Welcome to my dissertation about Rondônia!

Because this dissertation is -- by definition -- long, I have divided it into chapters for this web site. Take a look before you hit "print," though; some chapters are quite long, and the graphics may overwhelm your printer. I accepted MS Word defaults in creating this page (dumb idea), so I need to work on some of the monstrous GIF files and other style and spelling problems that this Word created in these documents. Meanwhile, I have posted the pages - warts and all - so that interested people can start getting access to some of the ideas and information I have to offer.

This page includes the "front" material. The other pages include individual chapters. Please note that this is my unexpurgated version. Because of the intransigence of one dissertation committee member, the "official" version available at the University of Arizona and from University Microfilms, Inc. does not include one of the key findings in Chapter IV.
 

This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library.

Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quot ation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder.

SIGNED: __________________James Hayes-Bohanan, Ph.D._______________

I am thankful to many people who have contributed in one way or another to this project over the fifteen or more years that I have been thinking about and stud ying the Amazon region. At the University of Maryland Baltimore County, my friend Karl Teel first introduced me to geography and Dr. Eugene (Sandy) Parker introduced me to the problems and wonders of the Brazilian Amazon.

At Miami University, Dr. Bill Renwick initiated me in serious geographic research and Dr. Diego Abente was the first to challenge my naive understanding of the environmental politics in Brazil. At the University of Arizona, Dr. Bert Barickman, Dr. Donna Guy, Dr. Ed Williams, and Dr . Roger Fox taught me much about the history, politics, and economy of Brazil. Nivea Parsons was a patient teacher of the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. In the geography department at Arizona, Dr. Beth Mitchneck, Dr. Diana Liverman, Dr. Jim Keese, Ellen Hansen, Dr. Ralph Saunders, Joel Viers, and Dr. Barbara Morehouse, provided valuable insights at various stages of the project. My dissertation committee, Dr. Marv Waterstone, Dr. Emily Young, Dr. Art Silvers, recommended a number of important im provements. David Wasserman at Arizona State University shared valuable advice based on his own work in Rondônia.

The Wornick Company of McAllen, Texas provided flexible and rewarding employment during the preparation of this dissertation, allowing me to fund the fieldwork. Alex Zamora generously lent me his laptop computer during the fieldwork.

In Rondônia, I was befriended and assisted by kind and gracious people, including Professors Madelena and Ana Cristina in the geography department at UNIR. Dr. Miguel and Vera Nenevê and their family helped before, during, and after the fieldwork in more ways than I can describe. Josimar Walter de Sousa provided a place to live, his friendship, and many opportunities to learn about the region. Gilmar Dalmolin and his family were wonderful hosts, and ensured that I was able to visit many parts of Rondônia that I would not otherwise have known. I enjoyed the friendship of Marisa, Kahlil, Dona Maria, Graça, Grace, Paulo, the late Mauro, and many others, who shared their experiences and helped me to enjoy my stay in Rondônia, despite the long separation from my family. The artist Anká was my host for an unforgettable visit to Candeias do Jamari. Arquimedes Longo at SEDAM and economist Sergio Rivero at UNIR share insights and access to data and facilities. Rose Gannon shared insights, connections, and her wonderful library on Rondônia. In Ouro Preto, I enjoyed the hospitality of North Americans Chris Brown and Denise Perpich. Profesora Cristina of UNIR, Profesor Francisco Ferreira Moreira, author João Batista Lopes, and Solimar Bergamin showed me the town of Rolim de Moura and the surrounding rural landscape, and helped me to understand the geography of that fascinating city. I am also indebted to librarians, technicians, and other employees of many agencies in Rondônia.

My family, especially my parents, Jim and Jackie Bohanan, and my grandmother, Jeannette Bohanan supported and encouraged m y throughout my education and especially throughout this project. I thank my colleagues at Bridgewater State College, particularly Dr. Reed Stewart and Dr. Ann Lydecker, for their quiet support during the final year of this project.

Flaws that remain in this work are, of course, my own.

With great gratitude, I dedicate this work to Pamela Hayes-Bohanan, for expert librari anship, for help with data entry and translation, for extraordinary patience throughout the entire process, and most of all for sacrificing far more family time, energy, and money than she should have for far longer than she should have in order for this project to be completed.

I also dedicate this work to my grandfather, James K. Bohanan, Jr., who I wish were still here to see it completed, and to Paloma Bohanan, who has brought great hope and joy during the final phases of this writing.

Between 1960 and 1991, the population of Rondônia, Brazil increased from 70,000 to 1.3 million. This increase occurred during the thirty-year period bracketing the rise to statehood, during which a rural population also became largely urban. Simultaneously, the loss of tropical rain forest in the state progressed at unparalleled rates. This dissertation examines some of the ways in w hich these two rapidly changing aspects of Rondônia’s landscape are related to each other.

The research project employs a framework grounded in realist philosophy, a flexible approach that facilitates research into processes that are unfolding at a regional scale but which occur within the context of broader national and international structures.

Several kinds of connections between urban population growth and deforestation are examined, including land conversion for urban use, food co nsumption in urban areas, wood consumption for housing in urban areas, and power consumption in urban areas. Urban sprawl is found to be significantly and positively correlated with deforestation at the município level, but the absolute magnitude of urban sprawl is very small relative to total deforestation. No spatial correlation is found between urban settlement and the dedication of land to food crops. A weak but positive correlation is found between urban demand for timber and total deforestation , but the absolute magnitude of local timber demand is found to be very small in comparison to forest clearing. The recent diversification of the timber industry in order to absorb urban labor may have profound implications for demand on forest resources in the future. Electricity generation has been destructive of rain forest, and capacity already under construction is likely to have further such impacts.

The cultural landscape of Rondônia reflects an orientation that is increasingly outward- looking. Rondônia’s cities and towns are becoming more closely connected with one another and more fully integrated with the outside world. Early incentives to settle in Rondônia contributed to deforestation, but the curtailment of these incentives did not curtail deforestation. Rondônia is a place caught between two opposite pressures: the pressure to preserve the rain forest and the pressure to participate in the world economy as consumers.