The project site is located in southeastern Mexico in what is referred to as the Maya Forest. The Maya Forest is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize and is considered the largest block of humid, subtropical forest remaining in Central America.
Ejido 20 de Noviembre is located within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve region in southeastern Campeche State.
Photo Credit: National Geographic
About 15,000 people live in around the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. In southern Mexico, it is impoverished local people who own and occupy most of the land. Slash-and-burn agriculture, clear-cutting for livestock production, and unsustainable extraction of forest products are the few means of survival for many of the region�s residents. In an example of slash and burn (photo at right), after only 3 years, the soil is virtually worthless and a new area of forest must be selected for burning.
According to recent estimations, nearly 90% of Mexico's original forest cover is gone and 77% of what is left is threatened. About 70% of Mexico�s remaining forests are now owned by communities and ejidos.
The
community of 20
de Noviembre is an "ejido". Ejidos are typically made
up of between 400-600 people where each person owns a small parcel of
communal land (often in total about 50 ha / 125 acres).
The ejido is a self-governing cooperative land unit with elected
officials and together decisions are made on how to best use its lands and profits from commerce and
agriculture.
And some ejidos, like 20 de Noviembre, are looking at ecotourism as a new
opportunity to generate income and protect their resources.
Photo top and right: various
residents at an ecotourism meeting.
Ejido 20 de Noviembre was decreed an ejido on November 20, 1971 and covers 32,000 ha (14,000 ha of which is forest or agricultural land). This ejido began as a chiclero camp, where men from Dzibalchen (northern Campeche state) came to harvest the sap of the Chicozapote tree. Eventually many brought their families with them and today roughly 600 people inhabit 20 de Noviembre, 100% of which are Mayan. This community is well organized into various committees that cover different areas of ejido life. The women are involved in the following committees: Artesania (embroidery, wood handicrafts, hammocks), Kitchen / Restaurant, and Caba�as. Then men are involved in the following committees: Bee Keeping, Ecotourism, Wildlife Management, and Reforestation.. Under the new committee that was formed to work on ecotourism development, their vision is to promote various services and attractions for tourists that will create employment and a source of income for ejido residents while protecting and preserving their natural and cultural resources.
Beginning in the 1980�s, the Mexican government took steps towards
protecting the Maya Forest with the creation of a Biosphere Reserve.
Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR), created in 1989, was registered in
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program in 1993. Out of the 723,185 ha
(2.8 million acres) that make up the reserve, 227,860 ha have
been set-aside as two core areas (strict protection for conservation
research and education), with the remainder classified as buffer zones
(education, research, ecotourism, and low-impact use of natural resources).
Surrounding buffer zones are transition zones, where local
communities may live and sustainable uses of natural resources can occur.
By
combining conservation and local involvement, Biosphere Reserves are dedicated
to conserving biological and cultural diversity and providing areas for
environmental research and monitoring, education, and tourism that all focus on
sustainable development to meet human needs while protecting natural resources.
Reserves
have three complimentary functions:
↕
↕
Development (sustainability) ↔ Logistical
Support (Information)
The
Calakmul Biosphere Reserve was established to protect the forest resources and
animals and their habitats within the Maya Forest. The Model Forest of
Calakmul was later developed to help ejidos better manage and benefit from the
resources that are now becoming scarce. The Model Forest, established in
1994, works with 45 ejidos with the focus of decreasing the negative
environmental impact on the Reserve. The Model Forest of Calakmul is
playing a major supportive role in this ecotourism management plan.
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