Fertility and the environment in a natural resource dependent economy: Evidence from Petén, Guatemala

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"This paper examines potential relations between factors related to fertility and the accessto and use of natural resources in Petén, Guatemala. The Petén forms the heart of theSelva Maya, the largest lowland humid forest in Mesoamerica. The rapid in-migration ofsubsistence maize farmers has converted much of the Petén´s forests to agriculturalfields. Population dynamics have been transformed in that virtually all farm familieshave arrived since the 1970s and that total fertility rates exceed the national rural mean.Continued migration, exceptionally high fertility, a youthful population, and a largeconsumer to producer ratio are hypothesized to be related to the dramatic land coverdynamics shaping the landscape of the Petén. An emerging body of literature suggeststhat environmental factors can affect fertility decision-making and behaviors, especiallyin natural resource dependent economies like that of the Petén. This paper examinesthese relationships using data from the 1998/99 Demographic Health Survey inGuatemala. Data on natural resource access and utilization were collected as part of anenvironment module, in addition to demographic and health information. This dataset,the first ever environmental module of the Demographic Health Survey, provides aunique opportunity to examine possible relationships between fertility and theenvironment in a tropical agricultural frontier."