EcoLogic News, Spring 1997, Part One of Two
5/16/97
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Headline: EcoLogic News, Spring 1997, Part One of Two
Source: EcoLogic News
Date: 5/16/97
V O L U M E V S P R I N G 1997
PO Box 3405; Cambridge, MA 02238-3405; United States
EMAIL: enews@ecologic.org fax: (617) 441-6307 tel: (617) 441-6300
THE ECOLOGIC DEVELOPMENT FUND is a nonprofit organization dedicated
to reducing destruction of significant tropical ecosystems by
advancing economic development and self-determination among local
communities in threatened habitats. These goals are accomplished
through direct financial and technical support to Latin American
organizations that promote community based development and resource
management projects in areas where the fate of local people depends
on the health of endangered habitats.
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I N T H I S I S S U E :
(1) FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SHAUN PAUL: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
AND CONSERVATION / INDIGENOUS PEOPLE VERSUS CONSERVATION
(2) ECOLOGIC JOINS THE MAYAN PEOPLE OF BELIZE
HALTING ASIAN LOGGING IN THE MAYA MOUNTAINS
(3) MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION
(4) MAYAN PERSPECTIVES ON NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
An Interview with Jose Us Vicente
(5) ECOLOGIC PROJECT UPDATES: PAF-MAYA AND FUNDARY
(6) GLOBE TV BRINGS MAYA ITZA VOICES TO THE US
(7) RECYCLED OFFICE EQUIPMENT HELPS PROTECT THREATENED ECOSYSTEMS
(8) ECOLOGIC PARTNERS IN LATIN AMERICA
(9) TRADITIONAL PEOPLES, NONTRADITIONAL TIMES:
SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
(10) INTERNSHIP PROGRAM SPARKS ENVIRONMENTAL CAREERS
(11) Credits
(12) How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe to EcoLogic News
(13) How to Help EcoLogic
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(1) From the Program Director, Shaun Paul
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND CONSERVATION
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE VERSUS CONSERVATION
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Increasingly, EcoLogic is working with indigenous peoples who live
in and around wildlands. Since we are committed to addressing
community-defined needs in our efforts to support conservation, we
are becoming more involved with indigenous development that
incorporates these concerns.
Advocates of indigenous rights affirm that native people have a
special affinity with the earth, that their traditional subsistence
use of natural resources protects these very resources. Across
the Americas, native people are fighting for the land rights they
feel are essential to maintaining their way of life, and important
in preserving the land.
Yet many conservationists are critical of the role that indigenous
people play in protecting biodiversity. Critics argue that
indigenous natural resource management depends on a small population
using large areas -- a situation that can no longer exist. Other
conservationists note that indigenous methods of land stewardship
are dissolving as local people choose to cash in on their natural
resources while population growth overtaxes the land. These factors
lead many environmentalists to believe that indigenous people do not
inherently contribute to conservation.
The reality is that most areas in Central America which still contain
pristine forests and high concentrations of unique and endangered
life forms also contain indigenous populations. Many native people
have stated that their best interests are served by conserving the
natural resources on which they depend.
Indigenous cultures, like all human cultures, are fluid and evolve
with time. Progress for native people now generally includes gaining
greater land rights. They want to own the houses they have occupied
for centuries, rather than be treated as squatters. However, many
indigenous organizations, like EcoLogic's partner, the Mayan Forestry
Action Plan (PAF- Maya), recognize that indigenous people entering
the 21st century are not inherently sustainable. Many indigenous
leaders seek to draw from Western land-use strategies to protect
native lands while still maintaining their cultural integrity.
During a recent trip to Belize, I talked with scholars from
Berkeley, and Mayan leaders who were mapping the lands used by the
Mayan people. We agreed that the Maya could benefit from learning
about Western approaches to land stewardship and conservation.
We also concurred that the Maya's fundamental approach to natural
resource management was much more ecologically sound than the
alternative. In this case, the Government of Belize proposes to
log virgin forests and convert communal lands into private,
chemical-intensive, cash crop plantations for export. The
alternative to indigenous aspirations for land use is generally
large-scale exploitation of natural resources.
