Population Movements And Money Remittances Spur Forest Regrowth

A study of social and economic influences on forest recovery in El Salvador highlights the importance of population movements spurred by war, land-use reforms and remittances of money by emigrants. Most analyses of forest cover in Central America have focused on loss of old-growth forests. In drawing attention to regrowth of woodland in a country that was extensively deforested during the 1970s, Hecht and Saatchi call for a renewed examination of social and economic influences on agricultural practices and their effects on forest extent. New growth forests, most often in a mosaic along with agriculture, can buffer declines in biological diversity and are extensively used by old growth species.