Suchergebnisse

The implications of Bolivia's coca eradication & alternative development policy for Colombia's current attempts to deal with coca production are considered. An overview of the coca industry's development in Chapare, Bolivia, emphasizes the impact of inmigration on the industry. An additional overview of the Bolivian government's strategy for eradicating coca while developing the region's infrastructure is provided. Despite this approach, it is claimed that poor access to markets may prevent the government's plan from succeeding. Rather than determining the government program's degree of success by quantitative measures, it is asserted that its effectiveness should be measured qualitatively. It is contended that the Colombian government's present strategy for reducing coca production could actually militarize the nation. Therefore, the potential for alternative approaches to actually decrease coca production & facilitate infrastructural development in Colombia is assessed. It is concluded that replacing coca with licit alternative crops will present both opportunities & detriments to farmers & that effecting a positive outcome to the coca crisis requires careful planning. J. W. Parker

Examines land degradation in Honduras to test the Marxist position that socialism offers the only solution to the crisis resulting from a system of unequal access to human & natural resources. The extent of ecological damage is described, along with links between capitalization of agriculture, labor/land shortages, & rural impoverishment. Various development paradigms are discussed, & case studies of Choluteca, Guinope, & Lempira Sur are presented to explore the issue of empowerment, as opposed to sustainable agriculture per se, & highlight the complex intermix of factors contributing to environmental destruction. It is shown that actor-oriented approaches in Guinope & Lempira Sur have empowered farmers, resulting in greater human development & a more sustainable agriculture. However, in Choluteca, where vested interests were more entrenched, radical economic, social, & political change was required for development of a more sustainable agriculture. These cases both support & dispute ecological Marxism as the best solution, & demonstrate that the crisis can be deflected in a variety of ways, at least in the short term. 1 Map. J. Lindroth