Tropical Agroecology and Conservation Ecology: Two Paths Toward Sustainable Development

The amount of land that is abandoned or severely degraded is large and increasing, with especially profound implicatons for conservation in the tropics. In particular, approximately one-half of the area of tropical forest lost each year expands the base of productive agriculture, whereas the other half simply replaces agricultural land that is worn out and abandoned (Houghton 1994). Consequently, if tropical agriculture were sustainable, the “...total agricultural area could continue to grow at current rates while, at the same time, rates of deforestation could be reduced by approximately 50%” (Houghton 1994, p. 311). Clearly, for the tropics at least, sustainable agriculture is a necessary precondition for the conservation of biodiversity (see also Hoffman and Carroll 1995).