Case Studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF FOREST COMMUNITIES OF PETEN, Guatemala

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF FOREST COMMUNITIES OF PETEN, Guatemala

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Guatemala

ASSOCIATION OFFOREST COMMUNITIESOF PETÉN

Empowered live

Resilient nation

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=494&Itemid=709



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that woor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practitionthemselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succto scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Par

Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Association o Forest Communities o Petén (ACOFOP), and in particular guidance and inputs o Carlos Kurzel. All photo credits courtesy o ACOFOP and Geo Gallice (http://www.ickr.com/people/dejeuxxMaps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Association o Forest Communities o Petén, Guatemala. Equator Initiative Case Stu

Series. New York, NY.

http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf




http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858



PROJECT SUMMARY The Association o Forest Communities o Petén ( Asociación

de Comunidades Forestales de Petén – ACOFOP) brings

together communities in the buer zone o the MayaBiosphere Reserve to manage orest concessions thatcollectively represent the world’s largest certied orest

area under community management.

The initiative has ensured community access to the orestby securing legal orest concessions or sustainable timberand non-timber orest product extraction at the local level.

Through pioneering use o certication schemes andbiological monitoring, this umbrella organization has helpedto conserve the orest’s biodiversity and improve livelihood

options or more than 14,000 community members. Theassociation is currently made up o 23 community-basedorganisations, each o which is represented within anequitable and democratic governance structure.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002

FOUNDED: 1995

LOCATION: Petén Department, Northern Guatemala

BENEFICIARIES: 2,000 families, 30 communities

BIODIVERSITY: 1,400 plant species, 450 animal species

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 8

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 11

Partners 11

ASSOCIATION OF FORESTCOMMUNITIES OF PETÉNGuatemala



4

he Association o Forest Communities o Petén (ACOFOP) bringsogether 23 community organizations that manage community

orest concessions in the Multiple Use Zone o the Maya Biosphereeserve in northern Guatemala with the aim o improving the quality lie o their members through sustainable resource management.

ince its oundation in 1995, ACOFOP has advanced the extension o orest certication in the reserve, established a good administrative

tructure, and implemented eective tools or re control andreventing illegal logging. More than 14,000 people benet directly

rom the sustainable use o orest resources and the successulmarketing o ACOFOP products.

Environmental threats in the Selva Maya

he Maya Biosphere Reserve (RBM) is Central America’s mostiologically diverse ecosystem and contains the majority o the

ropical rainorest still remaining in Guatemala. Located in the Peténegion o northern Guatemala, this reserve is an important source notnly o biodiversity but also o livelihoods and the resources upon

which the local communities depend. Furthermore, this stretch o ropical orest represents a signicant heritage site or local culture

nd history as it contains over 200 Mayan ruins.

he reserve is located in the heart o the Selva Maya, a large tropicalorest which spans neighboring portions o Guatemala, Belize, and

Mexico and serves as a critical watershed or local people and as amajor carbon sink or the entire planet. In the mid-20th century, the

elva Maya, which had gained attention or its wealth o precious

woods and other resources, became a receiving zone or domesticmigrants, placing intense pressure on agricultural resources and

reating serious national security problems rom illegal trafckingn ora, auna, archeological resources, undocumented migrants,nd drugs. As a result o these activities, the tropical rainorest was

eing rapidly destroyed or degraded, leading to the loss o largeumbers o plant and animal species. This began to aect the

tability o orest ecosystems and the livelihoods o thousands o

orest dwellers and millions o others who depend on the oresa range o products and services. In the late 1980s, as part o a

conservation movement in Mesoamerica, governments in the rebegan to promote legal tools or the protection o natural resouHowever, in the absence o a detailed analysis o the situation

welare o peasant and indigenous communities was not takenconsideration.

