Is timber management a realistic conservation alternative for indigenous Amazonian communities?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2022-01-11.02-1-31

Keywords:

Community forest management, gender participation, Kakataibo, local perception, multivariate analysis

Abstract

Indigenous people, who are often economically, socially, and culturally dependent on forests, represent important stakeholders in forest management. Due to high costs, indigenous communities partner with external institutions to harvest timber, often resulting in forest degradation within their territories, internal and external conflicts, and disinterest in starting new timber management projects. Using a standardized methodology to investigate the outcomes of previous community forestry projects presents an opportunity to better understand and potentially resolve further issues. To investigate this issue, we conducted research in the Sinchi Roca I native community in Peru. Our objectives were: (1) to describe the process of timber harvest; (2) to analyze gender differences in local perception of timber management; and (3) to evaluate the outcomes of the timber activity, applying socioeconomic criteria and indicators. Data collection included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and intra-household surveys. We found that locals partnered with a company for timber harvesting, which led to a sanction from the Peruvian government. Timber harvesting was negatively perceived in the community, with 83.75% of survey respondents dissatisfied with the activity and 88.75% reporting internal and external conflicts due to the presence of the company. Moreover, women did not have a major role in timber harvesting, nor did they actively participate in planning meetings. Results suggest that improving future timber management projects in indigenous communities requires that projects be adapted to local realities and encourage local participation, including training for locals in governance, administration of documents, and negotiations with external stakeholders.

Author Biographies

Lucia Alejandra Fitts, University of Minnesota (USA). Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Peru)

Ph.D. candidate in the Natural Resources Science and Management program at the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources.

Forest Engineer, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Research Assistant in the Silva Lab, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota

Forest engineer with an interdisciplinary background. Wide fieldwork experience in different parts of the world working with people from different cultures and backgrounds. Experience working with native communities. Data management and quantitative skills focused in statistics, modelling and remote sensing. Project management. Qualitative skills focused on surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Teamwork oriented and leadership capacity. My passion for art provides me with creative and innovative skills.

 

Zoila Aurora Cruz-Burga, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina

Doctor in Environmental Science, with a Bachelor in Forestry Engineering with 22 years experience, teaching at university level and consulting in various projects with multi-national organization. Good multi-tasking and organizational skills, proactive, responsible, adaptable to new situations and enjoy working in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, with a great interest in the social aspects of forest conservation and cooperative ecosystem management and its effects on the improvement of the livelihoods of local people.

Hannah Legatzke, University of Minnesota

PhD Student in Natural Resource Sciences and Management, Department of Forest Resources

María de los Ángeles La Torre-Cuadros, Universidad Científica del Sur

I have a particular interest in quantitative ethnobotany (non-timber forest product systems), traditional ecological knowledge, and floristic composition of the forest types in relation to different rainfall conditions, soils, altitude, geographic position and sustainable use of natural resources by indigenous people or locals and environmental education.

References

Agarwal B (2009) Gender and Forest Conservation: The Impact of Women's Participation in Community Forest Governance. Ecological Economics 68(11): 2785-2799. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.04.025

Agrawal A, Ostrom E (2008) Decentralization and community-based forestry: learning from experience. In: Webb EL, Shivakoti GP (eds.) Decentralization, forests and rural communities: policy outcomes in South and Southeast Asia. SAGE. pp. 44-67.

Aguilar-Barojas S (2005) Fórmulas para el cálculo de la muestra en investigaciones de salud. Salud en Tabasco 11(1-2): 333-338.

Álvarez J, Shany N (2012) Una Experiencia de Gestión Participativa de La Biodiversidad Con Comunidades Amazónicas. Revista Peruana de Biología 19 (2): 223-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15381/rpb.v19i2.846

Armenteras D, Espelta JM, Rodríguez N, Retana J (2017) Deforestation dynamics and drivers in different forest types in Latin America: Three decades of studies (1980–2010). Global Environmental Change 46:139-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.09.002

Bernard HR (2006) Research methods in cultural anthropology 4ed. USA: SAGE Publication.

