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The Effect of War and Its Aftermath on Land Use and Land Cover in Jinotega, Nicaragua

Abstract

In Nicaragua, the northern region east of Jinotega is often described as the lungs of the country. Cool temperatures, lush forests, wild rivers, and abundant animals fill the rich landscape. Even though this forested area exists inside the protected Bosawas International Biosphere UNESCO Reserve (Bosawas), anyone navigating east immediately notices this is not the case for the entire region. Rather, the area outside of the Reserve is comprised of a patchwork of forest, agriculture, and cleared patches. Over the last 50 years, the area has experienced a tremendous change in landscape and land-use. Many scientists and conservation groups have observed the patterns of deforestation and tracked the loss of forest in this area. And while the pattern of land use change began 50 years ago, the area has experienced its most rapid deforestation during the aftermath of the Sandinista/Contra war in the early 1990s.

Through integrated methods combining remote sensing and political ecology, I tell the story of the aftermath of an armed conflict that was fought in the jungles of the Bosawas Nature Reserve, and of the impact this conflict had on the landscape. I use a combination of top-down view of satellites that observe change over decades as well as oral history across frontier areas to tell the account of Land-Use and Land Change (LULC) in the war stricken area of Jinotega, Nicaragua. The effects of the Sandinista/Contra war significantly shaped the land and drove large-scale deforestation in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Ex-combatants who fought in the Bosawas region for a decade, were left in the area after the war with few options. The Nicaraguan government promised the ex-combatants deeds to land and an opportunity to farm in exchange for disarmament, but the land promised by the Nicaraguan government was rainforest land, poor in nutrients that required unique and proper training to make productive. This policy led to and encouraged migration to the Bosawas region. The act of merely giving deeds to land in the Bosawas region changed the traditional trajectory of land-use, and accelerated alterations. Because the ex-combatants lacked training and skills to properly cultivate the land in Bosawas, deforestation in this area did not occur along a linear agricultural frontier as described in the classic "agricultural frontier" land use transition model, but rather took a sporadic approach depending on where the ex-combatants resided.

My study suggests a modification to the traditional agricultural frontier model is needed to fully understand these kinds of war-influenced land use patterns: the movement and migration of people during the aftermath of war must be considered. Thus, this study extends the traditional land-use model by recognizing complex underlying causes of land use change and consequently argues against the often predominant discourse that focuses on the "encroaching" peasant. My analysis demonstrates that cleared patches increased in size and frequency after the war along the frontier zone. Furthermore, from 1986 to 1996, there was a higher occurrence of clearing patches along transportation routes and rivers, demonstrating the increased migration and opening of the land after the war. The oral history collected identifies the relationships between socio-economic, political, and historical factors that affected the aftermath of war. Nicaragua appears to follow the typical agricultural frontier patterns where deforestation is driven by farmers. However, given a closer look, the deforestation experience in Nicaragua is much more complex due to the aftermath of war in the region.

This study was a successful bridge and collaboration between the quantitative and the qualitative when examining the effects of war and its aftermath: remote sensing gave me the large-scale synoptic view of land use change and deforestation, and political ecology gave me a more nuanced understanding of the human causes of that change. Wars and conflicts are prevalent worldwide; this study serves as a microcosm for other war-inflicted areas and encourages the study of not only the effect of the conflict itself, but also its aftermath. An increase in investigations in war areas that integrate methods may help accurately determine the consequences of war on the landscape, resulting in accurate management plans specific to the environmental and human needs.

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