Adaptation and Sustainability in Commodity Frontiers
Yann le Polain de Waroux
Project Description
Commodity frontiers undergo rapid changes in social and environmental conditions, which make them particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation and social conflicts. Commercial farmers operate in information-poor environments, and risk making decisions that lead to soil degradation, exacerbating the need for further expansion. The capacity of these farmers to learn and adapt their practices to minimize degradation is therefore crucial for the sustainability of these new agricultural landscape. Smallholders and indigenous people, on the other hand, cannot compete on equal terms with expanding commercial agriculture. While some manage to halt expansion locally, e.g. by successfully filing land claims, in most cases they are forced to develop alternative livelihood strategies to accommodate these new landscapes. Dr. le Polain de Waroux is interested in understanding the many ways in which these two groups learn and adapt their practices in rapidly evolving frontiers, and how adaptation mechanisms can be supported to foster sustainability and development. In a first phase of this project, he is developing a collaboration with partners in Paraguay to start exploring livelihood adaptation to increasing encroachment of large ranches in communities of the Pilcomayo basin.