Internal Migration, Settlement
and Deforestation in the
Peruvian Amazon
Global Landscape Forum
Connecting for impact: From commitment to action
Bonn, Germany
December 2, 2018

• Examine internal migration and the SDGs
• In particular, SDG-15: Life on Land
“Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification,
and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”
• Draw examples for research in the Peruvian
Amazon
▪ Discuss migration patterns observed
▪ Examine associated patterns of land use change
▪ Reflect on policy implications of observed patterns
Setting the stage

Migration and Peru’s
Forest Frontiers
 Migration seen as key driver of
deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon
 Lack of systematic information about
migration, the characteristics of migrants
or the actual effects of migration on
forests
 Underlying narrative emphasizes
population shift by Andean peoples from
highlands to forested lowlands
 Weak foundation for policy action or
strategy

Research Sites
Tournavista
Abujao
Neshuya
Pisqui
 Neshuya landscape, formerly
production forest occupied in the
1980s
 Abujao landscape, traditional
floodplain settlements
 Tournavista landscape, older frontier
with overlapping property claims
 Pisqui landscape, indigenous
communities

Migration
Indicators in Peru • Birthplace (whether individual
had been born at location when
counted during the census)
• Recent migrants (whether the
individual had lived at a
different location 5 years
earlier)
Where were the
migrants in our sample?

Migration Indicators
Birthplace by province
Distribution in landscapes
71%
29%
All Informants
Migrantes
Non-Migrantes
69%
31%
ABUJAO
98%
2%
NESHUYA
16%
84%
PISQUI
89%
11%
TOURNAVISTA

Migration Indicators
Recent Migrants
Distribution in landscapes
38%
62%
ABUJAO
24%
76%
NESHUYA
5%
95%
PISQUI
11%
89%
TOURNAVISTA
18%
82%
All Informants
Recent Migrants
Non-Migrantes

Migration Indicators
Birthplace by village
Distribution in landscapes
84%
16%
All Informants
Migrantes
Non-Migrantes
96%
4%
ABUJAO
100%
0%
NESHUYA
43%
57%
PISQUI
96%
4%
TOURNAVISTA

Migration Indicators
Region of Birth
Distribution of ‘Amazonians’ varied
4%
18%
78%
Abujao
15%
36%
49%
Neshuya
4%
55%
41%
Tournavista
100%
Pisqui
7%
29%
64%
All Informants
Coast
Highlands
Amazon

High Mobility
Mobility and Settlement
Stable Settlements
• Most villages settled in 1970 or 1980
• Informants averaged 19 years in
current village
• Migrants had lived 23 years in the
Amazon on average

1985199520052015
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Porcentaje
Neshuya
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Tournavista
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Porcentaje Abujao
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Pisqui
Change in Mature Forest Cover
(1985-2015)

1985199520052015 0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Porcentaje
Neshuya
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Tournavista
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Porcentaje
Abujao
0
20
40
60
80
100
1985 1995 2005 2015
Pisqui
Change in agricultural land use
(1985-2015)

Occupation through spontaneous settlement
• Forest lands targeted for occupation because
seen as unused
• Residents demarcated properties on their own in
collaboration with neighbors
• Gradually, as settlements coalesced, state
agencies provided services and infrastructure
• Later the State formalized property claims
• However, tendency to only title deforested areas
PHOTO
Migration Patterns and Settlement

Migration drivers reported
o Search for arable land
o Search for economic opportunity (wage labor)
o Search for public services
o Forced migration (terrorism, violence, and
natural disasters)
Migration patterns and outcomes strongly
influenced by national and regional
governance dynamics
Link between migration patterns and
deforestation were complex – however
infrastructural improvement closely
associated with forest conversion
PHOTO
Migration Patterns and Settlement

Conclusions
Promotion of sustainable land use and forest
management should reflect better
understanding of patterns and impacts of
demographic change on forest frontiers
• Effective policy actions and strategies require better
understanding of
o How existing policy framework create current context
o How agendas and actions of different agencies compete or
conflict
o How competing policies undermine broader governmental
goals or led to unintended consequences
• Need to identify shared agendas to increase
collaboration and balance tradeoffs
• Patterns of internal migration observed in Peru expose
complexity of processes and the need for timely
evidence for decision support

cifor.org
blog.cifor.org
ForestsTreesAgroforestry.org
Thank You