2010 Best Practices Database
Building Q'eqchi' Maya Capacity, Flexibility, and
Adaption to Climate
Summary:
The Toledo District in southern Belize is home
to the indigenous Maya, living in a region characterized as one of the few
primary tropical rainforests in the country. The Maya, with a strong
connection to the land, have acted as guardians of the forest for centuries and
have developed extensive knowledge of the forest flora and fauna, sophisticated
farming techniques, and complex land management systems.
The Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management
(SATIIM) was founded in 1997 by indigenous communities (the Garifuna &
Maya) to safeguard the ecological and cultural integrity of this region for the
economic, social and spiritual wellbeing of its indigenous people. Although
there are conservation efforts seeking to protect the Sarstoon Temash National
Park, which SATIIM co-manages with the Forestry Department, little has been
done in relation to sustainable forest management with communities along the
buffer zone.
As such, the main purpose of the initiative was to promote
Community-Based Forest Management with Q’eqchi’ communities in the buffer zone
of the Sarstoon Temash National Park, dissuading industrial logging while
building environmental awareness, sustainable livelihoods, and community
management of natural resources.
The project works to diminish the effects of poverty and
environmental degradation within the rural indigenous communities and habitats
in the Toledo District. The initiative encompasses three elements,
including conservation, sustainable-development and income generation. The
communities, Santa Teresa and Conejo (with a project in Crique Sarco currently
underway), are participating directly in the management and sustainable use of
their natural resources and rainforests, reducing large-scale logging,
preserving the natural ecosystem and protecting species depleted to
near-extinction. It provides an alternative to large-scale deforestation,
promoting community-based conservation, autonomy and sovereignty for local
decision-making, and the use and management of resources with the view to
fulfill the needs of the communities and all of its members.
Key Dates:
March 2008 – Development of comprehensive work and
procurement plan approved by the Conseration of Central America Watershed
Program (USAID)
March – May 2008 – Development of a Community-based Forest
Management Enterprise with two indigenous communities in southern Belize
March – October 2008 – Development and establishment of
the first commercial census of community forests
March – October 2008 – Training of community members in
Reduced Impact Logging (RIL)
Narrative:
SITUATION BEFORE THE INITIATIVE BEGAN
The Toledo District is the poorest in Belize, with a
77% incidence of poverty among the Maya. Thus the main problems and
issues addressed were poverty and environmental destruction.
Santa Teresa: 260; M: 142 F: 118
Crique Sarco: 293; M: 156; F: 137
Conejo (project currently underway): 196; M: 104 F: 92
ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIORITIES
· To promote
development of a model of community-based sustainable forest management
inSouthern Belize as a conservation and sustainable-development strategy.
· Strengthening
of traditional institutions (social, political and economic) of the Maya
community to cultivate their awareness of the effects and capacity to adapt to
climate change through a Community-Based Sustainable Forest Management and Enterprise development
(CBSFME) in the communities of Santa Teresa, Conejo and Crique Sarco.
The Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management,
as an organization which represents five indigenous communities, worked with
traditional leaders (Alcaldes) and other community members in the
prioritization of the project.
FORMULATION OF OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
Communities trained in Sustainable Forest Management
(SFM):
· On site
training workshops in sustainable management practices
· Standards and
regulations developed
· Incorporation
of the Community-Based Sustainable Forest Management Enterprises
(CBSFME)
Training in technical/administrative issues:
· Training in
accounting and financial systems.
· On site
workshops on harvesting (includes direct felling, hauling, trails/timber yards
construction and transportation).
· On site
workshops on primary industrialization (includes timber processing, grading and
measurement).
Development of sustainable forest management plan and
annual operational plans following reduced-impact logging principles and SFM
criteria:
· Inventory of
all tree species within the harvest area
MOBILISATION OF RESOURCES
Financial and technical assistance were obtained through
USAID, WWF (provided technical assistance through USAID), the Finnish Embassy,
and the World Bank. SATIIM has a full time Development Officer whose
primary responsibility is the mobilization of resources for programs and
projects. SATIIM is responsible and accountable for managing all
resources on behalf of the communities, and has a full-time Financial Officer
on staff.
PROCESS
The initiative is a Maya community-based sustainable
forest management and development enterprise: the first and only one of its
kind in Belize. The project/enterprise is completely owned and
operated by the Maya communiries of Santa Teresa and Conejo. The enterprises
have a business plan, articles of incorporation and by-laws that are registered
with the Government of Belize. SATIIM provided the initial management and
business trainings and continues to work with the enterprise in an advisory capacity.
All community members are shareholders of the enterprise, holding equal shares.
Income from the sale of products produced from the harvesting of timber will
pay the salaries of those individuals involved in the harvesting of the timber
and transformation to lumber products. Profits from the sale of harvested
timber and other timber products are reinvested into the enterprise for new or
replacement equipment, twenty five percent is held in trust for community
development projects and any additional funds are distributed to the share
holders as a dividend. The dividends are anticipated to continue for the life
of the enterprise and grow in size as the enterprise becomes more efficient and
known throughout Belize for it products.
