Intensification de l’élevage et reforestation ? Les modèles spatiaux des exploitations d’élevage du programme de reconnaissance des bénéfices environnementaux au Costa Rica

The theoretical development model of intensifying livestock production contributes to reducing pressure on forests. This article focuses on the implementation of a program by Costa Rica’s Ministry of Agriculture in the Chorotega region to encourage the adoption of agro-environmental practices (“green” livestock intensification). Using surveys of 75 beneficiaries, we reveal the existence of four main elementary spatial structures (four choremes) which can be combined to represent the spatial organizations and dynamics of farmlands. A descriptive statistical analysis of the database of the usage units of the farms we surveyed shows one main dynamic : the increase in improved pasture does not regenerate the forest, thus disconfirming the theoretical model of land sparing