Title: Sustainable Forest Management Puebla, Mexico
1Sustainable Forest Management Puebla, Mexico
Sandra Rodriguez-Piñeros sandra.rodriguez_at_okstate.
edu
2(No Transcript)
3La Preciosita Sangre de Cristo
- Founded 1840
- Location 39 miles due east of Mexico City and 33
miles northwest of Puebla - Altitude 7000 feet
- Population 200 families
- 850 individuals, but only 600 are resident
- Rest in the US
- Forest Owners (legal title holders) 100
families (99 men, 1 woman)
4Satellite View of the Community
5View of Forest and Community
6Forest View from Hilltop
7Closer View
8Natural Pine Regeneration
9Story of the Sacred Tree
- 15th Century
- Wealthy Spanish landowner and Tlaxcalteca servant
on horseback caught in sudden downpour and swept
downstream in flash flood - Servant prayed, Please, precious blood of
Christ, save us - Rivers current took them to an oak tree, which
they grabbed and were saved saw image of Christ
in the bark (oak tree still there) - Hence, name of church, and later its surrounding
settlement Precious Little Blood of Christ
10The Sacred Tree
11Church Entrance
12Church Altar with Bark with the Image of the
Crucifixion from the Sacred Tree
13Church View of the Altar
14Subsequent Miracle
- In 2007, a chronically ill girl (15 years old)
while walking in the forest, heard a womans
voice. When she turned in the direction of the
voice, she saw the image of the Virgin Mary in
the shadows. She miraculously recovered within a
week of the vision. Since then, an altar was
constructed on the site - This confirms the importance of the forest and
its trees to the community spiritual, aesthetic,
some economic, community pride
15Community Ownership of Forest
- Priest inherited the forest from his father, a
land baron - He sold the forest (1038 acres) to the community
for a very modest price in 1972 - Community looks on this transaction as a blessed
gift from God - Therefore, community is obliged to preserve the
forest for posterity
16Local Forest Caretaker
17Committee Meeting to Discuss How to Build More
Efficient Stoves
18Committee Meeting to View Medicinal Herb Garden
19Forest Museum
20Forest Museum Wall
21Burned Truck Outside of Museum
22Current Plan A Harvesting Schedule
- Current plan written and adopted in 2006 by the
SEMARNAT (Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos
Naturales), Estado de Puebla - This plan is essentially a tree-harvesting and
replanting schedule, administered through a
permitting system - Plan does not consider harvesting non-timber
products
23Harvested Pine Log
24Involvement of OSU
- Most community citizens opposed the forest
management plan - They approached Universidad Popular Autonoma del
Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) for their help - UPAEP, having no forestry program, asked
OSU-DASNR to help under an existing MOU
25Sustainable Forest Management
- Stewardship and use of forests and forest lands
in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their
biodiversity, productivity, regeneration
capacity, vitality, and potential to fulfill, now
and in the future, relevant ecological, economic,
and social functions at local, national, and
global levels, and that does not cause damage to
other ecosystems. - FAO (1996)
26How do you related to the forest?
Q-Method
27Q - Findings
Forest Conservation Many benefits (econ
spiritual), no timber harvesting and grazing,
community management
Community Development Maximize econ. (tourism
and timber), Provide jobs, commitment to protect
forest as an asset, professional management
Family Recreation Place for family recreation,
community Management, I am willing to help
Sustenance Many benefits mostly spiritual,
professional management
28Agreements - Dissagreements
Community Development
Conservation
Protection
29Plan for Tourism
Now?
30Criteria and Indicators of SFM
- To monitor progress toward SFM
- Green-certification
- International
- Temperate (CIFOR-NA)
- Tropical forest
- National
- Regional
- Local
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32Knowledge and Deliberation
33Analysis Technical Education
Educated residents on ecological and economic
impacts of each alternative
- Q Plan (manage for community use and public
tourism, with regulated timber removal and
professional and community co-management)
Q Plan
Status quo
Current Plan
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35Deliberation Process
- Group discussion about the 3 alternatives to
explore potential for reaching an agreement - Encouraged free discussion (objections welcomed)
- Deliberation ended when no further objections
were raised and participants agreed to the
summary of their discussion
The consensus alternative was the Q alternative,
with no small-business uses
36Q-Plan
37Lessons
- What do we value?
- Are these findings from Mexico replicable in
other country? - Why is important to include peoples values in
resources management? - Dr Chad Godsey (Haiti)
- Do we need to be listened? Why?
- Sustainability?
38Acknowledgments
- Dr. David K. Lewis
- Dr. Will Focht
- OSU - DASNR
- UPAEP and UPAEP Liaison office OSU
- Community of La Preciosita
- Dr. Diane Montgomery
- Dr. Art Stoecker
- Dr. Beth Caniglia
- Dr. Ed Miller
- Mr. Agustin Landa
- Rodolfo Lopez
- Talya Henderson
- Mr. James Esbenshade
- Forestry Department Colegio de Posgraduados,
Texcoto - Mrs. Carol Collins
- Mr. Jason Abercrombie
- Li Chi Lin Ph.D. Candidate
- Trecia Kippola Ph.D. Candidate
- Carolina Lara Visconti Ph.D. Candidate
39The Convenient Truth
I also wish that you plant a seed and watch its
growth, So you will know how many lives a tree
is made of. - Victor Hugo -