Effects of International Migration on Land Use and Conservation in Mexico

Nora M.Haenn博士(北卡罗来纳州立大学)将与墨西哥南区高等专科学校的研究人员合作，研究热带雨林保护与从墨西哥向美国的移民之间的相互作用。墨西哥四分之一的公园和保护区位于该国南部，那里的大规模国际移民直到最近才成为常态。由于墨西哥南部也是热带生态系统的家园，这项研究询问移民如何影响雨林保护。研究人员将通过调查居住在卡拉克穆尔生物圈保护区边境的200户农村家庭来调查国际移民对雨林保护的影响。卡拉克穆尔是墨西哥最大的热带生态系统保护区。调查将提出有关农业和林业活动、移民和汇款的问题。调查人员此前曾在卡拉克穆尔进行过类似的调查，当时来自该地区的国际移民很不寻常。通过将过去的研究结果与当前的土地利用和移民趋势进行比较，这项研究旨在确定移民对森林覆盖的影响。这项研究意义重大，因为它将解决当代世界两个重大趋势之间的联系：正在进行的土地覆盖变化和动态的国际劳动力迁移。在社会科学理论或政策制定中，这些主题通常都不会联系在一起。但由于当地的保护工作越来越注重当地家庭的参与，即使成年男性户主经常在国外工作，调查这些联系也是至关重要的。这项研究还建立了美国和墨西哥机构之间的联系，并支持学生教育。

Dr. Nora M. Haenn (North Carolina State University), in collaboration with researchers at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico, will undertake research on the interactions between rainforest conservation and migration from Mexico to the United States. One-fourth of Mexico's parks and protected areas are located in the southern parts of that country, places where large-scale international migration has only recently become the norm. Because southern Mexico is also home to tropical ecosystems, the research asks how migration affects rainforest conservation. The researchers will investigate the impact of international migration on rainforest protection by surveying 200 rural families living on the border of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Calakmul is Mexico's largest protected area for tropical ecosystems. The survey will pose questions on agricultural and forestry activities, migration, and remittances. The investigators previously carried out similar surveys in Calakmul, when international migration from this region was unusual. By comparing past findings with current land use and migration trends, the research aims to identify the impact of migration on forest cover. The research is significant because it will address the connections between two significant trends in the contemporary world: on-going land cover change and dynamic international labor migration. These topics are not usually linked in either social science theory or policy development. But because local conservation efforts are increasingly focused on local household participation, even as adult male household heads are frequently working abroad, investigation of those linkages is critical. The research also builds ties between U.S. and Mexican institutions and supports student education.