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Migration, Remittances, and Forest Cover Change in Rural Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Arild Angelsen

    (School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway)

  • Mariel Aguilar-Støen

    (Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1116, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway)

  • John Herbert Ainembabazi

    (African Development Bank (AfDB), Microeconomic, Institutional & Development Impact Division, Abidjan 01, Ivory Coast)

  • Edwin Castellanos

    (Centro de Estudios Ambientales y Biodiversidad, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala 01015, Guatemala)

  • Matthew Taylor

    (Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver, Boettcher Center West, 2050 E. Iliff Ave. Denver, CO 80208, USA)

Abstract

This article investigates how migration and remittances affect forest cover in eight rural communities in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. Based on household surveys and remote sensing data, we found little evidence to support the widespread claim that migration takes pressure off forests. In the Chiapas sites, we observed no significant changes in forest cover since 1990, while in the Guatemalan sites, migration may have increased demand for agricultural land, leading to an average annual forest loss of 0.73% during the first decade of the millennium. We suggest that when attractive opportunities exist to invest in agriculture and land expansion, remittances and returnee savings provide fresh capital that is likely to increase pressure on forests. Our study also has implications for the understanding of migration flows; in particular, migration has not implied an exodus out of agriculture for the remaining household members nor for the returning migrants. On the contrary, returning migrants are more likely to be involved in farming activities after their return than they were before leaving.

Suggested Citation

  • Arild Angelsen & Mariel Aguilar-Støen & John Herbert Ainembabazi & Edwin Castellanos & Matthew Taylor, 2020. "Migration, Remittances, and Forest Cover Change in Rural Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:3:p:88-:d:333485
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Jona Huber & Ignacio Madurga-Lopez & Una Murray & Peter C. McKeown & Grazia Pacillo & Peter Laderach & Charles Spillane, 2023. "Climate-related migration and the climate-security-migration nexus in the Central American Dry Corridor," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(6), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Clara Mosso & Diego Pons & Cristian Beza-Beza, 2022. "A Long Way toward Climate Smart Agriculture: The Importance of Addressing Gender Inequity in the Agricultural Sector of Guatemala," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Britta Rude & Bennet Niederhöfer & Fabio Ferrara, 2020. "ifo Migrationsmonitor: Entwaldung und Migration," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(09), pages 66-74, September.
    6. Birgit Schmook & Lindsey Carte & Claudia Radel & Mariel Aguilar-Støen, 2023. "A Diversity of Migration and Land Couplings: An Introduction to the Special Issue “Migration and Land”," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-6, July.
    7. Rajesh Bista & Sophia Graybill & Qi Zhang & Richard E. Bilsborrow & Conghe Song, 2023. "Influence of Rural Out-Migration on Household Participation in Community Forest Management? Evidence from the Middle Hills of Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Persson, Joel, 2024. "On the brink of transition? From pathways to methodological heuristics for improved causal analysis in forest transition research," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    9. Karl S. Zimmerer & Yolanda Jiménez-Olivencia & Alejandro Ruiz-Ruiz & Laura Porcel-Rodríguez, 2020. "Agri-Food Land Transformations and Immigrant Farm Workers in Peri-Urban Areas of Spain and the Mediterranean," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.

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