ABOUT THE SIERRA: POLITICAL ECOLOGY:
The Political Ecology of Deforestation
in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua

Abstract

The forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and the people who live there have undergone a long history of exploitation, but the current rate of logging in the region is leading to an era of even greater ecological damage and human suffering due to extreme poverty. This report provides an integrated situation analysis of the principal issues facing the Sierra Madre bioregion in Chihuahua today and outlines a potential path towards resolving conservation and development agendas affecting indigenous lands in the area.

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The objectives of this report are to:

1. Describe the socio-economic and ecological impacts of forest exploitation,
2. Evaluate the public policies, implementing agencies, and nongovernmental interests involved in forest exploitation, conservation, and human rights, and
3. Review lessons from community forestry and development programs in other forested bioregions with the purpose of recommending a strategy for international assistance to the region.

The methods of investigation included facilitating an international forum on development issues in the region, interviewing principal governmental and nongovernmental experts on the region, and reviewing the social, political, economic, and environmental literature.

The forests of the Sierra Madre are heavily impacted by illegal logging and wasteful logging practices. Forest management in the region suffers from a paternalistic planning process which ignores the need for local input. Furthermore, the dominant practices of foresters in the region fail to incorporate critical ecological information into forest planning. Consequently, research is often misdirected and available information on soils, habitat requirements, microclimates, species adaptation and growth are not utilized appropriately.

The results are mixed. In some areas, forest regeneration is naturally rigorous, but nonsustainable logging rates have caused local economic problems. In other areas the forest is transformed into a species mix that is ecologically and often economically impoverished. In either case, the impacts of intensive forestry are devastating to old growth-dependent species and understory plants important to indigenous gatherers.

Current governmental policies which emphasize free trade, privatization, and decentralization will not reform the forest sector in the short term which is critical to native cultures such as the Tarahumara and the fragile ecosystems which they rely upon. Adaptation of integrated forest management techniques will not improve current patterns of exploitation until foresters learn to communicate with the traditional cultures, and with knowledgeable biologists and anthropologists.

The most likely path to reform in the region is the establishment of a model for participatory forest management which incorporates traditional values and current needs of the community. A pilot program could incorporate a number of value- added and nontimber extraction projects that could boost local economies while justifying the cost of ecologically based forest management. Such a program could serve as a regional training center for management and technical skills. In order to succeed in indigenous communities, organizers will need to learn to communicate in traditional dialects, while respecting traditional ways. Local foresters and appropriate agencies must also be included in the process from the onset.

The biggest obstacle to establishing a pilot project is the lack of a credible civil association (Mexican NGO) that is interested in an integrated approach to community development and conservation. The NGO community is fragmented by small groups or associations of groups that are traditionally in conflict with each other as well as with governmental agencies that have similar missions. An effort needs to be made to identify and bring together a select group of individuals from the human rights, ecology, anthropology, and forestry professions with other prospective board members to form a civil association. International assistance is contingent upon the formation of such an association.