematic characteristic of the tropical forest for many swidden cultivators is the uncertainty of rainfall, pest invasions, etc Field research in West Kalimantan suggests that this uncertainty is best dealt with not by analysis and prediction but by emulation through diversification The Kantu' diversify, and avoid the temptation of prediction, by timing and locating their swiddens according to random bird omens This institutional humility in the face of tropical forest complexity contrasts with the development agencies' assumption of omnipotence, suggesting new ways of thinking about tropical forest development and conservation

The coevolution of population and environment: The ecology and ideology of feedback relations in Pakistan

Abstract: A new approach to the study of population and environment is proposed, based on Norgaard's theory of “co-evolution.” This theory is applied to two developments currently underway in Pakistan: the transfer of tree cover from public forests to private farms, and the partial replacement of woodfuel by dungfuel in household hearths. Both developments are characterized by feedback from the ecosystem to the sociosystem, which consists of a shift of regulatory mechanisms and complexity from the former to the latter. The efficacy of this feedback depends on an accurate perception of the process by the participating population. These perceptions are more accurate in the case of the forest-farm transition than the woodfuel-dungfuel transition, and this explains why the latter appears less sustainable than the former. Accuracy of perception also varies systematically between government officials and local peoples, primarily due to openness to explanations of behavior based on population/resource pressure. It is concluded that external development agencies have a potentially important role to play in demystifying perception of feedback processes between ecosystem and sociosystem.

Smallholder Rubber and Swidden Agriculture in Borneo: A Sustainable Adaptation to the Ecology and Economy of the Tropical Forest

Abstract: This is a study of the role of Para rubber cultivation in a system of swidden agriculture in Indonesian Borneo. Such "smallholdings" produce most of Indonesia's rubber, which is the country's third largest generator of foreign exchange. Rubber integrates well into Bornean systems of swidden agriculture: the comparative ecology and economy of Para rubber and upland swidden rice result in minimal competition in the use of land and labor - and even in mutual enhancement - between the two systems. Rubber occupies a distinct niche in the farm economy: it meets the need for market goods, while the swiddens meet subsistence needs. The intensity of production on these smallholdings is, as a result, characteristically low (and may even vary inversely with market prices). This reflects the independence of these smallholders from external economic and political influences, which has been the key to their historical success. The special virtues of such "composite systems" merit greater attention by development planners.