Land use in the Maya Biosphere Reserve

In Guatemala, the Legislative Decree 4-89 Protected Areas Actpassed in 1989, creating the Guatemalan System o Protected A

(SIGAP) and the National Council o Protected Areas (CONAP)latter became the governing body o all the protected areas in

country. In 1990, ater the creation o the Maya Biosphere Res(Legislative Decree 5-90), CONAP initiated a particularly rigid p

which was detached rom dialogue with the communities had been living in these zones beore the creation o the resOvernight, resident communities ound themselves living ins

protected area where their economic and traditional activities greatly restricted. The lack o communication between the

and orest dependent communities – and the incompatibility orestrictive policy with the needs o the people – led to a seri

conicts which orced the state to settle on a strategy that reconeconomic and social development with the conservation o na

resources. The new goal was to conserve natural biodiveand cultural values while simultaneously beneting the livecommunities living within it. In order to better manage the res

the area has been divided into zones: core, multiple use, and bzones.

ACOFOP organizations work in the multiple use and buer zwhile the core zones are strict conservation areas. Multiple

zones constitute approximately 50 per cent o the Maya BiospReserve and are devoted to the sustainable harvest o xate p

(Chamaedorea spp.), allspice (Pimienta dioica), chicle gum (Mani

Background and Context



55

pp.), wicker (Philodendron spp.) and other wild plants, seeds, timbernd auna, and contain restricted areas or carrying out traditionalctivities and the utilization o non-renewable resources under strict

ontrols. The multiple use zones in turn are divided into specialse zones and cultural and archeological preservation areas. The

rimary objective o the buer zone is to relieve pressure on theeserve through the stabilization o appropriate land and resource

sage in the area adjacent to the southern edge o the Maya

iosphere Reserve. The communities living in this zone compriseative Mayans and Ladino armers. Environmental threats stemming

rom human activity in the buer zone have traditionally includedhe indiscriminate elling o timber, population growth, and internal

migration.

A community-based orest management solution

eeking to address environmental and social problems, theommunities o Petén came together to orm the Association o orest Communities o Peten (ACOFOP), an umbrella organization

which supports the creation and management o communityorest concessions as a legal mechanism or sharing rights and

esponsibilities between resource users and the state. Prior toACOFOP’s ormation, these concessions were granted almost

xclusively to timber companies, and ACOFOP ought to provehat communities possessed the technical and nancial capacityo manage the concessions—a ght which ultimately ended

with communities gaining control o 445,804 hectares o orestoncessions. ACOFOP now comprises 23 local community-based

rganizations, representing 30 rural communities and approximately,000 amilies. These communities have assumed responsibility or

he sustainable management o orest resources within the reserve,nd over hal o the managed orest has been internationallyertied by the Forest Stewardship Council, making it one o the

argest certied orest areas under community management in theworld.

he original vision o ACOFOP was to train community leaders (both

men and women) in the management o orest concessions. Towardhis end, the project has organized local and regional workshops onubjects such as administration, business, gender, communication

trategies, and legal regulations. An independent body was creatednd devoted specically to activities promoting the participation

women and youth in every aspect o the process. As a result,management capacity has increased as has the inuence o directors

n the political and legal decision-making processes governingmanagement o the reserve. Over time, the vision expanded to

nclude the development o technical and business capacities o ommunity organizations, with an emphasis on the training o ommunity leaders in the technical and administrative dimensions o

ertication, domestic marketing, and product export. More recently,ACOFOP has begun to promote alternative livelihoods and new

ses o non-timber orest products in an eort to diversiy sources income. Examples o new sources o income include ecotourism,

he production and sale o medicinal plants, and handicrats. These

trategic actions have placed ACOFOP’s community stewardshiprogram on the local, national, and international stages.

Governance and organizational Structure

As part o its institutional structure, ACOFOP encour

transparency, accountability, and social monitoring as permastyles o management, emphasizing the ree ow o inorma

and consultation with all stakeholders. The internal organizatimade up o elected ofcials who serve two-year terms on var

decision-making bodies: the General Assembly, the Managem

Board, the Audit Commission, the Executive Board, and obodies. The General Assembly is composed o all indiv

members and organizations, the latter through their respective representatives, and is superior in terms o authority to the o

decision-making bodies.

