The following comparison of Frito Dolisca’s et al. “Farmers’ Perceptions Towards Forests: A Case Study from Haiti” and Laurence Lewis’ and William Coffey’s “The Continuing Deforestation of Haiti” both describe the foundation of this conversation as an interdisciplinary study of deforestation and its relationship to Haitian economy. Dolisca’s et al. case study focuses on how a community member’s perception of the Foret des Pins Reserve impact social, environmental, and economic factors.1. This social psychological study attempts to break down and understand if environmental impacts are of concern or prioritized in Haitian culture. Lewis and Coffey’s research focuses on how economic issues are a direct result of environmental degradation associated with deforestation.2
This school of thought in which these researchers are concerned with is critical theory. As the international standard of development is becoming inescapable, Dolisca et al. are clearly concerned about how environmental changes will impact people’s views on the environment. Specifically, Dolisca et al. examine feelings and priorities of forests in everyday lives. Lewis and Coffey are concerned about how rural-to-urban migration, as a result of deforestation, will continue to suppress moral as employment opportunities do not increase.3
The conversation between these two pieces emphasizes not only the desire for change in deforestation practices but also the dire need for immediate change. Both articles will play a vital role in my research as they both set an important framework in understanding the economic implications of deforestation but also as they spark more questions that may be answered by other researchers. Regarding Dolisca’s et al. article, it will be vital to consider and examine how perceptions have changed in the last ten years since this research was published. The importance of forest is clearly of high concern in this case study because forest plays a vital role in food security and economic independence.4 Using statistical data of forest coverage in Haiti will allow me to pinpoint the most deforested and vulnerable areas. Before 1985 the coast of Haiti was heavily deforested and after 2000, deforestation moved inland.5 This data motivate me to conduct further examination on how this affected social relations between rural and urban areas in Haiti. Right now, after reading a couple articles on economics and deforestation, I am questioning the influence of culture. Continued research on both of these topics is necessary within the coming weeks.
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- Frito Dolisca, Josh M. McDaniel and, Lawrence D. Teeter. “Farmers’ Perceptions Towards Forests: A Case Study from Haiti,” Forest Policy and Economics 9, 6 (2007). 704.
- Laurence A. Lewis and, William J Coffey. “The Continuing Deforestation of Haiti,” Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 14, 3 (1985), 158
- Lewis, 159.
- Dolisca, 708.
- Lewis, 159.
Bibliography
Dolisca, Frito, Josh M. McDaniel, Lawrence D. Teeter. “Farmers’ Perceptions Towards Forests: A Case Study from Haiti,” Forest Policy and Economics 9, 6 (2007). 704-7012.
Lewis, Laurence A. and, William J Coffey. “The Continuing Deforestation of Haiti,” Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 14, 3 (1985), 158-160.
Zainab — you’ve identified two articles here that are clearly relevant to your research, and in this post you’ve done a good job of identifying some of the broad conceptual ideas that these articles point to as important in your research. As you continue your work towards the literature review, I would work on focusing even more directly on the different types of explanations that groups of scholars offer — much in the way that you note in the final paragraph that these articles both offer *economic* explanations for the puzzle (e.g. the articles both tell us that considering economic factors/causes would be important to explain puzzles concerning different patterns of deforestation). Paying attention to the conceptual details and the findings of each article is important, but it is even more central for the literature review to extract out the core of the explanation that each group of scholars offers so you can compare/contrast the different ways in which scholars offer explanations for the same puzzle (puzzles like yours). Keep reading and researching, and let me know if you have any questions!
Formatting note: No need to write out full author names or full article titles in the text body (this information is in your citations and bibliography). Referring to works by author last name is standard/sufficient.