EFFECTIVITY OF PEASANT RESERVE ZONES – ZONAS DE RESERVA CAMPESINA REDUCING DEFORESTATION IN COLOMBIA

Keywords: Biodiversity conservation, peasants, agroecology, Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures – OMECs
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 38

Abstract

Through history, Colombian peasant movements have highlighted biological conservation as part of traditional agricultural practices and peasant culture. Peasant Reserve Zones (ZRC) are areas with communal management of land managed by peasant communities. These zones have been presented as territories where biodiversity conservation is implemented along with agricultural production. In order to explore the biodiversity benefits of Peasant Reserve Zones, this study aim to establish if the Peasant Reserve Zones are effective strategies reducing deforestation. In order to test the effectivity of ZRC, we analyzed the deforestation from 2002 to 2018, inside the peasant reserve zones and outside. To being able to perform robust comparisons, we performed a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to select the pixels with more similar characteristics to the ZRC. The PSM was based on covaribles that influence the location of the ZRC and deforestation. Finally, we measured the effect of ZRC in reducing deforestation through a Generalized Linear Mixed Model. Our results showed a decrease of the 12% in the deforestation probability inside the ZRC. These results highlight the importance of conservation efforts made by peasant communities and incentives the recognition of Peasant Reserve Zones as territories that support environmental protection.