The Management Board is made up o nine organizations anindividuals who are elected by secret vote and are charged

the efcient execution o the General Assembly’s decisions.posts are president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and voting members. It is the president who is the legal representa

o the Association. The Audit Commission is independent oManagement Board and nominated by the General Assem

Composed o three active members (individuals or organizatiits main unction is to ensure the Management and Execu

Boards carry out their activities in accordance with what has bplanned and approved by the General Assembly. In this wayAudit Commission is also responsible or auditing the budge

each member organization. The Executive Board comprisesexecutive director who is appointed by the General Assembly a

responsible or implementing, in coordination with the ManagemBoard, the planned activities and mandates o the Assembly.

executive director leads the technical team which is divideddierent areas and programs o work, depending on the exineeds. Within the organization there are other entities w

although not regulated in the statutes, are o great importor the community stewardship process. One such example is

Advisory Council, which is made up o key leaders who have at spoint played a role within the community organizations. They

advice on high priority issues in order to help the board o direand/or Executive Board to make more consensus-based decisio

This project stands as one o the largest and most successul orprojects in Latin America. It has successully created and sustain

new approach toward orest resources. Communities view the as an important part o their livelihoods and heritage and there

manage it on a sustainable basis.

“The industrial revolution has provided

development and comfort to humanity whic

will be the balance of debt we owe to our

planet. The responsibility is all of ours to

repay it.”

Carlos Kurzel, ACOFOP



6

Key Activities and Innovations

ACOFOP manages, executes, and redirects international cooperationprojects in order to strengthen the social management and

conomic development o the associated communities with the

oal o conserving natural and cultural resources o the region.he activities can be broken up into our main program areas: 1)

conomic diversication and local management o the communityorganizations o Petén; 2) capacity-building, planning, and integrated

management o non-timber orest products (gum, pepper, xatepalm, Maya nut, and guano) and xate enrichment plantations inecovering orests in the reserve; 3) encouraging the integrated

management o natural and cultural resources through communityparticipation in ecotourism; and 4) strengthening the institutional,

political, and business aspects o community orest stewardship inetén.

Participatory planning and building local capacity

he rst program area ocuses on creating and strengthening theechnical and administrative capacities o the member community

organizations, contributing to an integrated, participatoryevelopment model which is necessary or economic diversication

nd sustainable development in the long term. To this end, theyave established a participatory process o planning, monitoring,nd evaluation which allows community organizations and

nstitutions to be protagonists in the implementation o projects,

acilitating knowledge-sharing at the community and institutionalevels through each step o the process. As part o this process, theommunity organizations take on activities to add value to their

products and promote agreements at the local level to help theocal governing structure to interact more efciently with private

business initiatives. Through capacity-building eorts, ACOFOP

as established open communication channels both among andwithin the community organizations. Further, regular consultative

workshops are held to share inormation regarding environmentalnd economic conditions, opportunities, successes, and setbacks.

Income generation and diversication

The second program area promotes income generation and

sustainable management o resources in the Maya BiospReserve by oering capacity building and technical assist

to community members in terms o the cultivation, harvespackaging and selling o xate palm and other non-timber

products, while meeting requirements or Forest StewardCouncil (FSC) certication. ACOFOP has helped ve local ororganizations create management plans and inventories o

palm, gum, pepper, Maya nuts, and guano. These plans appa zone o approximately 140,000 hectares and satisy the

requirements established by the National Council on ProteAreas. ACOFOP has assisted another ve community organiza

to establish xate palm nurseries and plantations in secondary oand those damaged by orest re. Approximately 100 hectarland (20 hectares or each o the ve groups) are administrate

each one o the beneciary orestry organizations, adding uabout 960,000 plants or each organization, 4,800,000 in total.



7

Community-driven ecotourism

he third program area encourages community participation in

ustainable cultural tourism as a strategy or strengthening themanagement structure o the reserve and improving the living

onditions o the inhabitants o the Selva Maya. ACOFOP aimso contribute rst to strengthening the existing community

nterprises, analyzing internal and external actors that limit or

avor their development. In order to this, the association organizesnowledge exchanges, thus bringing to Petén experiences and

nsights which shorten the learning curve on strategic issuesor member communities and their ethno-tourism enterprises.

