Rubber Tappers Research Articles

Conservation in Sustainable-Use Tropical Forest Reserves

trialspecies,therelativemeritsofdifferentapproachesto ensure the long-term persistence of those species remain highly contentious. Most would agree, however, that both establishing protected areas and exercising some form of restraint on extraction of forest resources are among the most effective of all viable conservation measures. Deforestation, wildfires, logging, and hunting are among the leading drivers of species losses in tropical forests, and de facto or de jure protection from these threats can be conferred by either effective enforcement of regulations or physical remoteness. Attempts to assess conservation success of protected areasatlargescaleshaverestedprimarilyonconventional use of remote sensing to quantify spatial or temporal differences in rates of change in land cover due to deforestation and wildfires, rather than on empirical demographic or community-level metrics (Gaston et al. 2008). Q2 However, the former approaches fail to detect most types of subcanopy anthropogenic disturbances that also result, directly or indirectly, in species losses (Peres et al. 2006). Moreover, the effects of habitat loss and degradation on population extirpations and declines are nonlinear, so vegetation cover alone is rarely a robust proxy for the viability of terrestrial biotas. Remotesensing data show vast tracts of apparently intact tropical forests, but in reality levels of hunting and other forms of extraction in these areas are often unsustainable (Peres & Lake 2003). Fundamental questions yet to be answered include whether ostensibly intact protected areas retain full complements of forest species and how the extent of cryptic patterns of disturbance is related to human population density in both protected and unprotected areas. I considered the global to regional emergence of sustainable-use reserves, emphasizing the world’s largest tropical forest region, Amazonia. Sustainable-use reserves often have intermediate levels of disturbance, so I examined the degree of use of natural resources by resident communities and used human population density as a proxy for level of extraction. In both protected and unprotected areas, I also estimated responses of game vertebrate assemblages to hunting on the basis of the relative biomassextractedfromasubsetoftheforestfauna.Iused analysesofcovariance(ANCOVA)toexaminetheassociationbetweenhumandensityandgamebiomassharvested across different reserve categories. Finally, I considered the long-term capacity of sustainable-use forest reserves to maintain populations of all resident species.

Rubber tapper identities: Political-economic dynamics, livelihood shifts, and environmental implications in a changing Amazon

Rubber tappers promoted extractive reserves as a sustainable alternative to forest destruction in the Brazilian Amazon. However, the significance of rubber tapping itself has declined since the creation of extractive reserves, which raises questions about the contemporary cultural content of the rubber tapper identity. This paper therefore evaluates rubber tapper identity, using the case of the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve (CMER) in Acre, Brazil. We first draw on household survey data from the CMER to construct a statistical model of who self-identifies as a rubber tapper. The model shows that socio-economic background, household assets, institutional context, and knowledge of the CMER’s management plan are relevant to understanding rubber tapper self-identification, but not resource management practices, including rubber tapping itself. We therefore pursue qualitative analysis of key informant interviews to better apprehend contemporary understandings of the “rubber tapper” identity, particularly in light of recent shifts in livelihoods from rubber tapping toward cattle ranching. The qualitative analysis shows that there are now several different foundations for self-identifying as a “rubber tapper,” and that there are disagreements concerning the acceptability of cattle ranching among “rubber tappers.” These findings bear implications for research on the relationship of livelihood-based identities with resource management practices and environmental change, as well as public policies that seek to reconcile regional development with forest conservation.

Musculoskeletal problems and ergonomic risk assessment in rubber tappers: A community-based study in southern Thailand

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic risk levels, and identify ergonomic factors related to low back pain in rubber tappers. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Chumporn Province, Southern Thailand. Subjects with a history of major trauma or certain pre-existing back disorders were excluded. A questionnaire-based interview, pain self-report form, direct observation of the workers, and a video-based analysis of working postures using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method were used. Over half (52.9%) of the participants had low back pain during the previous 3 months, while the prevalence of pain in the legs, upper arms, neck, wrists, and lower arms were 14.8%, 8.9%, 3.0%, 2.3%, and 2.1%, respectively. The average final RULA grand score of 5.25 corresponded to an action level of 3, which indicated the need for prompt medical investigation and work habit changes. From logistic regression analysis, the tapping levels and tapping postures including high frequencies of twisting, bending, and extension of trunk were significantly associated with low back pain. Other independent risk factors included a high frequency of weight lifting, high perceived fatigue from work, and lower levels of social support, education and income. Rubber tapping is regarded as an occupational risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). An abnormal ergonomic factor in rubber tapping increases the risk of low back pain among rubber tappers. Preventive measures should be developed to minimize this problem in the future. Relevance to industry The results of this study suggested the need for the development and implementation of a program using ergonomic concepts to reduce low back pain for rubber tappers.

Brazil's social movement, women and forests: a case study from the National Council of Rubber Tappers

SUMMARY This paper discusses the evolution of the roles of Brazilian women within one of the most prominent organizations of the Amazonian social movement, the National Council of Extractivist Populations (CNS). Between 1990 and 2009, Brazil’s Federal government created 89 extractive and sustainable development reserves in Amazonia, encompassing 24 million hectares. The conceptual underpinning of these reserves – sustainable and multiple-use forest management – are daily put into practice by thousands of rural Amazonian women. However, rural women’s relative role in forest policy is currently marginal. The Secretariat of Women Extractivists of CNS helped to transform women’s roles within CNS and the political hierarchy of extractive reserves from largely invisible to one of significance. Their work across sectors, cultivation of ties with the State, capacity building and acknowledgement of women’s cultural connections to forests, provide a strong foundation for an increasing role of Amazonian women to promote sustainable forest management and conservation.

Estimating state-wide biomass carbon stocks for a REDD plan in Acre, Brazil

As in many other developing countries, the state government of Acre, Brazil, is developing a program for compensating forest holders (such as communities of rubber tappers and indigenous peoples as well as small, medium and large private land holders) reducing their emission of atmospheric heat-trapping gases by not deforesting. We describe and then apply to Acre a method for estimating carbon stocks by land cover type. We then compare the results of our simple method, which is based on vegetation mapping and ground-based samples, with other more technically demanding methods based on remote sensing. We estimated total biomass carbon stocks by multiplying the measured above-ground biomass of trees >10 cm DBH in each of 18 forest types and published estimates for non-forest areas, as determined by measurement of 44 plots throughout the state (ranging from 1 to 10 ha each), by land-cover area estimated using a geographical information system. State-wide, we estimated average above-ground biomass in forested areas to be 246 ± 90 Mg ha −1; dense forest showed highest (322 ± 20 Mg ha −1) and oligotrophic dwarf forest ( campinarana) the lowest biomass (20 ± 30 Mg ha −1). The two most widespread forest types in Acre, open canopy forests dominated by either palms and bamboo (for which ground-based data are scant), support an estimated 246 ± 44 and 224 ± 50 Mg ha −1 of above-ground biomass, respectively. We calculate the total above-ground biomass of the 163,000 km 2 State of Acre to be 3.6 ± 0.8 Pg (non-forest biomass included). This estimate is very similar to two others generated using much more technologically demanding methods, but all three methods, regardless of sophistication, suffer from lack of field data.

PRODUKTIVITAS BURUH TANI PENYADAP KARET RAKYAT DAN STRUKTUR PENDAPATAN RUMAH TANGGANYA (DESA AIR SEKAMANAK KECAMATAN KETAHUN KABUPATEN BENGKULU UTARA)

