Livestock and deforestation in Central America in the 1980s and 1990s

Abstract

This study analyses seven factors used to explain the conversion of forest to pasture in Central America between 1979 and 1994: 1) favorable markets for livestock products, 2) subsidized credit and road construction, 3) land tenure policies, 4) limited technological change in livestock, 5) policies which reduce timber values, 6) reduced levels of political violence, and 7) characteristics specific to cattle which make it attractive.