Reducing deforestation and implementing sustainable land-use are major challenges in the Peruvian Amazon, where the socio-economic development of smallholder migrant farmers and the attraction of private investment forlarge-scale agriculture, oil extraction and mining, together with the construction of roads, are part of government strategy to integrate the region in the growing national economy. This study considers the potential of intervening in the configuration and structure of the agricultural mosaic, combining avoided deforestation, reforestation and tree enrichment in the landholdings of smallholder cacao farmers of the Ucayali region. Due to favorable international prices and public and private investments, the last 10 years has seen a rapid proliferation of producers’ associations that have become important players in local development. Besides connecting farmers to the market and providing agricultural services, associations are important in the process of land allocation and titling, in lobbying for infrastructure and services for settlers, and ultimately in determining land-use trajectories, including deforestation and forest degradation. Cacao producers’ associations have also played an important role in promoting the certification process and, more recently, access to the voluntary carbon market. For all these reasons, such associations are a suitable entry-point for interventions affecting land-use at the landscape-level.

1. Iniciativa de Monitoreo Socio-
ecológico de la Amazonía
Occidental
Western Amazon Sentinel Landscape
Valentina Robiglio, ICRAF
“Tree cover transitions and investment in multi-colored economy : hypotheses grounded in
data”. 13-3-2013 Cifor Campus Bogor, Indonesia

2. IMSAO: introduction
40 M Ha

3. Between 6.3/6.5….general themes for research
emerged from the partners’ meeting
• What are the primary factors that
determine deforestation (eg.
agricultural and forest policy, mining,
infrastructure development)?
• What is the social/environmental cost
of land use change?
• Do informal markets and land uses
affect land use and natural resources
change more than formal ones?
• Improving private sector environment,
rural associations could be more
productive and efficient…what about
landscape impact?

4. Capital: Pucallpa
UCAYALI: general information
area: 102,410 km2 (8% Peru)
2012 population: 490,000
(25%rural);
Poverty: 70% (2001)e 20% (2011)
2007 HDI = 0.6022
Agriculture (area): <2% Peru
1994 census: 21,000 landholdings
Coca: >3,000 ha (2011)
8 million ha forests: 50%
concessions
Back ground map Source: GLC

5. Population density and settlement distribution

6. Poverty index (% of extreme poverty)

7. Indigenous groups land

8. Conflicts over Land

9. Cumulative deforestation -2009
Cumulative Deforested area:
1990 : 547,750 ha
2000 : 627,064 ha
2010 : 700,000 ha

10. Drivers of change
Infrastructural development Wood Extraction Agricultural expansion Mining & Energy Other
Transport infrastructure •Legal Timber production Expansion of smallholders’ Gold mining Forest fires, from
DIRECT DRIVERS
timber trails •Informal, small-scale agriculture: annual and (legal/illegal) uncontrolled agricultural
town roads production of timber, biannual farming (S&B), oil •Hydrocarbur burning
highway (Lima-Pucallpa) charcoal and firewood palm , pastures, cacao, concessions
•Establishment of settlements and illegal crops;
provision of social services by
PDA/MINAG
Regional and national development
plans
Demographic factors Economic factors Institutional and political factors Socio-Cultural Agronomic
factors
Population increase •Improved market access •Lack of clear, comprehensive •Rapid soil fertility loss
Uncontrolled Migration (national & global) and development/conservation strategy at the •Scarce local •Pest and weed
UNDERLYING DRIVERS
from the Andean region increased demand for regional and national level ecological knowledge reduce harvests
Rapid Unplanned regional commodities •Promotion of settling of the migrants •Lack of assessment
urban growth •Extensive agriculture •Lack of policy implementation (e.g. for •Persistence of of land suitability to
(slash-and-burn) only timber harvest control). illegal/criminal target crops
viable option for low •Promotion of cattle ranching (1970s) networks for
income settlers •Subsidies and credit availability / trafficking in illegal
•Alternative development Alternative Development interventions crops, timber, gold
agency investments to •Land titling process and land trafficking and land
eradicate illegal crops
Modified from Velarde e t al. 2010

11. Provincial level: Padre Abad
Population and settlements dynamics
PADRE ABAD

12. Provincial level: land cover/use changes
400
300
200
100
0
Forest 95% > Forest Forest 95%> Forest 95%> Long fallow >
LAND USE CHANGES 1990-2007 short fallow 95%>mosaic Forest 70% Forest 50% Short fallow
with pastures
Data ASB/REALU (Glenn Hymann0)

13. Provincial level: Padre Abad
Tenure and land cover dynamics

14. Trajectories of changes on the ground:

15. The way forward…
- Work on the contextualization of the 6.3 overarching HPs:
Link observed trajectories of land use observed at the provincial levels to tree
cover trends and overarching HPs (adding socio-cultural component,
understanding of migration and population distribution, understanding of land
transactions , of investment and development programs e.g. PDA)
- Analysis of land use zoning and planning practices (REDD Mesa, ZEE
technical unit, DGOT in MINAM)
- Link observed trajectories to drivers of change and actors (oil palm – large
holders/smallholders, oil palm versus cacao and pastures, displacements)
- Assess the impact of changes on ES functions and the feedback options
- Identify strategic partners (e.g. farmers’ organizations as an entry point to

16. THANK YOU