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American Geographical Society

Mopan Maya Forest Resources in Southern BelizeAuthor(s): Michael K. SteinbergSource: Geographical Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jan., 1998), pp. 131-137Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/215876

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GEOGRAPHICALFIELDNOTEMOPAN MAYA FOREST RESOURCES IN SOUTHERN BELIZE

MICHAEL K. STEINBERGThe Mopan Mayaof southern Belize are like many other indigenous culturesaround heglobeinthatthe centralgovernmenthas"given"hemareservation,romwhichtheyareexpectedtosupportthemselves.However,he traditionalareaswheretheMopanhunt and collectforestproducts ncludeterritoryoutside thereservation,landstowhich theMopanhaveno legalclaimand overwhichtheyhaveno influence,even though managementdecisionsaffecttheirlifeways(Wilkand Chapin1989).Tensionsarerisingbetweenthe Mopanand the centralgovernmentoveraccessto,controlover,andmanagementof landstheyuse,particularly verthegovernment'sgrantingof loggingconcessionsin the ColumbiaRiverForestReserve.Located n the ToledoDistrictin farsouthernBelize,the Mopanvillagesof SanJos6,Na LumKa,andCriqueJutearenear henorthernedgeof theindigenousreser-vation;the ColumbiaReserve,ustnorthof thesevillages, s outside the officialbor-dersof the reservation Figure1).Individuals romSanJos6,NaLumKa,andCriqueJuteregularly nter the ColumbiaReserve o collectresources.I conductedresearch ormy doctoraldissertationamongtheMopanfrom1994to1998, pendingtime in all of thevillagesImentioninthisnote.Ichose to studytheMopanMayabecausetheirculture,economy,andenvironmenthavebeenaltered nthepasttwenty years,asa resultof the increasing nfluenceof Christianmissionar-ies,marketeconomics,and the centralBelizeangovernment.The governmentdoes not acknowledgeMopan use of resourcesother thanthosefoundintheirmilpasorintheimmediatevicinityof theirvillages.Instead,Be-lizeanauthoritiesview the matureforestin the reserveasstandingtimber,unpro-ductive unless it is logged.Theyconsidersubsistencehuntingand the gatheringofnontimber forestproductsunimportantactivitiesbecause thegovernmentreceivesno direct revenue from them.

In the past twenty yearsthe Belizeangovernmentdemonstrated nterest andleadership n environmentalconservationbydesignating arge ractsof land withinBelizeasprotectedareas.Belizecontinuesto market tselfasanecotouristmeccaandas an environmentallyenlightenednation. Yet,in its relationshipwith the Mayapeoples of southern Belize,the governmentpracticesan inconsistent,if not dis-criminatory,policy in terms of incorporating heMaya's ultural-ecologicalactivi-ties into managementplans for the protected areasthat indigenous people use(Steinberg1996).The Mopanhaverespondedin distinctivewaysto their conflictwith the government.*i MR.STEINBERGis a doctoral candidate in geography at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,Louisiana 70803.

The Geographical Review 88 (1): 131-137, January 1998Copyright ? 1998by the AmericanGeographicalSociety of New York

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THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

FIG. -The MopanMaya andscape n Belize,1998. Cartography ythe LouisianaStateUniversityCartographicServices)

MOPAN MAYA CULTURAL ECOLOGY AND THE COLUMBIA RIVER FOREST RESERVETheMopanMayaexploitavarietyofresourcesnthediverseold-growthlowlandandlowermontanetropical orestsof theColumbiaReserve.Littleold-growthormaturesecondaryorestremains utside heColumbiaReserve roundMopanMayavil-lages. nsecureand enurehas edtheMayao reducehelengthof timethat heirmilpasie fallow Steinberg998).Theresults fthisshort-termwidden-fallowys-tem areevident n thevegetation f theToledoDistrict.Noncultivatedegetationnever eachesmaturity,othemosaicofmilpas,econdary rowth, ndmatureor-

