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Cited by 30Conflict, Peace, and Violence in ColombiaConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones

Forests in the time of peace

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Van Dexter, Kristina, Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid·2020·Journal of Land Use Science
DOI 10.1080/1747423x.2019.1699614
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Abstract

The signing of Colombia’s peace agreement in 2016 signaled the end of a decades-long war between the government and the FARC (Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), but also an emerging assault against the country’s forests. This article aims to understand the interactions between forests and peace. In doing so, it traces landscape transformations of deforestation and possibilities for making landscapes livable in the midst of disturbance. Drawing on field research, including interviews and participant observation carried out in Colombia from 2016 to 2018, it reveals how deforestation is driven by ongoing colonization and land grabbing, mostly dedicated to extensive cattle ranching, coca cultivation, and campesinos’ transition to ‘licit’ agricultural alternatives. The article also shows how emerging coordination among farmers and forests following forest disturbance contributes to an interpretation of peace in which forests are integral. The article concludes with a call to incorporate forests in the construction of peace.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Van Dexter, K., & Visseren-Hamakers, I.
Affiliations
  • Department of Environmental Science & Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
ORCID
Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid
Venue
Journal of Land Use Science
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2019-12-06
Volume
15
Issue
2-3
Pages
327-342
ISSN
  • 1747-423X (ISSN-L)
  • 1747-4248
DOI
10.1080/1747423x.2019.1699614
OpenAlex
W2993960082
Cited by
30
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5
FWCI
4.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Land Use Science (publishedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones
Keywords
deforestation, post-conflict peace, Colombian peace agreement, FARC, landscape change, land grabbing, cattle ranching, coca cultivation, campesinos, forest disturbance, forest governance

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