ACOFOP also conducts trainings on various themes o ecotourismevelopment and administration. The strategy is based on an

ntensive evidence-based process that promotes understandingmong the communities o the value o their natural and cultural

esources and the potential to improve their living conditionshrough tourism, as well as the benets and risks associated withhe tourism sector. ACOFOP has also cultivated strategic alliances

with similar organizations in southern Mexico and Belize and is inhe process o orming a ‘Great Alliance or Community Tourism’ in

he Selva Maya as a vehicle o cooperation and political advocacy orhe uture o the Selva Maya’s protected areas.

Strengthening community orest stewardship in Petén

he ourth program area contributes to improvements in thenstitutional and political perormance o ACOFOP, through the

trengthening o social capital as the basis o a new strategy to

reposition the agenda o community orestry in a way that rerecent socioeconomic and political changes in the region. ACOconsiders its main asset to be the social capital o commu

stewardship—which takes the orm o community organizatcommissions, working groups, and other mechanisms or consulta

and cooperation—and is dedicated to capacity-building in this aSpecically, ACOFOP trains community organizations and indiv

members in administration and business skills and uses a

processes (undertaken by community leaders and business leadto document successes, mistakes, and lessons learned. Through

integrated management o natural resources and the promotioalternative livelihoods, ACOFOP continues to deepen its success

the areas o promoting community stewardship.

ACOFOP’s main innovation can be ound in its organizational strucwhich brings together individual community concessions so

natural resources can be used to benet local people in a sustainand integrated way. This system was born o the lawlessness thatexisted within protected areas. ACOFOP has paved the way o

adjudication and transer o orest concessions to civil society groACOFOP believed—and has since been proven right—that

sharing o responsibilities related to the administration, protecand management o the multiple-use zones o the reserve w

lead not only to more eective conservation eorts but also toimproved well-being o local people. ACOFOP’s success in brincommunities together or these common goals has made it on

the most successul community steward organizations in the wand has contributed to the preservation o the natural and cult

heritage o Guatemala.

Table 1: Economic Diversifcation and Local Management o the Community Organizations o Petén

Organisation Project Small Grant ($)

Community

Contribution ($)

Project total

($)

S.C. Custosel Community tourism business "Green World" 37,267.08 26,335.40 63.602.48

Arbol Verde Production and marketing o urniture 37,267.08 26,059.44 63,336.52

Coop. La Tecnica Production o white corn 36,521.74 17,482.92 54,004.66

Laborantes Del Bosque Enrichment o Xate palm 34,451.30 16,681.24 51,132.55

OMYC Uaxactun Enrichment o Xate palm 37,267.08 18,777.95 56,045.03

Impulsores Suchitecos Tongue-and-groove woodworking project 35,403.73 41,331.06 76,734.78

AFISAP Honey production 37,173.91 33,059.41 70,243.33

Coop. Carmelita Establishment o carpenters' workshop 37,267.08 13,751.55 51,018.63

S.C. El Esuerzo "Yaloch" community tourism 37,267.08 14,898.26 52,165.34

Coop. Los Laureles Strengthening o community shops 24,844.72 14,172.36 39,017.08

Coop. Union Maya Itza Production o Xate 18,633.54 9,316.77 27,950.31

Coop. La Lucha Production o white corn 18,403.11 21,801.24 40,204.35

Total: 391,767.45 253,687.61 645,455.07

ource: ACOFOP website. Amounts calculated at an exchange rate o Q. 8.05 = USD 1.00



8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

The Petén region o Guatemala is known worldwide or its highbiological diversity and cultural wealth, with some 1,400 knownplant species and approximately 450 animal species, including

aguars (P. onca goldmani ), pumas (Puma concolor ), ocelotsLeopardus pardalis), margays (Leopardus wiedii ), spider monkeysAteles geofroyi yucatanensis), howler monkeys ( Alouatta pigra),apirs (Tapirus bairdii ), crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletii ), red brocketMazama americana) and white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus),

harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja), several species o hawk, and scarletmacaws ( Ara macao).

