Are shifting cultivators marauders or managers of the forest?
Whether shifting cultivators are “marauders” or “managers” of the forests in which they dwell has long been debated among scholars. But as this controversy rages in academic circles, important decisions about tropical rainforest management are being made by policy-makers. Concern about the fate of tropical rainforests, and about the implications of their loss for the world at large, is growing everywhere. As these concerns are discussed among scientists and policy-makers, shifting cultivation becomes a central issue. Unfortunately, much of our understanding of shifting cultivation – a practice regularly blamed for tropical deforestation – is based on little or no information. Many policy-makers world-wide consider all shifting cultivators to be villains, “primitive” remnants in otherwise civilized societies, wreaking havoc on valuable forests. This view is also common in Indonesian policy-making settings. There is an obvious appeal in the “marauder” view for policy-makers, who must see