The research was conducted in the Air Sekamanak village ketahun in North Bengkulu. The research location is determined purposively with consideration the village population moyority are farming rubber 75%. The purpose of this study to: 1) Estimate the level of productivity of rubber tappers, 2) Investigate the structure of rubber tappers household income. The object of research is the variables that relate to activities that tap-time employment, production, costs and revenues. The results of this study with the conclusions 1) Average labor productivity of agricultural workers in the rubber tappers of the Air Sekamanak village 3,822 Kg/wacth. 2) The average income of households in the Air Sekamanak village Rp 1.9466.490,476/month. The average income derived from farm laborers for the rubber tappers Rp 1.720.740,476/farming/month its contribution to household income by 88,402%. While the average income derived from activities outside of tapping rubber laborers Rp 225.750/month. This means that contribution to household income is about 11,598%. Key words: Productivity, Farm workers, Income Structure

Rubber tapper citizens: emerging places, policies, and shifting rural-urban identities in Acre, Brazil

In the 1970s and 1980s, a strong social movement of rubber tappers in the Amazonian state of Acre achieved remarkable policy goals, gaining new forms of land rights as well as political representation through their alliance with indigenous groups, environmentalists, political parties and human rights advocates. Allies of the social movement entered politics and took state power in 1999 as the “Forest Government,” building on the rubber tapper's legacy to embrace the unique cultural and political history of the state, and implementing ambitious plans for forest-based development under the banner of “forest citizenship.” In the past 25 years, however, rubber tapper identity has changed rapidly as many rubber tappers migrate to urban areas, or increasingly shift from traditional rubber tapping to more intensive land uses such as commercial agriculture and small-scale animal husbandry. This paper uses data collected from household surveys, key-informant interviews and ethnographic research to explore the idea of what it means to be a “rubber tapper” and “forest citizen” today. We examine the contradictory nature of changing land-use and cultural revitalization efforts among diverse rural and urban populations, and the implications of this diversity for the future of the Forest Government's policies, and the rubber tappers.

Forest Citizens: Changing Life Conditions and Social Identities in the Land of the Rubber Tappers

In the past few decades, a new era of socioenvironmental institutions and policies has promoted experimentation with alternative proosals for managing land and resources in the Amazon region. The rubber tappers' home state of Acre was transformed by the florestania policies of the forest government regimes that built on the rubber tappers' identity and history to promote forest-based development and to extend citizenship rights. Beginning in 1999, the state became a laboratory for experimentation with new approaches to development, at a time of rapid changes among both urban and rural populations. This article uses data from household surveys in the capital city of Rio Branco, as well as extensive secondary literature, to trace the evolution of these new policies and projects and their ambiguous implications for citizenship and sustainable development. Resumen: En las ultimas decadas una nueva era de instituciones y politicas sociomedioambientales han promovido la experimentacion con propuestas alternativas de gestion de la tierra y de los recursos en la region del Amazonas. Acre, estado natal de los huleros, fue transformado por las politicas de florestania de los gobiernos que se basaron en la identidad e historia de dichos huleros para lograr un desarrollo basado en la selva y extender los derechos de ciudadania. Desde 1999, Acre se ha convertido en un laboratorio para la experimentacion con nuevas aproximaciones al desarrollo al mismo tiempo que se han producido rapidos cambios en las poblaciones urbanas y rurales. En este articulo se utilizan datos obtenidos a traves de encuestas realizadas a unidades familiares de la capital, Rio Branco, asi como una extensa literatura secundaria, para a traves de ello trazar la evolucion de esas nuevas politicas y proyectos y sus ambiguas consecuencias para la ciudadania y el desarrollo sostenible.

