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Butterfly-farming projects have been economically successful, increasing livelihood opportunities for local people and promoting women's empowerment, governance, and conservation behavior. Moreover, local butterfly exhibitions can diversify the attractions of natural reserves and promote ecotourism. Butterfly farming involves rearing butterflies in captivity and marketing them to local or international exhibitions. We researched the feasibility of a butterfly farming project in Western Ecuador during summer 2013 as part of a longer-term applied research program involving capacity-building for local people. A preliminary strategic plan was developed, including a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and an analysis of market demand for a butterfly exhibition. In addition, biological research was carried out, and local people were trained to address two main weaknesses to implement an exhibition. Results showed that a butterfly farming project is feasible in the area due to the availability of biological information about butterfly species, a market niche for a butterfly exhibition at the reserve, and increased technical capacity and willingness of local stakeholders to participate. This study contributes to understanding how applied biological research can act synergistically to promote sustainability and ecotourism in collaboration with local people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad interpretation of land use and forest cover studies has been limited by the biophysical and socio-economic uniqueness of the landscapes in which they are carried out and by the multiple temporal and spatial scales of the underlying processes. We coupled a land cover change approach with a political ecology framework to interpret trends in multi-temporal remote sensing of forest cover change and socio-economic surveys with smallholders in the towns of Iñapari, Peru and Assis Brasil, Brazil in southwest Amazonia. These adjacent towns have similar biogeophysical conditions, but have undergone differing development approaches, and are both presently undergoing infrastructure development for the new Interoceanic highway. Results show that forest cover patterns observed in these two towns cannot be accounted for using single land use drivers. Rather, deforestation patterns result from interactions of national and regional policies affecting financial credit and road infrastructure, along with local processes of market integration and household resources. Based on our results we develop recommendations to minimise deforestation in the study area. Our findings are relevant for the sustainability of land use in the Amazon, in particular for regions undergoing large-scale infrastructure development projects.