Resource information
Abstract: "Global economic change and policy interventions
are driving transitions from long-fallow swidden (LFS)
systems to alternative land uses in Southeast Asia’s uplands.
This study presents a systematic review of how these
transitions impact upon livelihoods and ecosystem services
in the region. Over 17 000 studies published between 1950
and 2015 were narrowed, based on relevance and quality, to
93 studies for further analysis. Our analysis of land-use
transitions from swidden to intensified cropping systems
showed several outcomes: more households had increased
overall income, but these benefits came at significant cost
such as reductions of customary practice, socio-economic
wellbeing, livelihood options, and staple yields. Examining
the effects of transitions on soil properties revealed negative
impacts on soil organic carbon, cation-exchange capacity,
and aboveground carbon. Taken together, the proximate and
underlying drivers of the transitions from LFS to alternative
land uses, especially intensified perennial and annual cash
cropping, led to significant declines in pre-existing
livelihood security and the ecosystem services supporting
this security. Our results suggest that policies imposing landuse
transitions on upland farmers so as to improve
livelihoods and environments have been misguided; in the
context of varied land uses, swidden agriculture can support
livelihoods and ecosystem services that will help buffer the
impacts of climate change in Southeast Asia."
Keywords: *Alternative land uses *Ecosystem services *
Livelihood security *Shifting cultivation *Southeast Asia
