Bringing the Green Back
By John Carey
Winter 2011 / Vol. 11 No. 4
Discussion Questions
- In what ways does the presence of a footprint by indigenous peoples negate the idea that there can be a natural forest that serves as a conservation goal? In what ways is the idea that an indigenous footprint means that natural forests don’t exist flawed?
- The article poses the question that if forests are supposedly being extinguished in El Salvador, then why was Susanna Hecht of UCLA seeing so many trees. What assumptions underlie this question about the relationship between forests and trees?
- What are the positive and negative consequences of a people, like El Salvadoreans, using remittance money to buy imported food instead of growing it themselves?
- Hecht argues that the question is not whether globalization is good or bad but, since “it’s here whether we like it or not,” how we maximize its benefits and minimize its costs. Do you agree or disagree? What are some of the benefits and costs associated with globalization? How might the benefits identified by Hecht balance the costs identified by David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance?
Websites for Further Information
- Susanna Hecht’s home page: http://publicaffairs.ucla.edu/susanna-hecht
- Institute for Local Self-Reliance: http://www.ilsr.org/
- International Fund for Agricultural Development: http://www.ifad.org/
Reforestation in the News
- Leaked cables show U.S. pressured Saudis to accept Copenhagen accord (New York Times, November 30, 2010): http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/11/30/30climatewire-leaked-cables-show-us-pressured-saudis-to-ac-56437.html
- An isolated village finds the energy to keep going (New York Times, October 15, 2009): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/world/americas/16gaviotas.html
- Carbon sinks yield secondary benefits for developing countries (New York Times, December 1, 2010): http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/12/01/01greenwire-carbon-sinks-yield-secondary-benefits-for-devel-4479.html
Peer-reviewed Literature (in addition to the citations listed in the article)
- Hecht, S. 2010. The new rurality: globalization, peasants and the paradoxes of landscapes. Land Use Policy 27: 161-169.
- · Raush, T. 2009. The new rurality: its implications for a new pro-poor agricultural water strategy. International Fund for Agricultural Development. Available at www.ifad.org/english/water/innowat/strategic/New_rurality_web.pdf
- Yarnall, K., and M. Price. 2010. Migration, development and a new rurality in the Valle Alto, Bolivia. Journal of Latin American Geography 9: 107-124.
Key Concepts
- New rurality
- Reforestation
- Tropical forests
- Economic globalization
- El Salvador
- Remittance
- Secondary forests
- Latin America