ACOFOP community organizations hold more than 450,000 hectares

o natural orest in the orm o sustainable management concessions,s granted by contracts with the government o Guatemala. These

oncessions guarantee the access and management o natural andultural resources o the Multiple Use Zone in the Maya Biosphere

Reserve or 25 years. As dictated by management plans, only select

reas are used or timber extraction, with an average o one tree perhectare cut down, thus minimizing the negative impact o resource

use on the orest. The remainder o the area is used or collecting non-imber orest products. Giving orest dependent communities an

economic incentive to participate in environmental stewardship hasesulted in environmental benets ranging rom the conservation

o endemic ora and auna to the protection o a wide variety o ecosystem services. Additionally, there has been a considerableeduction in the requency o orest res and illegal encroachment

nto ragile ecosystems. So too, the advancing agricultural rontier haslowed in areas managed by communities thanks to the investment

o more than USD 250,000 each year in the monitoring and ghtingo res. Changing attitudes in the community away rom slash andburn agriculture towards sustainable orest management has greatly

ontributed to the sustainability o conservation eorts. Communitymanagement has also meant the promotion o non-contaminating

organic technologies in local ood production.

Global orest management standards are applied throughForest Stewardship Council (FSC). Participating communities in

in technology, manpower, nancial resources, and the controsurveillance o areas under management, ensuring their proteand conservation. Scientic studies have been conducted on

multiple-use zone in contrast to the core (conservation) areasnational parks. The results obtained are encouraging and show

the protection o natural resources o the Maya Biosphere Reshas been eective in the hands o communities. According to a s

conducted by RainForest Alliance rom 2002 to 2007, the aveannual deorestation rate or the entire Maya Biosphere Resincluding the core protected areas, was twenty times higher

the deorestation rate or the community-managed concessBased on current trends, the Reserve is expected to lose 38 per

o its 1986 orest cover by 2050, with most o that loss withinwestern core protected areas and the buer zone. This means

in the uture, the community concessions are expected to constan increasing percentage o the remaining orest cover. Furtherequency and extent o wildres within the Reserve have v

greatly and shown little signs o decreasing—7 to 20 percenorest area is burnt annually—since 1998, while the area bu

within community-managed concessions is much lower andbeen steadily dropping—rom 6.5 percent in 1998 to 0.1 perce

2007.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTSApproximately 14,000 people benet directly rom sustain

orest management in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Commmembers and their amilies now benet rom the nancial sec

o newly created jobs as well as revenues received rom the andistribution o prots generated by the sustainable managemo land concessions. The average local wage is now more than

12.00 per day. In addition, revenues generated by the sustainmanagement o orests are being reinvested in the construc

o classrooms, study grants, teachers’ wages, and basic comm



ervices. Further, the association has contributed to training,

nrastructure, and equipment or healthcare centers, an investmentwhich has had a substantial and positive impact on reproductive

and maternal health in the communities.

Through the UNDP/GEF-Small Grants Program, USD 400,000 has

been invested in economic diversication projects, allowing thecommunity-based concessions to add value to their products,

hereby generating more income or their respective organizations.Twelve new community businesses were established in the Maya

Biosphere Reserve, all with viable long-term business plans. Somecommunities have even begun to export certied and sustainablyharvested timber to international markets, leveraging ACOFOP’s

connections with the commercial orestry sector.

ACOFOP also works actively toward the development o newopportunities or income generation, such as community-based

ecotourism and the production and marketing o medicinal plantsand crats. Through capacity-building workshops, communitymembers have gained skills related to these alternative livelihoods

as well as orest management and administration. These skills

have better positioned communities in the labor market to ndemployment and earn additional income. The minimum salaryn these communities is now USD 7-10 per day, compared to

he national average o USD 4 per day. Further, ACOFOP directlygenerates approximately 40,000 days o paid employment per year.

n addition to income generation and investment, ACOFOP hascontributed to economic progress in other ways. For example,

eaders (both men and women) rom community organizationshave developed technical skills related to the administrativeand marketing aspects o orest management, all thanks to the

community stewardship process. The issue o women’s participationn development and stewardship projects has been controversial and

challenging, but signicant achievements have been made. Womenhold key positions in decision-making boards in the communities,

manage projects, and are behind many o the activities involvingnon-timber orest resources, such as xate, gum, pepper, bayal,wicker, and Maya nut, as these are products that are traditionally

harvested by women.

