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Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala: Context, Accomplishments and Challenges Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala Context, Accomplishments and Challenges Ileana Gómez and V. Ernesto Méndez Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala Context, Accomplishments and Challenges Ileana Gómez and V. Ernesto Méndez ISBN 978-979-24-4699-9 41p. First edition by PRISMA, 2005 Second edition by CIFOR and PRISMA, 2007 Design and layout by Cyprianus Jaya Napiun Photos by PRISMA Published by Center for International Forestry Research Jl. CIFOR, Situ Gede, Sindang Barang Bogor Barat 16680, Indonesia Tel.: +62 (251) 622622; Fax: +62 (251) 622100 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.cifor.cgiar.org Methodology and Acknowledgements This publication is a collaborative effort by PRISMA in the project “Learning to Build Accompaniment Models for Grassroots Forestry Organizations in Brazil and Central America,” sponsored by the Ford Foundation and executed jointly by the Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR) and the Asociación Coordinadora Indígena Campesina de Agroforestería Comunitaria Centroamericana (ACICAFOC). The context analysis of the Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén (ACOFOP) combined a literature review of secondary sources with field work in Petén (March and October 2004). This included participation in workshops for community leaders and self-systematizers, and interviews with Erick Cuellar of the ACOFOP technical team, Richard Grant and Aldo Rodas of Alianza para un Mundo Justo, Luis Romero of the Centro Maya and Héctor Rosado, Director of the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) in Petén. The paper was enriched by information provided at international workshops and exchange visits held in San Salvador (May 2004, methodological workshop) and Petén (October 2004). Peter Taylor (Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, United States) was in charge of methodological assistance and also carefully reviewed draft versions, making extremely useful suggestions that resulted in sounder research findings. The contents of the draft prior to this report were much clearer and better structured thanks to suggestions made by Deborah Barry (Program Officer for Development and Environment, Ford Foundation for México and Central America); Rubén Pasos (Project Coordinator); Marcedonio Cortave, Apolinario Córdova, Erick Cuellar, Walter Aroche, Carlos Kursel and Marío Rivas (ACOFOP); and Virgilio Reyes (FLACSO Guatemala). For their unflagging collaboration, contributions and information throughout the preparation of this paper, we would especially like to thank Marcedonio Cortave, Executive Director of ACOFOP, along with the ACOFOP Technical and Administrative Team. Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala (ACOFOP): Context, Accomplishments and Challenges iii Contents Methodology and Acknowledgements iii Abbreviations and Acronyms vi Summary vii Introduction 1 Community Forest Concessions: Stages in Their Development 3 Location and Ecology 3 Petén (1954-1989): The Development of a Territorial Role 4 Establishment of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (1989-1994) 5 Creation of Community Forest Concessions (1994-1996) 8 ACOFOP: Origins and Evolution (1996-2004) 10 Funding and Assistance for Community Forest Concessions 17 International Funding and Influence in Petén 17 USAID and its Role in Petén’s Conservation and Development 18 Assistance Models for Community Forest Concessions 19 The Official Assistance Model 20 Pro-Community Assistance 22 Lessons for Strengthening Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Local Livelihoods 23 Social and Environmental Impacts of Community Management on the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) 25 Natural Resource Conservation and Management 25 Changes in Livelihoods Strategies 27 Strengthening Community Organization 28 Challenges to Community Forest Management 29 The Adoption of a Territorial Perspective 29 Redefining Community Institutional Frameworks 34 The Challenge of Community Commercialization 34 Integrating Local Actors into Community Forest Management 37 References 39 Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala (ACOFOP): Context, Accomplishments and Challenges Abbreviations and Acronyms ACICAFOC Central American Indigenous and Peasant Coordinator ACOFOP Association of Forest Communities of Petén BCIE Central American Bank for Economic Integration BID Inter-American Development Bank BIOFOR Biodiversity and Sustainable Forestry Project CALAS Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action CATIE Tropical Agricultural Center for Research and Higher Education CCAD Central American Commission on Environment and Development CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CI Conservation International CIR Romero Christian Initiative CONAP National Council for Protected Areas CONCOFOP Consultative Council of Forest Communities of Petén DED German Development Service FARES Foundation for Antropological Research and Environmental Studies FORESCOM Community Forestry Concessions Enterprise FSC Forest Stewardship Council FYDEP Promotion and Economic Development of Petén GHF Global Heritage Fund HELVETAS Swiss Cooperation Agency ICCO Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation INAB National Forestry Institute INTA Institute for Agrarian Transformation ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization KFW KFW Banking Group MAGA Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food MBR Maya Biosphere Reserve ONG Non Governmental Organization PPP Puebla Panamá Plan PROSELVA Program for the Conservation of the Peten Tropical Forest RUTA Regional Unit for Technical Assistance SEGEPLAN General Secretariat for Economic Planning SIGAP Guatemalan Protected Areas System TLC Free Trade Agreement SUCHILMA Union of Chicle Tappers and Wood Workers TNC The Nature Conservancy UICN The World Conservation Union UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNO United Nations Organization USAID United States Agency for International Development WWF World Wildlife Fund Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala (ACOFOP): Context, Accomplishments and Challenges i Summary The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) covers security problems from illegal trafficking in flora, 2,112,940 hectares (ha). It is located in the Peten fauna, archeological resources, undocumented region of northern Guatemala along the border migrants and illegal drugs. This trend was in of Mexico and Belize. The MBR is part of the contrast to the conservation initiatives that Mayan Forest (Selva Maya), shared by these resulted in the establishment of the MBR in countries. In the MBR, 445,804 ha are managed 1990. by community forest concessions, which in just a few years have developed a forest management The creation of the MBR led to a restructuring model that is having a positive impact on of local institutions under the direction of the natural resource conservation and community National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP); livelihood strategies. this centered on land use regulation, which is especially strict for the protected areas and Reducing the impact of forest fires and ending extraction zones. illegal lumbering and the encroachment of new settlements are the primary social and The urgency and efforts to conserve the Petén’s environmental accomplishments of community natural resources, the signing of the Peace management. As a result, families are reorga- Accords and pressure from local residents from nizing and improving their livelihood strategies, the Association of Forest Communities of Petén integrating the forest as their primary natural (ACOFOP) who were fighting for access to land asset. In addition, community concessions have and forest concessions, allowed communities to made successful inroads in the certified timber gain control of 445,804 ha of forest concessions. market and are taking the first steps to organize around its commercialization. International assistance agencies have played an important role in managing the MBR, using The history of how community forest concessions different strategies and contributions that have developed is enmeshed in the changing social evolved over time. One of the most important and political dynamics of a territory that played institutions has been the United States Agency several different roles during the past century. for International Development (USAID), not The once isolated and unknown forest, dominated only because of its financial support, but by the extraction of chicle and precious woods, also because of its involvement in designing became a receiving zone for domestic migrants the institutional management structure. As in the mid-20th century, with intense pressure CONAP’s primary counterpart, USAID focused on the agricultural frontier and serious national mainly on conservation technical assistance, Association of Forest Communities of Petén, Guatemala (ACOFOP): Context, Accomplishments and Challenges ii Ileana Gómez and V. Ernesto Méndez provided by international conservation NGOs, These models have each made very different, which in turn worked with local NGOs created yet complementary, contributions. Each type specifically to implement these projects. The most of assistance has facilitated the development of significant advances were in the area of technical components crucial to the success of community training, which includes forest management concessions and ACOFOP, although there are and commercialization. However, NGOs now new and more complex challenges requiring adopted a leadership and technical assistance new types of assistance. Current
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