Blackman A, Corral L, Lima ES, Asner GP (2017) Titling indigenous communities protects forests in the Peruvian Amazon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114: 4123-4128. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1603290114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1603290114

Bray DB, Duran E, Ramos VH, Mas JF, Velazquez A, McNab RB, Barry D, Radachowsky J (2008) Tropical Deforestation, Community Forests, and Protected Areas in the Maya Forest. Ecology and Society doi.org/10.5751/ES-02593-130256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02593-130256

Bueno C, Piber E, Sologuren C (2006) El Proceso del manejo forestal responsable en la Comunidad Nativa de Callería Análisis de la contribución económica y social. [http://www.aider.com.pe/publicaciones/Manejo%20forestal%20en%20Caller%C3%ADa%20AIDER.pdf.] Accessed 15 April 2017.

Ceddia GM, Gunter U, Corriveau-Bourque A (2015) Land tenure and agricultural expansion in Latin America: The role of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ forest rights. Global Environmental Change 35:316–322. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.010

Charity S, Dudley N, Oliveira D, Stolton S (2016) Living Amazon Report 2016: A regional approach to conservation in the Amazon. WWF Living Amazon Initiative, Brasilia and Quito.

Chi VK, Van Rompaey A, Govers G, Vanacker V, Schmook B, Hieu N. (2013) Land transitions in Northwest Vietnam: an integrated analysis of biophysical and socio-cultural factors. Human ecology, 41(1), 37-50. doi: 10.1007/s10745-013-9569-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9569-9

CIFOR (1999) The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Generic Template. Criteria and Indicators Toolbox Series 2. doi: 10.17528/cifor/000763. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17528/cifor/000763

Clarke KR (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology 18: 117-143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1993.tb00438.x

Coomes O, Takasaki Y, Abizaid C, Arroyo-Mora J (2016) Environmental and Market Determinants of Economic Orientation among Rain Forest Communities: Evidence from a Large-Scale Survey in Western Amazonia. Ecological Economics doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.06.001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.06.001

Cossio R, Menton M, Cronkleton P, Larson A (2014). Manejo forestal comunitario en la Amazonía peruana: Una revisión bibliográfica. CIFOR Documento de trabajo 140. Bogor, Indonesia. [https://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/WPapers/WP136Menton.pdf] Accessed 21 December 2020.

Creswell JW (2007) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. 2ed. Sage Publication,USA.

De-Camino R (2000) Algunas consideraciones sobre el manejo forestal comunitario y su situación en América Latina. [http://www.ccmss.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Taller_Manejo_Forestal_Comunitario_y_Certificacion_en_America_Latina.pdf.] Accessed 20 July 2017.

Dourojeanni M (2009) Crónica forestal del Perú. UNALM y UNMSM. Lima, PE. 719 p.

Espejo JC, Messinger M, Román-Dañobeytia F, Ascorra C, Fernandez LE, Silman M (2018) Deforestation and forest degradation due to gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon: A 34-year perspective. Remote Sensing 10(12):1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10121903

Faith DP, Minchin PR, Belbin L. (1987) Compositional dissimilarity as a robust measure of ecological distance. Vegetatio, 69(1), 57-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00038687

FAO (n.d) Criterios e indicadores para la ordenación forestal sostenible. [http://www.fao.org/forestry/ci/es/] Accessed May 18, 2016.

——— (2010) Casos ejemplares de manejo forestal sostenible en América Latina y El Caribe. [http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/training_material/docs/casejes.pdf] Accessed May 18, 2016.

——— (2016) Criterios e indicadores para la ordenación forestal sostenible – Propuesta de Tarapoto sobre criterios e indicadores de sostenibilidad del bosque amazónico. [http://www.fao.org/forestry/ci/16618/es/] Accessed 21 February 2016.

FAO and UNEP. 2020. The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people. Doi:10.4060/ca8642en. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8642en

Fernández-Llamazares Á., Terraube J, Gavin MC, Pyhälä A, Siani SM, Cabeza M, Brondizio ES (2020) Reframing the wilderness concept can bolster collaborative conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 35(9):750-753. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.06.005

Fitts LA, Cruz-Burga ZA, La Torre-Cuadros MA (2020) Wild rubber extraction in the Peruvin Amazon: Local perception and socioeconomic indicators as tools for decision-making. Ethnobiology and Conservation 9:24. doi:10.15451/ec2020069.24126.