When conservationists establish national parks by limiting or
eliminating indigenous use of the land, native people are
marginalized into even greater poverty and forced to violate
environmental protection laws which do not recognize their needs
and rights. Clearly this is not an option that fosters socially
responsible development. At EcoLogic, we are finding that indigenous
people are eager to complement their traditional knowledge about land
use with Western science. Moreover, native people can serve as the
most effective defenders of threatened wildlands since they have a
personal stake in these areas. Although we continue to observe
conflicts between conservationists and indigenous people, our work
has shown that lasting solutions can be achieved when alliances are
built on mutual respect. We experience little conflict between
native people and conservation strategies because we establish an
agenda based on cooperation. In practice this means recognizing
the rich values of indigenous traditions, providing native people
with forgotten information about their own heritage, and offering
them new strategies for advancement.
This newsletter provides two perspectives on these issues. An
interview with Jose Us Vicente, the National Coordinator of our
partner, the Mayan Forestry Action Plan, offers a Mayan perspective
on conservation. EcoLogic board member Katrina Brandon provides an
analysis of the challenge in working with native people to promote
biodiversity conservation.
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(2) ECOLOGIC JOINS THE MAYAN PEOPLE OF BELIZE
HALTING ASIAN LOGGING IN THE MAYA MOUNTAINS
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When the Belizean government granted Atlantic Industries, an Asian
logging company, a concession to log mahogany in the Columbia River
Forest Reserve in southern Belize, the decision was met with outrage
by Belize's Mayan population. These Maya live around the forest,
which provides them with food and shelter. The idea of outsiders
harvesting their wood was abhorrent to them. Atlantic Industries
compounded matters by disregarding the government-sanctioned
management plan by cutting untagged trees, bulldozing in prohibited
areas, and chopping down trees during the rainy season. They
constructed a sawmill that increased the intensity of logging in the
region and, most troubling of all from the Mayan point of view,
Atlantic Industries consistently ignored the wishes of local
communities for more involvement in the decision-making process.
With the official concession reported to be US$0.60 per acre to
log mahogany and the government's demonstrated inability to collect
additional per-log royalties, few benefits are expected for Belize.
The Maya, who earn on the average US$6 per day and depend on these
forests for their survival, will benefit neither economically nor
environmentally. Only a handful of Maya are being used for cheap
labor and the constant logging is destroying their traditional source
of sustenance -- the forest.
The Maya presented a list of recommendations to the Government of
Belize. They requested training in methods of sustainable forestry
management and in tour guiding. They sought jurisdiction over all
traditional Indian lands in order to become beneficiaries, not
victims, of forest use. The government responded by granting
additional concessions to Atlantic Industries, permitting
unsupervised cutting. When EcoLogic learned of the situation in
Belize, we published an Action Alert that received many favorable
responses.
In collaboration with Belize's Mayan organizations, we are now
forging plans to help the Maya better manage these vast forest
reserves for the benefit of all Belizeans, as well as conserving
unique areas and creating environmentally-friendly jobs. Please
contact our office if you would like to learn how you can help.
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(3) MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION
Simon Cumerford , Ethnobotanist
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What makes the Medicinal Plant Project with the Bio Itza of San Jose
distinctive is that it is a community-inspired project. While they
are already attempting to revive the nearly extinct Maya Itza
language, the Itza are also devoting their energies to another
cultural tradition on the decline -- the use of medicinal plants.
Traditional healers who live off their knowledge of medicinal plants
do not exist among the Itza; the knowledge is dispersed instead
among community residents and has yet to be documented for
safekeeping. The current project aims to document traditional Itza
medical knowledge and to produce a comprehensive book with a
photographic record for the community. A collection of each medicinal
specimen is being made and housed in a small herbarium. In the future
it is hoped that this will pave the way for the establishment of a
medicinal plant pharmacy in the community.
During this three-month ethnobotanical study, more than 275 medicinal
plant species -- herbs, vines, and trees -- were collected, pressed
and then stored. The next phase of the project was a door-to-door
survey within the community. Natives of San Jose were interviewed
about their knowledge of medicinal plants, local names (Mayan and
Spanish), parts used, methods of preparation, and ailments treated.
Over 436 natural remedies were identified.
