This paper examines potential
relations between factors related to fertility and the access to and
use of natural resources in Petén, Guatemala. The Petén forms the heart
of the Selva Maya, the largest lowland humid forest in Mesoamerica. The
rapid in-migration of subsistence maize farmers has converted much of
the Petén's forests to agricultural fields. Population dynamics have
been transformed in that virtually all farm families have arrived since
the 1970s and that total fertility rates exceed the national rural
mean. Continued migration, exceptionally high fertility, a youthful
population, and a large consumer to producer ratio are hypothesized to
be related to the dramatic land cover dynamics shaping the landscape of
the Petén. An emerging body of literature suggests that environmental
factors can affect fertility decision-making and behaviors, especially
in natural resource dependent economies like that of the Petén. This
paper examines these relationships using data from the 1998/99
Demographic Health Survey in Guatemala. Data on natural resource access
and utilization were collected as part of an environment module, in
addition to demographic and health information. This dataset, the first
ever environmental module of the Demographic Health Survey, provides a
unique opportunity to examine possible relationships between fertility
and the environment in a tropical agricultural frontier.
Palabras Clave: Medio ambiente, Fecundidad, Recursos naturales
Afiliación del autor:
Elizabeth G. Sutherland
Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina Population Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
David
L. Carr
Carolina Population Center, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Siân
L. Curtis
Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, USA
