Usar p⁄gs xvii-134 - ResearchGate

y these actors. In addition, because concessions restrict local communities’ access tonatural resources, some groups may have no other alternative but to move to other relativelyintact forests.• Small-scale mining and indigenous communities: The overlap between areas of smallscalemining and indigenous populations is significant –a potential source of conflict betweenindigenous peoples and non-indigenous small-scale miners. 110• Strictly protected areas and indigenous communities: Indigenous lands overlap withstrictly protected areas, although most of these areas were established after indigenouscommunities had already settled in them. Recent trends observed in indigenous communities(population growth, sedentarization, and increased use of firearms and other newtechnologies) pose a challenge for preserving the lifestyles of indigenous communities whilestill maintaining the relative intactness of strictly protected forests.Summary and AnalysisAlthough still relatively low, population in the Guayana region has grown exponentially in the1980s, due primarily to migration from other parts of the country. Even the indigenous populationhas greatly increased, due mostly to high birth rates and declines in the mortality rate. At the sametime, the trend toward sedentarization and growth of indigenous settlements is almost certain toresult in a more intensive use of nearby forest resources by these communities.However, the strongest pressures on the forest ecosystems of the Guayana region come from nonindigenouspopulations and uses. The continued growth of non-indigenous, natural-resourcedependentsettlements around the forest edge is likely to lead to new population centers, increasingthe demand for new roads and new infrastructure. Most of the region’s forest loss has occurred dueto expansion of the economic frontier (e.g., for mining and agriculture). The apparent overlap amongindigenous communities, small-scale miners and farmers, and logging and mining concessions is akey indicator of pressure on the Guayana region forests. To the degree that these conflicts remainunresolved, expansion into relatively intact forests will likely accelerate. Because local communitiesand the regional economy depend strongly on the resources and services provided by these forests,forest loss and degradation would have a lasting impact on the region’s populations.69