The World Wildlife Fund granted this past November special recognition to eight Community Protected Natural Areas established in Santa Catalina Ixtepeji, Santa María Yavesía, Ixtlán de Juárez and the communities belonging to Zapoteco-Chinanteca Union (UZACHI): Trinidad, Xiacuí, Comaltepec and Capulálpam de Méndez in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, and Santa María Huatulco on the Pacific Coast. Altogether, these communities protect a total of 41,869 ha of pine and oak forests along with dry forests of the Mexican Pacific. This is the highest recognition granted by WWF to protected natural areas worldwide within its “A Gift to the Earth” program. A Gift to the Earth is a public celebration by WWF of a conservation action by a government, a company, an organization, or an individual which is both a demonstration of environmental leadership and a globally significant contribution to the protection of the living world.
WWF believes in the importance of creating a global network of ecologically representative and efficiently managed protected natural areas. Such a network would have to include significant samples of the all forest types found on the planet. All signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity, including Mexico, have recognized this concept as the cornerstone of their national conservation strategies.
Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s most culturally and biologically diverse states. These community-based conservation initiatives offer valuable lessons for other regions of the country and other developing nations. WWF has been working with such kinds of projects in Oaxaca for several years, during which it has been joined by various groups and agencies. The Grupo Autónomo para la Investigación Ambiental, A. C., the Instituto Estatal de Ecología de Oaxaca, the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT); COMUNITAS, A. C., Proyectos de Desarrollo Sierra Norte, the Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Oaxaca, and the National Herbarium of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México are all part of the initiative. This project has taught WWF and its partners a lot about the potentials and pitfalls, as well as future challenges posed by community-based conservation efforts.
The region’s forests harbor a high biodiversity and have attracted the international scientific community’s attention for the exceptional diversity found in specific areas. These present high proportions of endemic species, many of which in danger of extinction, such as the royal palms, various orchid species and other epiphytes. It is further believed that many species hold significant economic value, one famous example being the plant that provided the basis for the active principle of the first contraceptives.
These forests are part of the traditional hunting grounds of the Zapotec, Mixes and Chinanteco Indians, which currently amount to 30,000 inhabitants. These cultures enjoy a comprehensive understanding of their surrounding ecosystems, which has allowed them to implement traditional natural resource use and management strategies characterized by a distinct respect for the native species and their habitats. Community-based conservation combines traditional practices with modern techniques to ensure the integrity of natural processes and the respect of cultural priorities. This combination of both natural and cultural values is embodied by the “Community Protected Natural Areas” conservation status.
Another important factor in WWF’s declaration is that less than 4% of the total area of Oaxaca State currently lies under some form of legal protection. Moreover, none of the eight protection categories in the country’s present environmental legislation includes legal instruments to consider: both the cultural and natural aspects associated with the areas to protect; community-based land tenure systems; and the traditional uses and management of the state’s natural resource base. Furthermore, Oaxaca’s social and ethnical diversity requires participative planning methods and land use regulations in order to promote the sustainable use and conservation of its valuable natural resources.
(Map above: Location of Oaxaca State in Mexico)
News Source: Gloria Tavera & Rocio Heredia (WWF-Programa Oaxaca) November 2002