The effects of structural adjustment on deforestation and forest degradation in lowland Bolivia

Bolivia's structural adjustment policies, initiated in 1985, increased pove rty among certain groups, but this did not lead to widespread migration to the agricultural frontier. Nor did adjustment greatly affect the average ar ea planted in annual crops by small lowland farmers. Structural adjustment contributed to large-scale forest clearing for soybean production for expor t and, to a lesser extent, forest degradation by lumber companies. The econ omic benefits generated by soybean and timber expansion may have outweighed the environmental costs: but alternative policies might have reduced those costs and improved the distribution of the benefits. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.