My doctoral project examines the degradation of swidden-fallow agriculture in Indigenous territories of the Peruvian Amazon, where growing evidence shows that fallow cycles are shortening with serious consequences for both forest ecosystems and Indigenous food security. Rather than treating this as a local management failure, the project reframes secondary forest degradation as the outcome of broader political-economic processes enabled by the fragility of Indigenous territorial rights.
Welcome to my personal website, where I share my academic trajectory, research projects and scholarly contributions.
About me
I am a human-environment geographer and anthropologist specializing in the political ecology of Indigenous and rural livelihoods in Amazonia.
My research investigates how regimes governing territories and natural resources both enable and constrain Indigenous communities in sustaining their livelihoods and pursuing sustainable forest transitions within their territories.
I am currently a PhD student in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. I also serve as a board member of the Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG).
My research investigates how regimes governing territories and natural resources both enable and constrain Indigenous communities in sustaining their livelihoods and pursuing sustainable forest transitions within their territories.
I am currently a PhD student in the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. I also serve as a board member of the Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG).
Research Interests
1
Indigenous Livelihoods and Lifeways in Tropical Forests
2
The Governement of Territories and Natural Resources in Amazonia
3
Landscape Dynamics of Indigenous-managed Forests
Research projects
Despite political ecology's commitment to understanding environments as outcomes of complex political processes, its engagement with positivist methods like GIS and inferential statistics remains undertheorized. In collaboration with Prof. Deborah Martin, this project systematizes advances in critical mixed-methods research to propose a framework for integrating ecological and political analysis in ways that are both rigorous and epistemologically coherent.
Despite their central role in maintaining Amazonian ecosystems, Indigenous communities increasingly face resource sustainability challenges, including resource shortages and environmental degradation. This research project examines the pressing issue of land scarcity within Indigenous territories of the Peruvian Amazon, investigating its underlying causes beyond simple population growth and analyzing its far-reaching implications for communities and forest conservation.
Publications and Recognitions
Forthcoming articles
- Araujo, Ana L., Takasaki, Y., Abizaid, C., Paredes M. & Coomes, O.T. (n.d.) Policy-induced Land Scarcity among Amazonian Indigenous Territories. [Manuscript under review in Land Use Policy]
- Araujo, Ana L. (n.d.) The Political Economy of Belonging: A Transgender Framework for Ethnography in Rural Societies [Manuscript under review in Antipode]
Published articles
- Araujo Raurau, A.L. & Coomes, O.T. (2026). Local institutions mediate the effects of land scarcity in Indigenous territories in Amazonia. Sustainability, 18(8), 3665. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083665
- Araujo, Ana L. (2024). Entre la feminización del campo y el sometimiento patriarcal: Límites en el acceso a la tierra de las mujeres en comunidades campesinas de la sierra sur. Debate Agrario, 51, 153-182.
- Araujo, Ana L. (2022). El impacto del paradigma conservacionista en la expansión de la agricultura en territorios indígenas: aproximaciones desde una comunidad nativa Asháninka. Debate Agrario, 50, 145-178.
- Araujo, Ana L. (2019). De vuelta al análisis del trabajo: los impactos de la agricultura de contrata sobre los regímenes laborales agrícolas. Debate Agrario, 49, 39-66.
Books and Book Chapters
- Araujo, Ana L. (2021). ¿Puede la concentración de la tierra ser fuente de desarrollo?: Un análisis de las condiciones y bienestar de los trabajadores agroindustriales de Virú, Perú. Rome: International Land Coalition.
- Araujo, Ana L. (2020). Tierra y desigualdades de género: Cambios y continuidades en comunidades andinas de Ayacucho y Puno. Lima: SER.
- Araujo, Ana L. (2018). El lugar de la tierra en las dinámicas de diferenciación interna en la costa agroindustrial. In R. Fort et al. (Eds.), Perú: el problema agrario en debate. SEPIA XVII (pp. 543-590).
Recognitions
- AAG - Cultural and Political Ecology speciality group - Best student paper 2026
AAG - Rural geography speciality group - Best student paper 2025 - AAG - NESTVAL - AAG Council Award for Outstanding Graduate Student paper - 2024
My funding
American Geographical Society (AGS)
AGS Council Fellowship 2025
Sociedad para la Antropología de las Tierras Bajas de Sudamérica (SALSA)
The Norm and Sibby Whitten Research Fund - 2025
George Perkins Marsh Institute
Geller Research Fellowships - 2024
Contact
Email: aaraujoraurau@clarku.edu
Office: Clark University
950 Main St, Worcester, MA 01610, United States
Geography Building - office 102 A
Office: Clark University
950 Main St, Worcester, MA 01610, United States
Geography Building - office 102 A