In addition to supporting this research, EcoLogic sponsored a trip
so that Maya Itza could visit other Mayan communities that have
already established medicinal plant pharmacies. This proved to be
a vital step in creating a women's committee to manage a medicinal
plant garden and construct an ethnopharmacy. Through this effort
they hope to create jobs that protect the environment, revitalize
the threatened Mayan culture, and provide affordable and effective
medical treatments.
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(4) MAYAN PERSPECTIVES ON NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
An Interview with Jose Us Vicente of the
Mayan Forestry Action Plan (PAF-Maya)
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Jose Us Vicente is the National Coordinator of the Mayan Forestry
Action Plan in Guatemala. He has a university degree in agronomy
and received the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) agronomy
award in 1993 for his pioneering role in launching PAF-Maya.
WHAT ROLE DOES PAF-MAYA PLAY IN GUATEMALAN SOCIETY?
PAF-Maya's role is to influence governmental and non-governmental
agencies in matters regarding the Maya. Although over 60% of
Guatemalans are indigenous, the Guatemalan Forestry Action Plan
(PAF-G) was not respecting their concerns. Instead, international
experts and businessmen were deciding the fate of Guatemala's natural
resources. In 1993, PAF-G initiated a national discussion on natural
resources that originally involved only forestry, and its focus was
technical. Our Mayan communities ma de it clear that forestry was
only a small part of the picture -- that we needed to address social
and environmental as well as economic and technical issues. PAF-Maya
was created to promote the Mayan point of view. The government is
just beginning to understand this Mayan presence and that the Maya
do make intelligent decisions in managing their natural resources.
CAN YOU SAY MORE ABOUT THE MAYAN OUTLOOK? WHAT ROLE DOES IT PLAY IN
YOUR WORK?
The Mayan philosophy is at the heart of our work. In this world of
globalization we understand that what matters most is money. Many
people see a tree and say, "It has this much volume, so I can get
this much lumber out of it; if I sell it, it's worth this much to me.
If I make it into furniture, it's worth this much to me." The Mayan
people consider economic value crucial but they also believe
everything is alive -- even stones. Everything has a soul. As a
result, Maya will not harm anything because it will in turn harm
them. If they have to cut down a tree or hunt an animal, they do so
only for the sake of sustenance and not to amass wealth. Of course,
some Maya have been motivated solely by greed, but they have strayed
from their traditional path.
When the Spanish invaded this land over four hundred and fifty years
ago, the forest became extremely important to the Maya. Many took
refuge there to escape slavery. In the 1970's and 1980's, political
violence again forced people into the forests. The Maya survived
because they knew how to find food and shelter there. The forests
are a part of our life and a source of protection. The forest
sustains us all: these are the roots of PAF-Maya.
HOW DO MAYAN COMMUNITIES PARTICIPATE IN PAF-MAYA? WHAT ROLE DO
THEY PLAY?
Initially, they outline the problems they see and determine some
possible solutions. There is a board of delegates chosen by the
communities that meets twice a year. Recently they met to approve
the general plan for the next three years and at the end of the year,
they will meet again to consider new ideas and evaluate completed
projects. Mayan communities play a very definite role in PAF-Maya.
HOW DO YOU VIEW THE CRITICISM THAT TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS OF NATURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THE 21ST
CENTURY'S CLIMATE OF GLOBALIZATION?
Even with this criticism, we believe we can bring our view of the
world to other peoples so that more people will understand and act
on the idea that natural resource management is not just a matter of
economics. If it is seen purely as an economic issue, not a single
natural resource will survive. If life values are considered, that
is what will sustain us.
The other criticism is that indigenous people do not know how to
manage natural resources. PAF-Maya is addressing this issue by
launching an intensive education program for Maya in resource
management. Students will graduate with an efficient managerial
vision while reinforcing their Mayan identity. When they begin to
analyze their community's problems, we hope they will do so through
the eyes of the community.
WHAT ROLE CAN PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE TAKE IN
PAF-MAYA'S WORK?
The work we are carrying out -- not only as PAF-Maya, but as
Mayan communities -- is to eliminate the contamination of the
earth. We can approach this by managing the existing natural
resources. The fundamental role that people in the US and Europe
can play is to support the initiatives of indigenous peoples --
not only through talks, but also through active and direct
support to the Mayan people.
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