Poverty and soil management: Relationships from three Honduran watersheds

Statistical analyses are presented to debunk the assumption of poverty as a cause of environmental degradation. The author examines results of surveys of farmers in three Honduran watersheds. While lack of capital constrained use of chemical fertilizers, it did not affect the use of soil structure management practices. In addition, the study showed that the poorest farmers were generally not responsible for clearing forests for agricultural purposes. Ravnborg suggests that the relationship between poverty and degradation is a statistical artifact resulting from failing to examine the practices of both the poor and the non-poor.