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Agricultural abandonment and recultivation during and after the Chechen Wars in the northern Caucasus

Author

Listed:
  • He Yin

    (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Van Butsic

    (Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 101 Sproul Hall, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA)

  • Johanna Buchner

    (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Tobias Kuemmerle

    (Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany and IRI THESys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany)

  • Alexander V. Prishchepov

    (Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 København K, Denmark and Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Tovarisheskaya str.5, 420097, Kazan, Russia)

  • Matthias Baumann

    (Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany)

  • Eugenia V. Bragina

    (Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300, Southern Boulevard, Bronx Zoo, NY 10460-1099S, USA)

  • Hovik Sayadyan

    (Department of Physical Geography, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia)

  • Volker C. Radeloff

    (SILVIS Lab, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

Abstract

Armed conflicts are globally widespread and can strongly influence societies and the environment. However, where and how armed conflicts affect agricultural land-use is not well-understood. The Caucasus is a multi-ethnic region that experienced several conflicts shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, most notably the two Chechen Wars, raising the question how agricultural lands were changed. Here, we investigated how the distance to conflicts and conflict intensity, measured as the number of conflicts and the number of casualties, affected agricultural land abandonment and subsequent re-cultivation, by combining social, environmental and economic variables with remotely-sensed maps of agricultural change. We applied logistic and panel regression analyses for both the First Chechen War (1994-1996) and the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) and interacted conflict distance with conflict intensity measures. We found that agricultural lands closer to conflicts were more likely to be abandoned and less likely to be re-cultivated, with stronger effects for the First Chechen War. Conflict intensity was positively correlated with agricultural land abandonment, but the effects differed based on distance to conflicts and the intensity measure. We found little re-cultivation after the wars, despite abundant subsidies, indicating the potentially long-lasting effects of armed conflicts on land-use. Overall, we found a clear relationship between the Chechen Wars and agricultural land abandonment and re-cultivation, illustrating the strong effects of armed conflicts on agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • He Yin & Van Butsic & Johanna Buchner & Tobias Kuemmerle & Alexander V. Prishchepov & Matthias Baumann & Eugenia V. Bragina & Hovik Sayadyan & Volker C. Radeloff, 2019. "Agricultural abandonment and recultivation during and after the Chechen Wars in the northern Caucasus," HiCN Working Papers 294, Households in Conflict Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hic:wpaper:294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander V. Prishchepov & Florian Schierhorn & Fabian Löw, 2021. "Unraveling the Diversity of Trajectories and Drivers of Global Agricultural Land Abandonment," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-8, January.
    2. Qiming Zheng & Tim Ha & Alexander V. Prishchepov & Yiwen Zeng & He Yin & Lian Pin Koh, 2023. "The neglected role of abandoned cropland in supporting both food security and climate change mitigation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Affek, Andrzej N. & Jabs-Sobocińska, Zofia & Wolski, Jacek & Radeloff, Volker C., 2023. "Pockets of persistence of agricultural land use during the socioeconomic shock of forced post-WWII displacements in the Carpathians," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

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    Keywords

    Agricultural land abandonment; armed conflict; ethnic conflict; land-use change; re-cultivation; warfare.;
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