Doctoral Dissertation Research: Rethinking Forest Transition Theory: Gender, Tenure Insecurity, and Forest-Cover Change in El Salvador

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Reforestation, the process of permanently restoring destroyed forest lands, is seen as an important process to counteract the effects of climate forcing agents. Recently, scholars have observed the resurgence of forests in rural El Salvador. Forest transition theory, developed from historical studies of forest-cover change in Europe and the United States, would explain the reforestation as a byproduct of ongoing trends of urbanization and industrialization in Salvadoran society. While this theory has been critically important in explaining environmental change in the industrialized world, its application in the industrializing context is problematic. Because the newest patterns of urbanization and industrialization differ from the processes and patterns observed in the industrialized world, any application of forest transition theory to industrializing countries requires the potential addition of other social variables that capture the distinctive human conditions associated with these places. Preliminary research in El Salvador suggests that several social variables, particularly gender and land tenure, that are neglected in forest transition theory, may play critical roles in the rate of forest recovery in rural El Salvador. In particular, female heads of household may be reluctant to allow land to reforest because it increases the chances of a land invasion. Using informal and semi-structured interviews, oral histories, archival research, and analysis of Landsat TM imagery, the study will focus on the multiple factors that contribute to changes in land use with a particular emphasis on linking social and physical geographic characteristics. The doctoral dissertation research project will provide answers to an important question about forest-cover change in the industrializing world. Through an empirical study of the effects of gender and land tenure insecurity on forest cover change, this study will assess the degree to which the theory must be modified to include a wider range of social variables in order to explain reforestation in the South. More broadly, this research will contribute to greater understanding of the human dimensions of environmental change in the industrializing world. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career. In addition, this project will contribute to the methods training of a Salvadoran social science student from Universidad Centroamericana "Jose Simeon Canas" in San Salvador. The disseminated results will also provide practical applications for forest resource managers and community advocacy organizations in El Salvador and elsewhere, with particular regard to forest conservation practices.