What is the role of population in driving deforestation? This question was put forth as a discussion topic in the cyberseminar hosted by Population Environment Research Network (PERN) in Spring, 2003. Contributors from diverse backgrounds weighed in on the discussion, citing key factors in the population-deforestation nexus and suggesting further courses of action and research. Participants explored themes of their own choosing, with many coming to the forefront. Scale, time, and placebased effects were cited as areas in need of particular attention. Consumption patterns as the mechanism for spurring deforestation were discussed, drawing attention to the differential patterns associated with urban vs. rural demands on forest resources and land. The applicability of the IPAT formula and the influence of its component parts, affluence and technology, when operating in tandem with population, was debated. The relation of demographic factors to these pathways was critically examined. Institutional and governmental influence, such as infrastructure and policies affecting access and incentives, the valuation of resources, and institutional failures such as mismanagement and corruption emerged as a crucial set of factors. This article synthesizes the critical debates in the population-deforestation literature, makes suggestions for future paths of research, and discussed possible policy and direct action initiatives.

This paper reviews extant evidence and offers a conceptual framework for the investigation of complex dynamics among human population growth, environmental degradation, poverty, and climate change. The paper introduces theories relating to population growth, environmental degradation, the impact on human well-being, and potential relations with climate change. Poverty is discussed in detail as both a contributing factor to and consequence of population growth and environmental change. The empirical literature on land cover change and environmental change in coastal and marine resources and potential relations with climate change are examined. Despite notable limitations to current knowledge on links among population growth, ecosystems, climate, and poverty, implications for further research and policy application are rich.

land use and land cover changes occur throughout the world, but none is more concerning than tropical deforestation, much of it for agricultural purposes . rural-rural frontier migrant farmers such as those colonizing the sierra del lacandón national Park in Petén, guatemala act as a primary direct agent in this land cover conversion . this paper seeks to compare three different algorithms for monitoring changes in forested land cover, making use of freely available remotely sensed landsat images from two years, 1991 and 2000 . in the intervening 9 years, some forested land was converted to cropped, pasture, or fallow land, while other areas experienced no change . this paper contains a detailed description of the methods employed for three different change detection techniques, producing a total of five land change maps: multidate principal components analysis (PcA), normalized difference vegetation index (nDvi) image differencing, and brightness greenness wetness (BgW) image differencing . of the five land change maps produced, the greenness component of the BgW transformation had the highest overall accuracy, at 86%, and is conservative in detecting change . the amount of change detected by this algorithm represents approximately 300 km 2 of forest loss, or 11 .9% of the area examined .