Collaborative Research: Brazil's Direct Action Land Reform Movement: Environmental Impacts and Socio-spatial Dynamics

该项目涉及巴西亚马逊地区的直接行动土地改革。在这里，土地改革被定义为一个社会和政治进程，涉及动员穷人、有争议地占领公共或私人土地以及在占领后使土地所有权正规化。 DALR是当今巴西广泛的社会运动，由诸如Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra（MST）等组织带头，这些组织对联邦政府在土地改革方面的努力感到不耐烦。 DALR与国家主导的定居努力不同，后者在该国有着悠久的历史。 这一研究项目的动机特别是与DALR有关的可能的环境影响，因为移动占领越来越多地针对亚马逊流域的土地。研究活动包括在巴西亚马逊地区的帕拉和朗多尼亚两个州进行实地考察，这两个州的DALR特别普遍。 其主要目的是阐明这一未经研究的重要因素在该区域的土地覆盖变化过程。该项目采用了一套方法，以改善和系统化的三个重要方面的DALR，即空间的运动领导人的战略使用，改变经典的迁移模式，导致DALR，并与亚马逊地区的土地占领的环境影响的全面理解。这些方法包括：（1）关键信息提供者访谈，以记录运动领导人使用的空间战略;（2）人口普查微观数据分析，以评估DALR相关的移民影响;（3）回归分析，以比较有和没有DALR土地占用的财产上的森林砍伐情况;以及（4）对土地占用地点的家庭调查，以评估移民历史，农业经验和土地使用做法。 虽然许多研究都涉及热带森林砍伐，但人们对社会运动对土地覆盖变化过程的影响知之甚少。填补这一知识空白将补充以前的研究，对于充分理解亚马逊和受政治影响的土地定居影响的热带世界其他地区森林流失的因素至关重要。 此外，DALR的多面性使得对这一主题的研究对于理解政治运动和民主化以及边境移民模式非常重要。该项目的影响可能会超出学术贡献，因为DALR已成为巴西决策者和民间社会团体之间辩论的主题。特别是，这项研究对该国的区域发展和保护举措产生了影响。如果DALR为农村穷人提供社会福利，同时导致森林砍伐和不可持续的土地使用，这项研究将有助于记录巴西为了社会福利和环境可持续性的利益而调整农业和土地改革的必要性。

This project addresses Direct Action Land Reform (DALR) in the Brazilian Amazon. DALR is defined here as a social and political process involving mobilization of the poor, the contentious occupation of public or private lands, and the formalization of land holdings in the wake of occupation. DALR is a widespread social movement in present-day Brazil spearheaded by organizations, like the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), that have grown impatient with the federal government's efforts at land reform. DALR is to be distinguished from state-led efforts at settlement, which have a long history in the country. This research project is motivated, in particular, by possible environmental impacts associated with DALR, since movement occupations are increasingly targeting land in the Amazon Basin. The research activities involve fieldwork in Para and Rondonia, two states in the Brazilian Amazon where DALR is particularly prevalent. The primary objective is to shed light on this unstudied, important factor in the region's land cover change processes. The project employs a suite of methods to improve and systematize a comprehensive understanding of three significant aspects of DALR, namely the strategic use of space by movement leaders, alterations in classical migratory patterns that have resulted from DALR, and environmental implications associated with land occupations in the Amazon. These methods include (1) key informant interviews to document the spatial strategies used by movement leaders; (2) demographic analysis of census microdata to assess DALR related migration impacts; (3) regression analyses to compare deforestation on properties with and without DALR land occupations; and (4), household surveys on land occupation sites to assess migration histories, agricultural experience, and land use practices. Although much research has addressed tropical deforestation, little is known about the impact of social movements on this process of land cover change Filling this knowledge gap will complement previous research and is essential for full comprehension of the factors driving loss of forests in the Amazon and in other parts of the tropical world affected by politically-inspired land settlement. In addition, the multifaceted nature of DALR makes research on this topic important for understanding political movements and democratization, as well as frontier migration patterns. The project will likely have impacts reaching beyond academic contributions because DALR has become a subject of debate among policymakers and civil society constituencies in Brazil. In particular, this research bears implications for regional development and conservation initiatives in that country. If DALR provides social benefits to the rural poor while leading to deforestation and unsustainable land use, the research will help document the need to restructure agrarian and land reform in Brazil in the interests of both social welfare and environmental sustainability.