Gaviria A, Sabogal C (2013) Sistematización de seis experiencias de manejo forestal comunitario en la Amazonía peruana. 1 ed. Proyecto Inventario Nacional Forestal y Manejo Forestal Sostenible del Perú ante el Cambio Climático FAO-Finlandia/MINAG MINAM, Lima, Perú.

Geobosques, 2020. Perú Bosque Húmedo Amazónico. Bosque - no bosque y pérdida de bosques 2000 - 2018 por categorías territoriales. Programa Nacional de Conservación de Bosques para la mitigación del cambio climático. Ministerio del Ambiente. Perú. [http://geobosques.minam.gob.pe/geobosque/view/descargas.php?122345gxxe345w34gg#download] Accessed 25 May 2020.

Godoy R, Overman H, Apaza L, Byron E, Huanca T, Leonard W, Pérez E, Reyes-García V, Vadez V, Wilkie D, Cubas A, McSweeney K, Brokaw N (2002) Local Financial Benefits of Rainforests: Comparative Evidence from Amerindian Societies in Bolivia and Honduras. Ecological Economics 40(3): 397–409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00006-X

Held C, Pawlowsk G, Paredes A, Calo I (2015) Cadenas de Valor en el sector forestal del Perú Informe diagnóstico y desarrollo estratégico. Global Green Growth Institute. Freiburg, Germany.

Herbohn JL, Smith C, Baynes J, Fisher RJ, Bray D (2015) Key factors which influence the success of community forestry in developing countries. Global Environmental Change 35:226-238. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.09.011

Heumann C, Schomaker M, Shalabh S (2016) Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis: With Exercises, Solutions and Applications in R. 1st ed. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46162-5

Holdridge LR (1987) Ecología basada en zonas de vida. Instituto Iberoamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura IICA. 3 ed, San José, Costa Rica.

ILO (2019) Implementing the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169: Towards an inclusive, sustainable and just future. [https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_735607.pdf] Accessed 25 May 2020.

ITTO (2005) Revised ITTO Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests Including Reporting Format. ITTO Policy Development Series 15: 15:42.

Kajembe GC, Nduwamungu J, Luoga EJ (2006) The Impact of Community-Based Forest Management and Joint Forest Management on the Forest Resource Base and Local People’s Livelihoods: Case Studies from Tanzania.Commons southern Africa occasional paper series 8: 1–22.

Khasa PD, Dancik BP (1996) Managing for Biodiversity in Tropical Forests. Journal of Tropical Forest 4(1-2): 1-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J091v04n01_01

La Torre-Cuadros MA, Ross N (2003) Secondary-Biodiversity: Local Perceptions of Forest Habitats among the Maya of Solferino, Quintana Roo, México. Journal of Ethnobiology 23 (2): 287-308.

Lambin EF, Geist HJ, Lepers E (2003) Dynamics of land-use and land-cover change in tropical regions. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 28: 205–241. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.28.050302.105459

Larson AM (2013) Derechos de tenencia y acceso a los bosques: Manual de capacitación para la investigación. Bogor, ID. Center for International Forestry Research CIFOR, Indonesia. 70 p.

Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Program MAAP (2017) MAAP Síntesis #2: Patrones y drivers de deforestación en la Amazonía peruana. [https://maaproject.org/2017/maap-sintesis2/] Accessed 21 December 2020.

Mahanty S, Guernier J (2008) A Fair Share: sharing the benefits and costs of community-based forest management: Theme on Understanding the Benefits of the Commons. University of Gloucestershire. [http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/2069/Mahanty_224801.pdf] Accessed 17 November 2019.

Mai YH, Mwangi E, Wan M (2011) Gender analysis in forestry research: looking back and thinking ahead. International Forestry Review 13(2):245-258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1505/146554811797406589

Mapbiomas Amazonía. Colección 2.0. RAISG, 2020. [https://amazonia.mapbiomas.org/] Accessed 20 October 2020.