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gradedvegetation,andonly five said thattheyhuntedexclusively n the milpasandpalmforests.The specieshunted or trappedby the Mopaninclude,frommost to least,col-laredpeccary (Tayassu ajaca),gibnut (Agoutipaca), red brocket deer (Mazamaamericana),white-taileddeer (Odocoileusvirginiana),white-lippedpeccary (Tay-assupecari),greatcurrasow(Crax rubra),coati (Nasua narica),crestedguan (Pe-nelopepurpurascens), rmadillo(Dasypusnovemcinctus), accoon (Procyonotor),and parrots(Amazonaspp.). Peccaryand gibnut arethe most frequentlyhuntedspeciesbecause heirhabitatrequirements re hemostgeneraland includeboth de-gradedand matureforests.Otherspecies requirematuretropicalforest forpartorall of their life cyclesand arefound only in the ColumbiaReserve.These includewhite-lipped peccary,red brocketdeer,crestedguan,andgreatcurrasow.Even houghthe collaredpeccary s frequentlyhunted and found in the milpasand palm groves that surroundvillages,peccariesbuild burrows and keep theiryoungin theforestreserve,according o theMopan.Asadults, he collaredpeccarytravel nbandsthatrangebetween he ColumbiaReserve ndthedegraded andscapearoundvillages,raidingmilpas.Asimilarpatternholdstrue for the white-taileddeer,thefourthmosthuntedanimal.Althoughhuntersdo claimto takewhite-taileddeerin theirmilpas,thedeer, ike thepeccary,arecommonlyfoundin the borderregionbetweenthe reserveandthe agriculturalandscape.Game-animalpopulationsareunlikely o remainviablearoundMopanvillages:Evenhabitatgeneralists uchas thecollaredpeccaryandwhite-taileddeersufferas reserve orestsare cleared.TheMopan relyon the reserve orthe collection of nontimberforestproducts.Medicinalplantsareimportant.Althoughsome of them arecollectedin degradedagriculturalandscapes,healers urnto theold-growthforest formanyothers.A li-ana sused tohealsnakebites; arkscrapingsheal rashesandburns;and forestshrubroots, brewed,alleviatestomachailments.Accordingto one of my Mopan infor-mants,theseplantswerelimited to the old-growthforestin the reserve.If loggingcontinuesthere, raditionalhealingandgeneralethnobotanicalknowledgeof forestplantswillerode.Traditional ealing salreadyon thedeclineamongtheMopanbe-causetheyoungergeneration acks nterest n it and becauseevangelicalmissionar-ies discourageit (Steinberg1997). Eliminatingthe environment in which manymedicinalplants originatewill marginalize his cultural nstitutioneven further.The forestreserve unctionsasagenebank foreconomically mportant rees.Fe-ralcacao,orwhat theMopancall "wildcacao,"s foundthere,perhapsremnantsofforestgardensplantedbyancientMaya. ncreasingly,acaoproduction s forexport,but an improvedvarietyof cacaotrees,importedfrom CostaRica,is infectedbyblackpod disease.As aresult, omeMopanwho growcacaoareexperimentingwithwildcacao,whichtheyhope is hardier han theimportedstrains.TheMopancollectseedsandseedlings n the forestreserve o plantin theirkitchengardens.Althoughlocal,nondomesticated reesmakeup a minorityof the total numberof speciesinMopankitchengardens, heywerestill recorded n everygardensurveyed or a re-latedresearchprojectI undertookin 1997.

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The Mopan view the forest reserveas a resource that can generate incomethroughnonexploitativemeansby attracting ouriststo villagesthat border the re-serve.In1992agroupofMopanmen fromSanJose ormedMayaTrekkers,hemem-bersof which serveasguidesfor touristswho want to enterthe reserve obird-watch,explorecaves,or simplyhike and campin the old-growthforest (Steinberg1996).The group requestedpermissionfromthe ForestryDepartmentto cleartrailsandbuild simple thatchstructuresto house guides and tourists who make overnighttreks in the reserve.Their requestswere denied because of logging concessionsgrantedwithinthe reserve's orders.Thegovernmentdoes not wantto set thestagefor a conflictin whichvillagersclaim to have a legitimateeconomicactivity hatde-pendson keeping he forest ntact andtherebychallenge heloggingconcession.De-nying permissionto developnaturetourismin the reservewasa cear indicationtothevillagers hatthegovernmentwas not interested n alocally nitiatedsustainable-developmentproject f it calledinto questiontenurerightsin the forest reserve.Severaldevelopmentagencieshave focused on women'scooperatives n Mayavillagesto ensurethattourismprovideseconomicopportunitiesforwomen as wellas men. Womenmakebaskets,pottery, ewelry,and a varietyof weavingsto sell totouristswho visitvillages.However,Mopanmenandwomen fearthatif naturalat-tractionssuch astheold-growthforestdisappear,ewtouristswillmake he arduousjourneyto the Toledo District.Itseemsto the Mopanthatthegovernmenthas littleinterest ntropical-forest onservationorsustainabledevelopment n areas, uch astheToledoDistrict, hatarebeyondthe reachof mostguidebooksand tourgroups.The governmentclaimsthatonlyselectiveloggingis takingplacein the reserveandthattheloggingcompaniesmust meetstrictenvironmentalguidelines.However,as of January 998there was littlesupervisionof the actualloggingsitesby anyBe-lizeanofficials,because heForestryDepartmentwasunderstaffed ndunderfunded(Wright1996).Instead,an air of secrecyandsuspicionhangsoverthe entireplan.Thissecrecyhaspersisted romthebeginning,whenlocalcommunitieswerenot in-formedof the concessionsuntil aftertheyhadbeengranted.Thegovernmenthas notconductedstudiesof theimpactofloggingonlocalwildlife, treamhydrology, rwa-terquality.Fluvial ssuesareof greatconcern otheMopanbecause heheadwaters frivers hatpassthroughallof the borderingvillagesarein the forestreserve.MOPAN RESPONSE TO LOGGING IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER FOREST RESERVE

