Poverty and Soil Management - Relationships From Three Honduran Watersheds

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This article questions poverty as a (major) cause of environmental degradation and the assumption that the poor are caught in a vicious circle with regard to their natural resource management. Examining the soil management of farmers of different poverty level in three Honduran watersheds, the article explores the relationships between poverty, soil quality, and soil management strategy. It argues that the relationship between the overall level of poverty and soil degradation often is a statistical artifact, resulting from a failure to disaggregate the soil management of the poor and the nonpoor, rather than a casual relationship. Further, the article shows that although they are inhibited from using chemical fertilizers due to capital constraints, poor farmers are no less likely than nonpoor farmers to adopt labor- and land-requiring soil-conserving measures.