Medina G, Pokorny B, Campbell B (2008) Favouring Local Development in the Amazon: Lessons from Community Forest Management Initiatives. Forest Livelihood Briefs CIFOR [http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/livebrief/livebrief0802E.pdf] Accessed 20 July 2017.

MINAM (2019) Mapa nacional de ecosistemas del Perú: Memoria descriptiva. [https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/mapas/mapa-nacional-ecosistemas-peru] Accessed 20 October 2020.

MINSA-Perú (2015) Informe operacional mensual de malaria en la Comunidad Nativa Sinchi Roca. Pucallpa, Perú.

Nalvarte J (2015) Manejo forestal comunitario para mitigar el cambio climático: la experiencia de la Comunidad Nativa Callería, Ucayali - Perú. Asociación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Integral – AIDER, Lima, Perú.

Nguyen T, Tran T, Hoang TH (2008) Traditional versus New Forms of Community Forest Management in Vietnam: Can They Contribute to Poverty Alleviation in Upland Forest Areas? [http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk/conference%20papers/papers/N/Nguyen_218801.pdf] Accessed 25 May 2020.

Nolte C, Agrawal A, Silvius KM, Soares-Filho BS (2013) Governance regime and location influence avoided deforestation success of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon. PNAS 110 (13): 4956–4961. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214786110

Organización Internacional de las Maderas Tropicales OIMT (2005) Criterios e indicadores revisados de la OIMT para la ordenación sostenible de los bosques tropicales con inclusión de un formato de informes. Serie OIMT de políticas forestales 15. 42 p.

OSINFOR (2020) Memorandum Nº 00161-2020-OSINFOR/08.3. Lima, Perú.

Pokorky B, Sabogal C, De Jong W, Stoian D, Louman B, Pacheco P, Porro N (2008) Experiencias y retos del manejo forestal comunitario en América Tropical. Recursos Naturales y Ambiente 54: 81-98.

Porro R, Lopez-Feldman A, Vela-Alvarado JW (2015) Forest use and agriculture in Ucayali, Peru: Livelihood strategies, poverty, and wealth in an Amazon frontier. Forest Policy and Economics 51: 47–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.12.001

Prussmann J, Suárez CF, Guevara Ó, Vergara a (2015) Vulnerability Analysis of the Amazon Biome and its Protected Areas. WWF Living Amazon Initiative. [https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/vulnerability_analysis_of_the_amazon_biome_and_its_protected_areas_2015_amazonvision.pdf] Accessed 15 October 2020.

Quinteros B (2001) Distribución natural y determinación edafoclimática de la Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) y Uncaria guianensis (Aubl) Gmel (Uña de gato) en la cuenca del río Aguaytía. Undergraduate thesis. Universidad Nacional de Ucayali. Pucallpa, Ucayali, Perú.

Rebugio LL, Carandang AP, Dizon JT, Pulhin JM, Camacho LD, DonKoo L, Peralta EO (2010) Promoting Sustainable Forest Management through Community Forestry in the Philippines. IUFRO World Series 25:355-368.

Rodriguez CR, Fleischman F (2018) Institutional legacies explain the comparative efficacy of protected areas: Evidence from the Calakmul and Maya Biosphere Reserves of Mexico and Guatemala. Global Environmental Change 50:278-288. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.04.011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.04.011

Rights and Resources Initiative RRI (2020) Estimate of the area of land and territories of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afrodescendants where their rights have not been recognized. Technical Report.Washington, DC. 32 p.

Rubin-De-Celis E, Cruz-Burga ZA, Rosot NC, Dalla Corte AP; Arakaki H, La Torre-Cuadros MA (2019) Patterns of forest loss in territorial categories of Amazonian forests: Peru case (2001-2016). Floresta 49(4): 859-868. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5380/rf.v49i4.60160

Saavedra L (2008) Evaluación ecológico - silvicultural y socioeconómica de las plantaciones de caoba (Swietenia macrophylla King) en la comunidad indígena Sinchi Roca - Ucayali. Master thesis Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Lima, Peru.

