SLASH-AND-BURN AGRICULTURE - HOUSEHOLD PERSPECTIVES

The paper explores household perspectives on slash-and-bum agriculture by first presenting a stylized conceptual model of household decision -making processes for the rural developing world, stressing: (a) house hold food and livelihood security objectives and time horizon; (b) joi nt and separate assessment of three types of resources available to th e household natural, human, and financial; and (c) the environmental c onsequences of household livelihood resource use strategies. Consideri ng the model in the context of the humid tropical forest agroecologica l zone where slash-and-bum agriculture is common, the paper then explo res some conditioning factors to household decision-making that are pr evalent throughout the zone, and their likely consequences on resource use patterns and environmental impact. Before examining some intra-zo ne differences, entry points for policy intervention, and broader poli cy and research guidelines necessary to promote both improvement in bo th human welfare and natural resource management are discussed.