ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses conceptual issues regarding the effects of demographic processes on patterns of land use during the course of socioeconomic development. It illustrates the complexity of the processes involved, as well as the points where policy and contextual factors condition the nature of the response. The chapter reviews literature on agricultural intensification, mainly in Latin America and Africa and aims to explore the extent to which population processes and agricultural intensification may be related. Conceptually, the interrelations between demographic processes, land use practices, and the environment in rural areas of developing countries are very complex. The chapter explores evidence relating to E. Boserup’s hypothesis regarding the intensification of agriculture. The traditional form of agriculture in much of the tropics is swidden agriculture, which is well suited to the tropical environment under conditions of low population density. The focus is on the interrelations between population change and land use, and only incidentally on the implications for the environment.