A sustentabilidade da habitação do seringueiro amazônico

This article, focusing on construction technology, investigates and identifies the sustainability of the Amazon rubber tapper's home, built within the rubber tree forest of the Brazilian State of Acre from the late 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. This study also surveys bibliographical information, historical, determinant and constructive facts that attributed meanings to this model of construction, identifying it as sustainable housing. The latex collector was a crude individual, usually a migrant from the country's Northeast, driven by the droughts in the Northeastern backwoods, in search of wealth. When these people reached the Amazon regions to tap rubber trees and produce rubber, they entered the dense and lush forests, rich in rubber trees, Brazil nut trees, bamboo, palm trees and all types of hardwood. It was an unknown world. As a result of a war for latex hegemony, Acre emerged as important to Brazil and the whole world. Lacking a good financial situation and due to the basic needs and memories of their homeland, the rubber tappers built their houses similar to the Amazon native's housing, using raw materials from the forest - such as wood, paxiúba, palm straws, cipó and bamboo - without destroying the environment. They learned how to protect their homes from the storms by interacting with nature through open, integrated and windy spaces. These findings are based on the history of Acre's settlement, and the descriptions of the tappers' homes are evidence of dwellings that are fully self-sustainable.

Denis Heyck: Schools in the Forest. How Grassroots Education Brought Political Empowerment to the Brazilian Amazon

Schools in the Forest narrates the history of Projeto Seringueiro, a radical educational experiment undertaken in Acre, Brazilian Amazon, from 1981 to 2008. From an adult literacy program oriented to teach seringueiros (rubber tappers) basic math and literacy skills to market their products, to a network of primary schools that was finally integrated into the Brazilian official schooling system, "Projeto Seringueiro brought literacy to seringueiros and helped them claim their political rights as citizens, preserve their culture, and defend their forest habitat. In the process, it inspired reformers not just in Xapuri or Acre, but outside the region as well" (xi). The book consists of two very different parts. In the first, more analytical part, after presenting the broader sociopolitical context of Acre during the first years of Projeto Seringueiro, Heyck provides an historical account of the project by describing its different phases: its origins as an adult literacy project (1981-1985); a critical phase of disarray (1985-1989) caused by uncontrolled growth of the project and exacerbated by a chronic lack of funds and frequent personnel turnover; a third phase of renewal (1989-2000) with the infusion of new leaders and the articulation of new goals for the project that although still based on extractive reserves changed the focus to children's education; and a last phase of growth (2000-2008) when Projeto Seringueiro expanded its influence to areas other than extractive reserves, until its schools and personnel were finally integrated into the official school system.

Subsidies for Rubber: Conserving Rainforests While Sustaining Livelihoods in the Amazon?

Extractive reserves in the Brazilian Amazon are one of the best-known examples of protected areas specifically designed to be inhabited by humans. The extractive reserve model has been criticized for its dependence on rubber tapping, which is no longer economically competitive. The state of Acre addressed this issue in 1999 by establishing a subsidy for rubber, designed to improve the quality of life of rubber tappers and simultaneously conserve forest. The subsidy is potentially a self-targeting and self-enforcing conservation mechanism, given that rubber production in the Amazon requires intact native forest. However, evidence on implementation of the subsidy through 2002 showed that its distribution had been fairly concentrated and correlated with ownership and sale of cattle. This raises some concerns about the use of such indirect mechanisms. The ultimate success or failure of the rubber program will depend on whether it provides a platform for more sustainable economic strategies and policies.

A Program for Thai Rubber Tappers to Improve the Cost of Occupational Health and Safety

The purposes of this research were to determine the cost of occupational health and safety and work-related health problems, accidents, injuries and illnesses in rubber tappers by implementing a program in which rubber tappers were provided training on self-care in order to reduce and prevent work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses. Data on costs for healthcare, the prevention and the treatment of work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses were collected by interview using a questionnaire. The findings revealed that there was no relationship between what was spent on healthcare and the prevention of work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses and that spent on the treatment of work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses. The proportion of the injured subjects after the program implementation was significantly less than that before the program implementation (p<0.001). The level of pain after the program implementation was significantly less than that before the program implementation (p<0.05). The treatment costs incurred after the program implementation were significantly less than those incurred before the program implementation (p<0.001). It was demonstrated that this program raised the health awareness of rubber tappers. It strongly empowered the leadership in health promotion for the community.