Sabogal C, Carrera F, Colán V, Pokorny B, Louman B (2004) Manual para la planificación y evaluación del manejo forestal operacional en bosques de la Amazonía Peruana. Proyecto INRENA – CIFOR - FONDEBOSQUE: Apoyo a la implementación del nuevo régimen forestal a través de la capacitación a asociaciones de productores forestales concesionarios en la Amazonia Peruana. Lima, Perú. 279 p.

Sabogal C, de Jong W, Pokorny B, Louman B (2008) Manejo Forestal Comunitario en América Latina: experiencias, lecciones aprendidas y retos para el futuro. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) doi:10.17528/cifor/002640. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17528/cifor/002640

Santiago P (2021) Certificación forestal voluntaria de comunidades shipibo-konibo en la región Ucayali. Master Thesis, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Lima, Peru.

Schaafsma M, Morse-Jones S, Posen P, Swetnam R, Balmford A, Bateman I, Burgess N, Chamshama SAO, Fisher B, Freeman T, Geofrey V, Green RE, Helplwa AS, Hernandez-Sirve A, Hess S, Kajembe GC, Kayharara G, Kilonzo M, Turner RK (2014) The Importance of Local Forest Benefits: Economic Valuation of Non-Timber Forest Products in the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania. Global Environmental Change 24 (1):295–305 doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.08.018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.08.018

Schleicher J, Peres CA, Amano T, Llactayo W, Leader-Williams N (2017) Conservation performance of different conservation governance regimes in the Peruvian Amazon. Scientific Reports 7:1-10. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10736-w. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-10736-w

SERFOR (2015) Ley Forestal y Fauna Silvestre N°29763 y sus reglamentos. Bosques Productivos para la vida. Lima, Perú [https://www.serfor.gob.pe/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LFFS-Y-SUS-REGLAMENTOS.pdf] Accessed 26 May 2020.

Sillitoe P (2014) Local perceptions of forest, conservation and logging in Papua New Guinea. Revue d’ethnoécologie 6. doi:10.4000/ethnoecologie.1905. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/ethnoecologie.1905

Stoian D, Rodas A, Butler M, Monterroso I, Hodgdon B. (2018). Forest concessions in Petén, Guatemala: A systematic analysis of the socioeconomic performance of community enterprises in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. CIFOR. https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/7163/.

Sun Y, Mwangi E, Meinzen-Dick R. (2011) Is gender an important factor influencing user groups’ property rights and forestry governance? Empirical evidence from East Africa and Latin America. International Forestry Review 13(2): 205–219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1505/146554811797406598

Sunderland T, Achdiawan R, Angelsen A,Babigumira R, Ickowitz A, Paumgarten F, ReyesGarcía V, Shively G (2014) Challenging Perceptions about Men, Women, and Forest Product Use: A Global Comparative Study. World Development 64(1):S56S66 doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.03.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.03.003

Tchikangwa B, Brocklesby M, Tiani A, Sardjono M, Porro R, Salim A, Colfer C (2001) Rights to manage cooperatively and equitably in forest-rich and forest-poor contexts. In: Colfer CJP, Byron Y (eds) People managing forests: the link between human well-being and sustainability. Washington DC, US. Resources for the Future y CIFOR. pp. 322-344.

Vera F (2014) Los desafíos en gobernanza y manejo forestal comunitario de Los awajún y wampis: lecciones aprendidas. Soluciones Prácticas. [http://www.solucionespracticas.org.pe/Descargar/392844/1195269] Accessed 10 April 2019.

Vijay V, Pimm SL, Jenkins CN, Smith SJ (2016) The impacts of oil palm on recent deforestation and biodiversity loss. PLoS One 11(7): 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159668

Wollenberg E, Merino L, Agrawal A, Ostrom E (2007) Fourteen Years of Monitoring Community-Managed Forests: Learning from IFRI's Experience. International Forestry Review 9(2): 670-684. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1505/ifor.9.2.670

Downloads

Published

01/07/2022

How to Cite

Fitts, L. A., Cruz-Burga, Z. A., Legatzke, H., & La Torre-Cuadros, M. de los Ángeles. (2022). Is timber management a realistic conservation alternative for indigenous Amazonian communities?. Ethnobiology and Conservation, 11. https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2022-01-11.02-1-31

Issue

Section

Original research article

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.