The project is designed as a sustainable reduced-impact
forest management enterprise. GPS mapping determined the size of the harvesting
area to be involved in the project and how best to section (harvesting blocks)
to obtain the longest harvesting period and greatest yield per harvesting
season (during the dry season). A Forest inventory and management
plan were created with the assistance of community members and consultants. A
tree inventory includes species and size and its GPS location within the
harvesting area. Participants were trained in conducting the inventory. Maps
were created and printed to be used in the educational process and for
inclusion in the plan.
Community members were trained in Reduced-Impact Logging
(RIL). Care is taken to include all trees within each harvest block (regardless
of size or species). An annual census will be taken after each harvesting
season to assess the health of the rainforest and reforest.
RESULTS ACHIEVED
Results:
· The
communities have a heightened environmental awareness of climate change and its
connection to sustainable forest management
· The project is
predicated on the sustainable extraction of timber products through the
introduction of FSC standards and criteria, processes which are designed to
minimize ecological impacts, and encourage the improvement of habitat quality
by dissuading large-scale logging, or the pursuit slash-and-burn techniques
that are precursors to climate change
· Social
benefits accrued in terms of strengthened livelihoods and community management
capacities of the CBSFME
· Reduction of
deforestation due to the CBSFME
· Direct
increases in household income amongst project participants and indirect
increases in the overall well being of the community
· Active reforestation
programs ensure that for each tree extracted, seedlings will be planted in its
place; a practice without precedence in the history of logging in Toledo.
Measured through:
· Recorded
attendance and participation at workshops.
· GIS Mapping of
(Santa Teresa and Conejo) community managed forest area.
· Registration
documents of community-based forest enterprise with the Belize Government
· Management
Plans from each community presented to the Belize Forest Department
· Environmental
Impact Assessment presented to the Belize Environmental Department
· Implementation
of operating plans
· Administrative
and accounting system operating
· Financial
reports, timber harvesting report, annual operating plan and labor and income
report
· Inventory of
equipment purchased
· Reports and
receipts on sales of timber products and contracts negotiated
SUSTAINABILITY
The Q’eqchi Maya of southern Belize have
sustained an intimate relationship, centuries long, with the rainforests they
inhabit, acting as guardians of the forest. To them, the forest’s
significance goes beyond the confines of economy and the maximization of
individual profit, and is closely linked with their cultural identity and local
self-determination. The forest represents ways of getting food and
shelter, preserving and transmitting knowledge, of conceiving cycles, of
relating to the environment and of conducting spiritual, family and community
life. The consequences of uncontrolled development and large-scale
logging have compromised their cultural heritage and natural resources.
As such, SATIIM believes that empowering communities in
community-based sustainable enterprises, links conservation, indigenous
knowledge, and sustainable livelihoods, providing long-term solutions for
communities addressing poverty, environmental destruction and climate change.
The use of reduced-impact logging techniques, seldom if ever used in Belize,
is one of the key elements of sustainable forest management. Conservation and
sustainability are ensured through select species harvesting and sylviculture
techniques, protecting endangered plants, seeded trees and seedlings. Rotational
cycles guarantee forest recovery and growth, conserving rainforests, which
regulate climate and provide a range of other ecosystem services to humanity.
The project has unlimited potential to be replicated by
other indigenous groups who have access (through logging concessions) or
communal titles to forested areas. Other indigenous villages have
been contacted to gauge interest in obtaining land titles and developing
similar community enterprises. SATIIM’s Community-based Forest
Management Project acts as a pilot project, and demonstrates best practices in
developing reduced-impact logging in other areas of Belize. The
community enterprise has by-laws, internal rules, administrative manuals and a
strategic plan, in order to guarantee long-term permanence.
LESSONS LEARNED
The lessons learned through the community-based forest
management and enterprise development project piloted/pioneered by SATIIM in
southern Belize include the following:
1. It is possible to reconcile Indigenous and forest
dependent peoples social, cultural, economic and spiritual needs with sustainable
forest management and strengthens their stewarship in both a traditional and
contemporary manner;
2. Indigenous People Land tenure security is
fundamental to sustaining progress made to safeguard natural forests;
3. Traditional knowledge enhances the
management effectiveness of forests.
Lessons from other initiative, including guidelines
regarding successful community forest projectsGuatemala, outline a five plliar
approach:
1) Community organizing;
2) Technical and
administrative training;
3) Development of Forest management
Plans;
4) Reduced Impact logging,
and;
5) Traning in negotiating
equitable contracts.
While the legal and political environment differs among
countries, SATIIM has been able to modify the approach to suit our communities
realities.
Related Policies:
Despite not having legal framwork in Belize, SATIIM
and our communities have been taking the moral high ground by developing
comprehensive community forest management plans which has been used as a
nogotiating/lobbying tool by SATIIM and the communities to convince and
influence government forestry policies. Forestry is currently
developing a new forest policy and no doubt the convincing alternatives offered
by SATIIM and the communities have been a major impetus for policy change. The
Director of SATIIM, Gregory Ch’oc, is currently advising the Government of
Belize on how to integrate sustainable forest management into a revised
national forest policy.
SATIIM has been at the forefront in promoting responsible
forest management with indigenous Q’eqchi’ villages, and established the two
community enterprises, which have acted as pilot projects for other indigenous
communities in the area. The Maya community of Conejo is currently
in the project planning stages.
http://www.unhabitat.org/bestpractices/2010/mainview.asp?BPID=2543
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