Reciprocal agreements for water: An environmental management revolution in the Santa Cruz valleys
Deforestation and cattle-grazing—a tragedy of commons exacerbated by climate change—are changing the Santa Cruz valleys
Abstract
Deforestation and cattle-grazing—a tragedy of commons exacerbated by climate change—are changing the Santa Cruz valleys
»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp upland forests of the Santa Cruz valleys are also increasingly threatened by illegal land incursions. Encouraged by farmersâ€� unions and local leaders, landless migrants from the altiplano are entering the region to clear water-producing cloud forests for agriculture. Deforestation and forest degradation in the Mosqueras and Vilcas watersheds of Cruceño Valleys increased by almost 500% between 1986 and 2004, while downstream flooding over the same period caused $250 million in damages. In 2006, floods in the lower Rio Grande destroyed more than 250,000 acres of soy and other crops.
Citation
Asquith, N., Reciprocal agreements for water: An environmental management revolution in the Santa Cruz valleys., Harvard Review Of Latin America, vol. 2011, pp.58-60, 2011