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The Pueblos Mancomunados is a communal property with an area of 29,430 hectares and consisting of eight communities in the Ixtlán district of the Sierra Norte mountain region of Oaxaca. The property is one of the main points of access to the Sierra Norte, 60 km northeast of the city of Oaxaca. A sketch showing its location is included in the enclosed brochure.
Objective
The main objective of the project is to promote the conservation of biodiversity in natural areas located in the Pueblos Mancomunados and the Sierra Norte, through ecotourism controlled by the community. Our intention is that this alternative economic activity serve as a valuable instrument for establishing community programs in education, production and employment. We are also seeking to:
- increase the capacities of community members to protect and manage their natural patrimony in a sustainable way;
- generate a development strategy that promotes conservation and not exploitation of natural resources;
- integrate modern alternatives in production and development with community knowledge and traditions;
- generate employment opportunities for community members; and
- have this project serve as a model for establishing other similar programs, and facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among Sierra Norte communities.
Description of the problem
In recent years, one of the main concerns of communities in the Sierra Norte mountain region of Oaxaca has been to generate alternative economic activities that will favor the sustainable use of their natural resources. With an economy based fundamentally on the exploitation of forest resources and efficient community organization, the communities have managed to maintain an exemplary balance between their development needs and the conservation of their forests, considered to be the best preserved in the country. Nevertheless, the productivity of the Pueblos Mancomunados community forest company, which generates 60 percent of total income in the region, has been gradually diminishing. Even though the communities have implemented a program of rational forest management, constant exploitation over the years has resulted in a decrease in the average diameter of pine trees from 50 cm (30 years ago) to the current level of 25 cm. As well, less than 10 percent of total production is top quality wood. Development needs of the communities will lead to growing pressure on natural systems in the future. In response to this situation, it is necessary to implement an alternative strategy for integrated development.
Expected results
It is our hope that at the end of this project, the Pueblos Mancomunados will have the following:
- a protection scheme for the areas of greatest biological importance through a network of ecotourism routes and paths for interacting with nature in which the focus is on education: the routes will be designed to serve as a “school without walls” for both the local population and visitors; an ongoing program for maintenance of the routes is included in the plans;
- four lodges for ecotourism (with a capacity of eight visitors in each one) and at least one associated productive project that will provide ongoing employment for two members of each community (creation of eight jobs);
- a program for the application and dissemination of ecological practices that is connected with the lodges (collecting rainwater and reusing gray waters, solar heating, composting, trash management, etc.) and that will promote more efficient use of resources and a new ecological consciousness in both local residents and visitors;
- a dissemination program in local schools on the biological importance of the area;
- a program of ongoing training for local guides in ecotourism-related activities; and
- a catalogue of routes and services as well as a community ecotourism agency that integrates services and markets the communities’ ecotourism products.
Dissemination of results
The dissemination of the experiences and results of this project is one of the functions of the Productive Projects Civil Association of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca (Asociación Civil Proyectos Productivos Sierra Norte de Oaxaca) that was created to coordinate the efforts of the different Sierra Norte communities. The results of the ecotourism project will be presented to the communities through community workshops, to the society through local Oaxaca newspapers and magazines, and to a broader public through our internet page.
Proyectos Productivos Sierra Norte de Oaxaca A.C.
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
For more information about this grant, please contact the CEC Secretariat.
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Mexico 