Land-use/land-cover change among rubber tappers in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, Acre, Brazil

The Extractive Reserve System is championed as a win–win model of sustainable development in which rubber tappers serve to protect the forest while improving economic growth and resident well-being. Recently, reserves are being questioned in terms of their environmental sustainability, as many rubber tappers increasingly turn to market agriculture in times of economic duress and instability. This study explores land-use/land-cover change in six rubber estates within the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, using both remote sensing analysis and household surveys, and addresses the differences in deforestation by livelihood trajectories. A remote sensing analysis between 1986 and 2003 shows that some communities are close to surpassing the allowable limits of deforestation. Rubber tapping plays a less important role in livelihood strategies, as welfare is linked to non-extractive activities. Households pursue diverse livelihood activities including extractivism, small-scale market cultivation, animal rearing, and cattle production. The results suggest that land-use/land-cover change is highly dynamic in the reserve.

Recommended Books and Films

Books: The Greatest Gift, Binka Le Breton (New York: Doubleday, 2007). Martyr of the Amazon, Roseanne Murphy (New York: Orbis Books, 2007). Films: The Children of the Amazon, Denise Zmekhol (ZD fil...

Beyond Forest Cover: Land Use and Biodiversity in Rubber Trail Forests of the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve

Among the strategies to promote sustainable tropical forest development around the world, the Federal Extractive Reserve System of Brazil is widely cited as an exemplary model. It is designed to protect rubber tapper communities, their forests, and their livelihoods while preventing deforestation and conserving biodiversity. In response to changing markets and policies, rubber tappers in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve have recently diversified production to include market agriculture and cattle production, precipitating deforestation in the reserve, with the implication of increased ecological degradation compared to the extraction of nontimber forest products (NTFPs). Our remote sensing and forest inventory analyses yield different insights about the environmental consequences of distinct land-use mixes in two extractive communities, one of which emphasizes cattle and the other, NTFPs. Remote sensing results show a predictably greater impact on forest cover in the cattle-oriented community. This preliminary study is based on nested household- and community-level forest inventory and biodiversity analyses in two communities. Surprisingly, we found higher tree biodiversity in the rubber trail forests of the cattle-oriented community, and significantly lower tree species richness, tree density, total basal area, and number of trees of commercial size in the same land-use unit in the NTFP-focused community. Land-use surveys indicate lower levels of game consumption and hunting in the cattle-oriented community, and strong support for the development of sustainable timber extraction in both communities. The distinct type and degree of forest impact in the two communities exposes the problem of single-impact assessment as the sole means of performance and categorical land-use prohibitions as an effective mode of regulation in conservation areas.

A construção social de políticas públicas. Chico Mendes e o movimento dos seringueiros

O artigo analisa a trajetória peculiar dos seringueiros do Acre que, ao buscarem solução para conflitosfundiários, formularam políticas públicas inovadoras de conciliação entre reforma agrária e proteçãodo meio ambiente. Reconstitui a liderança de Chico Mendes e as diferentes etapas de construção domovimento social e da política pública de criação de Reservas Extrativistas. Analisa as causas internase externas que explicam o sucesso de um movimento social no contexto da Conferência do Rio e dapressão internacional contra as políticas dos bancos multilaterais.

Use of Ayahuasca among Rubber Tappers of the Upper Juruá

The article is the fruit of co-authorship between an anthropologist with long research experience in the area of the Extractivist Reserve of the Alto Juruá, in the far west of the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon, and a rubber tapper who was first introduced to ayahuasca in the context of a rubber camp. His initiation has elements of non-indigenous and indigenous culture and results in a quite original synthesis, which is narrated in the first-person at the beginning of the article. The article traces the history of the introduction of ayahuasca, or cipó (vine), among the rubber tappers of the Alto Juruá in their relations with indigenous populations and their pajés (shamans), highlighting those rubber tappers who distinguished themselves as apprentices and became healers renowned among their contemporaries. Beginning in the 1980s the use of cipó occurs in the context of the struggle of rubber tappers against the rubber bosses, and ayahuasca mysticism merges with political conflict. New syntheses take place, now with the introduction of elements of the religious doctrine of Santo Daime.

Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes. Struggle for Justice in the Amazon (review)

Reviewed by: Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes. Struggle for Justice in the Amazon Marianne Schmink Walking the Forest with Chico Mendes. Struggle for Justice in the Amazon. Gomercindo Rodrigues. Edited and translated by Linda Rabben. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2007 xiv and 187 pp., Introduction by Biorn Maybury-Lewis, Foreword by Marina Silva, Afterword by Linda Rabbin, map, abbreviations, photos, notes, bibliography, index. $22.95 paper (ISBN 978-0-292-71706-0) Nearly twenty years after the assassination of Brazilian rubber tapper leader Chico Mendes, this book provides a welcome reminder of his remarkable life and accomplishments, at a moment when the struggles he defended are more important than ever. Originally published in Portuguese as Caminhando na Floresta com Chico Mendes, the core of this unique volume is a moving memoir, written in the author’s authentic and distinctive voice, raw and first-hand, including reflections on the sweep of Amazonian and Brazilian history. The translated version also includes a foreword by Marina Silva, an authoritative introduction by Bion Maybury-Lewis that contextualizes the personal history of Chico Mendes and his friend and companion, Gomercindo Rodrigues, as well as an Afterword by Linda Rabbin, who put together this team project, serving as translator, editor (adding footnotes) and contributor. The result is a primarily popular book which, however, contains important documentation on the rubber tapper movement’s development in Acre, description of the rubber tapper way of life, and the place of these events within Amazonian history, as well as analysis of Mendes’ murder. Rodrigues, affectionately known as “Guma,” now a combative attorney who champions human rights causes in the western Amazonian state of Acre, began his association with Chico Mendes in 1986 when he participated in an assessment of a failed cooperative effort among the rubber tappers in that state. The agronomist from Mato Grosso do Sul, described in an Afterword by Linda Rabbin as “an intensely serious young man,” thus began a life-long commitment to supporting the unique struggle of the rubber tappers to defend their rights as workers and as members of rural communities inextricably connected to the Amazonian forests where they lived and made a living tapping rubber, collecting Brazil nuts and other forest resources. Over the next two decades Rodrigues dispassionately devoted himself to organizing and implementing a strong grass-roots proposal for a new cooperative to free the tappers from the exploitation [End Page 176] of the trading post owners, proudly showing me the plastic bag of dues money he collected on June 30, 1988, the day the coop began, when we crossed paths in the local union office in Xapuri. The book recounts Rodrigues’ experiences beginning in January of 1986, walking nearly 3,000 kilometers of the rubber trails as he worked tirelessly to organize the cooperative. This is not a biography of Chico Mendes, of which there are several listed in the editor’s bibliography. Rodrigues instead tells the history of this struggle from his own personal perspective and in his own unique voice as a key witness and participant -- a sometimes anguished recounting of injustices (many of them still not addressed), alongside gentle, humble and humorous reflections about his experiences learning and living among the rubber tappers as he walked in the forest communities. Rodrigues’ account begins with the story of his own actions in the moments just before and after Mendes’ murder in December of 1988, detailing the many unanswered questions about the crime – including the role of the state’s federal police chief and the possible involvement of other local elites as financiers and intellectual authors of the murder. At the time, Guma himself figured prominently on the death lists circulating in the hands of the dozens of gunslingers who lounged ostentatiously in the charged climate of the town of Xapuri. Without a doubt the most moving passage is the description of the non-violent “empate” near Cachoeira in 1988, when men, women and children who had gathered to block the progress of forest clearing by workers protected by the local police, spontaneously launched into singing the national anthem – as police lowered their arms or saluted and stood respectfully with the hands over the forest. His...