POLICY IMPACTS

The communities holding Maya Biosphere Reserve orests

achieved a high level o national and international representaand, through the leadership o their representatives, galegitimacy and credibility in policymaking ora. As a result, ACO

is given political breadth to participate actively in policy discoin areas that aect its constituent communities. The associ

has been delegated authority over migration as well as the ilappropriation o lands inside the concession boundaries. Fur

action has been taken to ensure that external pressure to granconcessions in the orest have been resisted.

The management o orest concessions has necessitatesignicant investment in monitoring to prevent thet and il

human settlements and to prevent, combat, and control ores. Monitoring activities required a cooperative relation

with government authorities, and provided a basis or develowhat has become a mutually benecial relationship. In a meewith national authorities, ACOFOP obtained a commitment

the Executive Secretary o the President o Guatemala to cont

supporting the communities in their arduous work o conserorests in the Petén region. ACOFOP also prompted the prevgovernment to strengthen control and surveillance, who prov

the community with 4x4 vehicles to patrol orest areas and the needed to improve strategic checkpoints. Owing to its lobbeorts and strong track-record, ACOFOP has also launche

payment or ecosystem services (carbon credits) initiative whichprovide another revenue stream to und community monito

While the association has been able to create a strong relationwith government authorities, cooperation remains limited

lack o long-term consistency in national policy and the turnovgovernment every our years.

Despite all o its successes, there is still scope or ACOFOP to impits standing in public opinion at the national level. Attemptin

inuse community interests into policy debates and decimaking processes is crucial or the successul conservatio

natural resources. Both in the Petén region and nationally, thas been little dissemination o community-based managemsuccesses. A lack o knowledge about the project’s actions ha

to limited popular support or certain projects. Disseminatioinormation on successes and ailures to the population “en m

and to communities undertaking similar projects in environmstewardship is o critical importance.

9

Table 2: Training in Management o Non-Timber Products

Organisation Men Women

Sociedad Civil Impulsores Suchitecos 27 1

Sociedad Civil Laborantes del Bosque 79 25

Sociedad Civil El Esuerzo 43 9

Sociedad Civil Custodios de la Selva 79 16

Sociedad Civil Arbol Verde 344 56

Sociedad Civil OMYC 244 92

Asociacion Forestal Integral San Andres 178 14

Cooperativa Carmelita 63 46

Cooperativa Union Maya ltza 145 3

La Bendicion 35 0

Total 1,237 262

ource: ACOFOP website.



10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYocial sustainability: In the early days o ACOFOP, strengtheningocial capital was a priority and one o the main challenges. It

was difcult to convince orest dependent communities to placeollective concerns ahead o individual ones. Accumulation o he social capital and trust needed to uel ACOFOP activities took

ears. The process, however, was essential or creating a commonision. The principle o unity that is now the glue o ACOFOP makes

t one o the most pioneering and socially sustainable initiatives inhe region. Community ownership over conservation activities is

trengthened and reinorced through extension support, trainings

nd workshops, and advice to community organizations. Theraining and participation o community leaders are key components

the process, and ACOFOP has oered leadership training tover 500 individuals in member communities. The consistent and

requent ow o inormation to and rom community members ondministrative and management processes has been central to the

roject’s social sustainability and success.

nvironmental sustainability: Annual investment in surveillance

nd control has been one important remedy or the problems o eorestation and orest degradation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Without question, however, the community philosophy o seeinghe orest as an economic asset and source o development has

een the crucial element in slowing the progress o the agriculturalrontier. Thanks to ACOFOP’s leadership, the orest is now seens an indispensable element or achieving economic and social

evelopment, the means by which communities benet directlynd indirectly, and the promise or uture generations to inherit an

nvironment suitable or living.

conomic sustainability: Income diversication, through theustainable use o orest resources, generates the livelihoodsecessary or poverty reduction and long-term economic

ustainability.



