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This project is located in the Montaña region of Guerrero which is one of Mexico’s most marginalized indigenous regions. The indigenous rural communities there have their own systems for regulating the access, use and management of natural resources. These systems include a series of explicit and implicit norms and agreements that are established and implemented in a very specific way. In addition, there is also an official body of norms that is implemented in the communities without taking into account the local norms and the way they function. As a result, discrepancies between the two systems of regulations sometimes arise. This project seeks to analyze the extent to which the two sets of norms coincide.
In Topiltepec a project involving the planning and implementing of a management plan for a non-timber tree species, the Brahea dulcis palm, has been in the developing stage for a number of years and is supported in part by NAFEC. The development of this management plan was sparked by the interest of a regional rural organization, SSS Sanzekan Tinemi, in certifying the palm species for the purpose of improving market niches for their products.
A requirement for certification is that the management plan be approved by Mexican authorities. Analyzing the problems that arise in seeking authorization of the management plan—from the community’s point of view—represents a concrete opportunity to see clearly the potential discrepancies between the two sets of norms: the community systems for the access, use and management of local natural resources, and government norms regulating the authorization of management plans (Forestry Law, Units of Sustainable Management and Use, Official Standards, etc.). This process will make it possible to detect the necessary changes for achieving better coordination between the two sets of norms. In addition, the project will involve analyzing the standards established by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for certifying non-timber tree species and seeing how these standards interrelate with local norms.
Workshops and interviews will be conducted, using participative methodologies, in order to understand the rationale behind community norms in 14 indigenous communities in Guerrero. As well, officials in government offices will be interviewed to discuss official norms and the problems in their implementation in communities. Also, FSC representatives will be interviewed to talk about certification processes. Results will be disseminated to small farmers through booklets printed for this purpose, and also in forums and through organizations such as FSC.
The objective is that the management plan for the palm species be authorized in acceptable terms for both the community and government offices, and that a strategy for implementing the plan in other communities that commercialize palm be developed. In addition, this project will contribute toward the international discussion on certification of non-timber tree species.
Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, A.C.
Mexico, D.F., Mexico
http://www.laneta.apc.org/gea
For more information about this grant, please contact the CEC Secretariat.
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Mexico 
