Causes of deforestation in southwestern Madagascar: What do we know?

Causes of deforestation are discussed in the case of southwestern Madagascar. The article has two objectives. First, the idea is to discuss the usual linear regression approach to determine causes of deforestation. Secondly, the intention is to determine the causes of deforestation in our case study. Distinction is made between direct causes (agriculture, wood collection, and pasture land) and indirect causes (migration, export prices, property rights, and government policies). In outlining the strategies of the peasants, the article ends up with an estimation of the value of agricultural land vs. an estimation of benefits derived from utilisation of non-timber forest products from primary forest or scrub (value of medical plants and roots used as staple food). © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.