PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND MARGINALIZATION AS INDICATORS OF HUMAN CARRYING-CAPACITY IN DEFORESTING AREAS

A scheme in which psychological factors are considered in effective fo rest management planning is proposed. A central role is played by huma n carrying capacity, the resilience of people to deal with the consequ ences of environmental degradation. Stress and marginalization are Tak en as indicators of human carrying capacity. A study in Cote d'Ivoire is described in which psychological stress and marginalization were st udied in indviduals from environments which show different degrees of degradation. Three related hypotheses are proposed: first that individ uals living in or near a degrading forest are more stressed and margin alized than individuals in a reference group living in Abidjan; second that people living near the forest with the most sustained and severe degradation would be more stressed and marginalized: finally, that me mbers of autochthonous cultural groups show higher stress and marginal ization levels than members of migrant groups. The results of our stud y showed that people living near the degraded forest were more stresse d but not marginalized unless the degradation was severe and sustained . Females were more stressed than males and members of both sexes from autochthonous cultural groups were more prone to stress and marginali zation than members of migrant groups.