Demography, Socioeconomics, and Geography: Endeavoring to Explain Land Cover Change in and around the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador

Christine M. Erlien, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Carlos F. Mena, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alisson F. Barbieri, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Stephen J. Walsh, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The literature on land cover change in national parks and protected areas is limited, prompting Sanchez-Azofeifa (2001) to comment, “information is sparse on the nature, dynamics, and spatial dimension of land use and land cover change processes that contribute to park vulnerability.” This work aims to provide information about landscape changes in and around the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve as well as extend the study of landscape change in parks and protected areas by examining possible socio-economic, demographic, and geographic drivers. Datasets integrated for this project include a 1998/99 cross-sectional survey of 652 households located in territory ceded by the Reserve, a 2000 survey of communities in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon, a 2001 survey of indigenous communities within and nearby the Reserve, a satellite image time-series, and a GIS database of geographic accessibility and resource endowments. Land cover change will be quantified and three OLS models of land cover change estimated.