Abstract

MERINO, Leticia. Community Conservation in the Upper Section of the Papaloapan Basin in Oaxaca's Sierra Norte. Nueva antropol [online]. 2008, vol.21, n.68, pp.37-49. ISSN 0185-0636.

This article describes the experiences of forest management and conservation developed by communities of the Sierra Norte or Sierra de Juárez during the last two decades. Different types of forest have been both used and preserved by communities in the Sierra. The success of community management in the region is strongly related to traditional notions of social capital based on reciprocity (practices such as the cargos system and the tequio). The development of commercial community forestries has also been a key element for the empowerment of local institutions and for the proper perception of the value of the forest among its local users. The practice of local governanza in the Sierra provides suggestive new elements for an alternative conservation policy, one that articulates the participation of the State and other social actors.

Keywords : conservation; forests; social capital; public policies; Oaxaca.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )