Purpose:

To evaluate through the theoretical framework of the governance of common goods the impact that institutional arrangements have on the process of building social capital for forest management among the ejidos that make up the Regional Association of Foresters; as well as investigating the state of the process of construction of social capital for forest management at the local level.

Methodology:

A holistic perspective was used with a qualitative approach based on the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework and the data collection instruments of the International Forestry Resources and Institutions.

Results:

The forestry sector in Calakmul has a complex property regime that overlaps elements of common property and public property which derive in contradictions that halt the capacity to execute forestry management models adapted to the local socioenvironmental context. There are multiple provision rules of subsidiary and paternalist character from the State to the ejidos and almost null possibilities of designing appropriation rules related to sustainable forestry management given the limitations that forestry management confronts under an extremely restrictive legal framework and public policies with opposing objectives.

Limitations:

The results are limited to the conditions confronting the forest sector in the local sphere and members of the Regional Association of Foresters in Calakmul.

Findings:

The State could, in the forestry sector, have a facilitator role and turn institutional support towards productive management schemes instead of supporting programs that promote the culture of subsidy and commodification of natural resources.

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