Economic Integration, Rural Hardship, and Conservation on Guatemala's Agricultural Frontier
Despite decades of attention by conservationists, deforestation remains a critical problem in Latin America, particularly in agricultural frontiers like the Amazon and the lowlands of Central America. The limited impact of conservation initiatives in such regions stems partly from a poor understanding of the socioeconomic and land use dynamics that typify frontiers. Moreover, conservation organizations tend to disregard the economic and policy factors at various scales that contribute to deforestation pressures in developing countries.