Multi-Scale, Interdisciplinary, Deforestation and Reforestation Analysis in 25 Indigenousterritories in the Peruvian Amazon (1975- 2016)

There is broad acceptance that Indigenous Community Lands (ICLs) can be effective entities in the global effort to tackle deforestation and climate change. However, empirical evidence has not always been consistent in demonstrating this. Furthermore, analyses are often short-term, and use only large-scale Earth Observation methodologies. This article explores deforestation and reforestation dynamics over 415,749 hectares of 25 titled ICLs in the Peruvian Amazon over forty years at three scales: total area, regions, and communities. We use a multi-method approach linking remote sensing with ground verification, and qualitative historical political ecology work with indigenous communities. We find that overall accumulated deforestation was low at 5%, but that when reforestation is considered, net deforestation was only 3.5%. At the community level deforestation and afforestation dynamics are complex, except for one period that indicates a macro driver in the region. Our work with communities highlights that categorizing them and their lands as inherently pro-environment or not is unhelpful for determining fund flows to ICLs for environmental or development purposes. Furthermore, results suggest inadequate accounting for forest regeneration on titled ICLs, which strongly supports the titling of ICLs for pro-environmental outcomes, and we engage in a novel way with the debate on exclusion. Our study challenges the notion that presenting stakeholders with accumulated forest loss values is helpful in tropical areas where forests and people are dynamic and regenerative.