This talk reports on the findings of a study of swidden-fallow agroforestry, forest product use and land access over time in an upland forest community along the Amazon river, near Iquitos, Peru.

Our results challenge the popular notion of traditional livelihoods as an assured path to more sustainable and equitable development in tropical forests.

About Oliver Coomes
Prof. Oliver Coomes is an Associate Professor of Geography at McGill University and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, World Development.

He is a member of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Land Use/Cover Change and the Poverty and Environment Network of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

His research examines issues related to rural poverty and environment in neotropical forests, particularly in Amazonian Peru, and how forest peoples adapt to changing environmental and economic conditions.