Child poverty: The need is great and opportunity awaits

I have a picture in an album of five beautiful Malaysian children. Their mother, a rubber tree tapper, had died from a snake bite leaving her unemployed husband to provide for the children in a society that at that time (1969) was without social services or state support. On their abdomens are the outlines that I had drawn of their massively enlarged livers and spleens. I also recorded their ages (four, five, six, seven and nine years), weights (16 lbs, 25 lbs, 27 lbs, 32 lbs and 28 lbs, respectively) and hemoglobin levels (7.5 g/L, 6.3 g/L, 5.0 g/L, 3.1 g/L and 3.6 g/L, respectively). All the children had chronic malaria, severe malnutrition and multiple intestinal parasites. I have never forgotten them or the reality of that family’s poverty and its impact on their health. In 1968, two years after I graduated from medical school, after one year as a solo general practitioner in a small community and three months after marrying my physiotherapist wife, we set off for west Malaysia on a two-year contract with CARE Canada (Ottawa, Ontario). The experiences of those two years influenced the direction of our lives from that point on. We initially worked in a rural district hospital, where I was strongly affected by the desperate needs of children suffering from malnutrition, parasites, malaria and anemia. Later, we moved to a small hospital in the jungle that served the needs of Aboriginal people throughout the Malay peninsula. In this setting, one of my duties was to visit remote Aboriginal communities by helicopter, boat or foot. The people within these isolated communities were independent and most of their needs were provided by the jungle landscape in which they lived. Houses were built from bamboo, and food was foraged from the surrounding fauna and wildlife. If supplies became depleted, they moved to a new setting carrying with them all their belongings. The small village which was left behind was quickly reclaimed by the jungle, leaving a minimal footprint. My exposure to treating children there, the healthiest of whom was often sicker than the sickest child I was to see in my paediatric training, prompted me to enroll in a paediatric residency program. I wanted to better understand why some children I had treated had gotten better and some with the same treatment had died. I had planned to study for one year and return to general practice. However, once in the residency, my love of paediatrics swayed the next decision, to complete my fellowship. I was, I think, fortunate. Today, medical schools require students to make a choice for early specialization. In my case, the practical experience of working with sick children set the course. As a result of my Malaysian experience, I chose to practice in a smaller, less-serviced community that was looking for a paediatrician. Later, I had an opportunity to serve on the Paediatric Death Review Committee of the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. This Committee reviews all deaths of children in the care of child protection in Ontario. The reviews are passed on to the child protection agencies and government ministries involved, for them to address issues that relate to the protection of children. Poverty and its impact are over-represented factors in these reviews. I am now approaching retirement. My wife and I thought it would be appropriate to end our careers as we began them, in a setting where children have restricted resources. With this in mind, I have taken the opportunity to work as a consulting paediatrician in the Baffin region of Nunavut. Public health issues are significant, with lack of housing, poor nutrition, poverty, spousal abuse, dental caries, iron deficiency anemia and a high suicide rate being just a few. The exposure to child poverty in the early years of my medical career profoundly affected the direction of my career. For that career and for that direction, I am most grateful. If I were a new graduate today, I would jump at the opportunity to work in less-serviced areas. The need is great, the learning rich, and the opportunity to make a difference for children and their families is there… and awaits you.

Cows versus rubber: Changing livelihoods among Amazonian extractivists

The livelihood strategies of former rubber tappers in the Amazon region are rapidly shifting from extraction of non-timber forest products to mixed systems based on agriculture and small scale cattle ranching. Using a combination of participatory methods and Geographical Information Systems, a case study in western Acre, Brazil explores how rubber tapper livelihood strategies may be changing, and the implications of these changes for land use and forest cover. Field (cattle pasture and agriculture) expansion and the decline of forest extractivism present challenges to many regional conservation and development projects such as sustainable settlement projects and extractive reserves seeking to develop forest-based livelihood alternatives to limit deforestation. Sustainability goals require researchers and policy makers to address the still experimental status of these forest-based organizational units, the heterogeneity and dynamism of extractivist livelihoods, and the necessary importance of small-scale cattle ranching for insurance and income generation among many former and current extractivists.