We analyze the use of forest products and services for income generation among indigenous households in the Colombian Amazon. We find that families re
We analyze the use of forest products and services for income generation among indigenous households in the Colombian Amazon. We find that families rely on a wide portfolio of market and subsistence activities. These activities change when households have increased access to markets, and as household income levels rise. Market integration decreases the dependency on environment (as a share of household income), but increases the extraction of forest products in absolute terms. Increases in total household income are thus associated with both more market income and more income from forest extraction. As markets open and household incomes increase, pressures on environmental resources and from agroforestry activities will likely also increase. The region is inhabited by indigenous, mestizo and colonist-descended people, distributed in small rural villages and towns. Rural population is estimated at 9,000 people, mostly from Ticuna and Cocama ethnic groups settled in indigenous reserves with common property titles and autonomy on land and resource utilization. Most of the population has moved to the settlements concentrated in the eastern part of the area, near the town of Leticia. Currently, 54% of the indigenous population is established within a 40 km distance from Leticia. The rest of the population (46%) lives in scattered settlements to the west along the Amazon River. The population has been traditionally hunter-gatherer-horticulturalist and still largely practices this form of subsistence living. Over the past 20 years, the region has faced several social and economical transformations. Traditional people have changed their livelihood strategies. Economic activities including rubber extraction, cattle ranching, and cocaine processing have had a major impact in the region (Hammond et al., 1995). Development programs and rural extension programs have introduced cash crops suitable for export and have encouraged people to increase agricultural production. In more
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Keywords: amazon., amazonas, brasil, colombia, dependency, educacion, environmental, forest, incomes, indigenous, integration, market, society, tropical