1111

REPLICATION

ACOFOP’s successul experiment in community stewardshipas most certainly inspired and strengthened other community

management processes. The work and experiences o ACOFOPnd its member community organizations are transmitted throughonerences, summits, and seminars. In the experience o ACOFOP,

he exchange o knowledge armer-to-armer has been essential in

hortening the uptake time o best practice. Groups are able to learnrom (and ultimately avoid) past mistakes. Peer-to-peer knowledgexchanges have consolidated relationships between community

rganizations and have proven to be key instruments or leveragingommunity development processes. In the early stages o ACOFOP’s

nvolvement in peer-to-peer learning it encountered the issue o a

ack o ollow-up. This problem was overcome through the creation an association-wide monitoring and evaluation mechanism and

y promoting community networks.

he ACOFOP model has not been replicated in the Peten regionor the simple reason that there are no urther areas o orest thatan be given in concession under the orest management model.

he model is, however, being replicated in Honduras, Nicaragua,razil, and Bolivia, countries where ACOFOP has had a direct role in

isseminating the Petén community experience. There are severaley elements that stand out as actors aecting the successul

eplicability o the project. ACOFOP has ound that strengtheninghe technical, administrative, and management skills o communityeaders is necessary or successul replication o the model. In

he case o ACOFOP, the pre-existence o regionally-based traderganizations devoted to the marketing o timber and non-timber

orest products was extremely valuable. The participation o oreignechnical assistance organizations was also critical in shoring

up political support and in developing the necessary na

and technical capacity. Finally, active community participaand dedication to the project was a prerequisite that canno

overstated.

PARTNERS

Each partner represents a strong strategic alliance and contrib

to the success o the organization. ACOFOP has developed a sp

capacity to address the most key actors in each sector: lenvironmental, advocacy, and nancial. The Single Union o Ru

Tappers and Wood Workers (SUCHILMA), a community-b

organization which pre-dates ACOFOP supported the project its inception and at one time hosted ACOFOP’s central administraofces. ACOFOP has received nancial support rom the I

Ecclesiastic Organization or Development Cooperation (ICCO)Ford Foundation, the German Technical Social Cooperation Se

(DED), the Christian Romero Initiative (CIR), Swiss Coopera(HELVETAS), and the community-based organizations constitu

ACOFOP. Government partners include: National CouncProtected Areas (CONAP); National Forestry Institute (INAB); Mino Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA); and the Congre

the Republic. Non-governmental partners include: ASOREMnational association o conservation NGOs which has suppo

with national policy advocacy; the Center or Legal and SAction o Guatemala, who specialize in the protection o na

resources by leveraging Guatemalan law; Rainorest Alliance, have supported ACOFOP with certication, business developmand production issues; the Nature or Lie Foundation (NPV),

support with technical orest management issues; the Central MAssociation; and the National Network o Community Organizat

who are working with ACOFOP to create a nation-wide movemecoordinated community-based conservation initiatives.

“The lack of shared will, conscience and commitment to protecting our planet can only resul

in an environmental debt that we are not able to pay off... We are part of biodiversity. We mu

foster a philosophy of sustainability that recognizes this fact. Wealth is not only measured in

money, but in the quality of life nature offers us. Let us be sustainable in every sense.”

Carlos Kurzel, ACOFOP



Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

URTHER REFERENCE

ACOFOP website http://www.acoop.org

ACOFOP Photo Story (Vimeo) http://vimeo.com/27238357

Cortave, M. ACOFOP’s Experiences in the Sustainable Forest Management o the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala (PowerP

presentation) http://www.orest-trends.org/documents/les/doc_1200.pd

Taylor, P. L. 2009. Conservation, community, and culture? New organizational challenges o community orest concessions in the M

Biosphere Reserve o Guatemala, Journal o Rural Studies http://www.unesco.org/mab/doc/newsletter/Maya.pd

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http://www.acofop.org/

http://vimeo.com/27238357

http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_1200.pdf




http://www.unesco.org/mab/doc/newsletter/Maya.pdf




http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348151274.pdf







http://vimeo.com/27238357

http://www.acofop.org/

Case Studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF FOREST COMMUNITIES OF PETEN, Guatemala

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