Abstract
Migrant populations have been blamed for over-harvesting natural resources threatening the long-term viability of the natural resource base. It has been argued that they over-harvest because they lack skills and experience. Chamaedorea sp., is one of the few non-timber forest products with which a significant number of agricultural households in rural Petén supplement their income. This paper presents a case study of the harvest of three xate species and of the economic importance of xate among the returnees (migrants returning to their home country from exile) in the cooperative Unión Maya Itzá in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. This case study shows that xate represented an important economic asset in the community. The institutional and human resources in La Quetzal have been important for realizing the economic value of xate for the community; however, these resources have also contributed to realizing a sustainable management of the xate resource in the community.
Highlights
Hundreds of millions of people meet a significant portion of their subsistence needs and derive income from gathered plants and animal products (Ticktin, 2004; Nesheim et al, 2006; Bawa et al, 2007; Nyomora & Mwasha, 2007)
We present in this paper a case of returnees with a unique history of institution building settling in a new natural environment with a strong community land-use regime
The location within the MBR created a number of challenges and constraints regarding land use and sustainable development of natural resources
Summary
Hundreds of millions of people meet a significant portion of their subsistence needs and derive income from gathered plants and animal products (Ticktin, 2004; Nesheim et al, 2006; Bawa et al, 2007; Nyomora & Mwasha, 2007). Is the most important NTFP and a significant source of cash income for peasants in the forest areas of Petén (Reining et al, 1992; Nesheim et al, 2006; USAID, 2006). Migrants are said to have an expansionist attitude toward new land and to fail to consider the long-term effects of resource extraction and use (Pichon, 1997). We present in this paper a case of returnees (migrants returning to their home country from exile) with a unique history of institution building settling in a new natural environment with a strong community land-use regime (see Bray et al, 2008). The returnees of this study established the cooperative Unión Maya Itzá (UMI hereafter) and constructed a new community named La Quetzal in 1996 within the multiple-use zone in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR hereafter) in Petén, Guatemala. The forest management regime in the study area is regulated by the Forestry Law 1996 and by rules of CONAP and of the cooperative UMI
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