The inabilityof the Mopanto haveany input concerning ogging in the ColumbiaReservehasdemonstrated o themthattheyhaveverylittlelegalcontrolover andswithin their cultural-ecologicalsphere of influence. Logging is a rallyingissuethroughwhich theMopan hope to galvanize upportforlandreformandtheestab-lishment of an indigenous homeland in the Toledo District.These are the focalpoints of the ToledoMayaCulturalCouncil (TMCC), an indigenous organizationcomprisingMopanand KekchiMayafromsouthernBelize.TheTMCCs callingfor ahalt to loggingin theColumbiaReserveandforrecog-nitionbythe Belizeangovernment hattheMaya houldgainlegaltitletolandsthey

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farmandto forests n whichtheyhunt andcollectnontimberforestproducts.TheTMCCroposedthe creation of a 5oo,ooo-acre ndigenoushomelandthat includesthe ColumbiaReserve Palacio1989;Wilk andChapin1989).Thisproposalhasgen-erated a greatdeal of conflictamongthe Maya, he government,and otherethnicgroups in southern Belize who call the propositionoutrageous.Manynon-Mayaresidentsof the Toledo Districtsympathizewith the Maya'sackof officialtitle totheir ands andsupportthe call for amoratoriumon logging.Manyalsobelievethattheproposedhomelandgoestoo far nits efforts oaddressindigenous andtenure.The TMCC demanded a halt to the paving of the often-impassableSouthernHighwayuntil the tenure and logging issues areresolved.The groupbelievesthatroad mprovementswill leadto anacceleration f loggingonindigenous ands.Thishasalsogeneratedconflict between the Mayaand otherethnicgroupsin southernBelize, particularlyamong those individuals in Punta Gordawhose businesseswouldbenefit from mproved and-transportation onnectionsbetweentheremoteToledoDistrict and centralBelize,which is the economic center of the country.Inresponseto theseissues the TMCC,withtheassistanceof the IndianLawCen-ter, the GeoMap Group,and the geographerBernardNietschmann,producedaMayaAtlas that depicts the extent of each village'scultural-ecologicalterritory(TMCC1997).This was done to illustrate o the governmentwhich resourcestheMayause and where the resourcesare located.

CONCLUSIONSLogging imits the cultural-ecological hoicesavailable o the Mopan.If the forestdisappears,owillthegameanimals, he medicinalplants, he wildfruits,andthege-neticheritageof thousandsof yearsof tropical-forest volution.If thesenaturalre-sourcesdisappear,owill the culturaldiversity hatallows heMopanto understandandexploittheirdiversenaturalenvironment.TheMopanarewellaware hatloggingthreatensheirecologicalknowledge,andtheyhaveaskedme to conductanethnobotanical nventoryof the florain the Co-lumbiaReserve.TheTMCC believes hisinformationcan be used to strengthen heirclaims o theforestreserve.TheMopanarealsousingthe lessons earnedbyother n-digenousgroups,amongthem the Kuna ndians n Panamaand the MiskitoIndiansinNicaragua, ndapproachinghe tenure ssuethrougha"green"iscourse norderto enlistthesupportof the international nvironmentalcommunity(Nietschmann1991). nsteadofsimplyprotesting heir ackof tenurerights, heyincludea conserva-tionagenda ntheircallsforgovernmentrecognitionofMaya andsandresources.Thegovernment smissingauniqueopportunity o developanew conservationstrategy n southernBelize.Theproximityof the Columbia Reserve o the Mopanvillagesmakes t an idealsettingfor abiospherereserve-typeprotectedarea.Areascouldbe designated orextractivepurposes,with aprotectedcoreinwhich theMo-pan could develop naturetourism. Unfortunately, he Belizeangovernmenthasbeenswayedbythe lureof quickprofits,which come attheexpenseof both cultureandecology.

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A fieldof view is alwayschanging,and to a degreegeography s the hostageofpolitics.Electionsin Belizehavethe potentialto alterthe direction of governmentpolicy,and, indeed,the newlyelected Belizegovernment, n the fall of 1998, prom-ised to appointacommissionto investigateogginginandaroundtheMayareserve.Whether this actuallyeffectspast practiceremainsto be seen.REFERENCES

Nietschmann,B. 1991. Conservationby Self-Determination.National Geographic esearch ndEx-ploration 7 (3): 372-373.Palacio,J.0. 1989. CaribbeanIndigenous PeoplesJourney owardSelf-Discovery.CulturalSurvivalQuarterly 13 (3): 49-51.Parker,T.A.,B. K.Hoist,L. H. Emmons,andJ.R.Meyer. 1993. A BiologicalAssessment fthe Colum-bia RiverForestReserve,ToledoDistrict,Belize.Washington,D.C.:Conservation InternationalRapidAssessmentProgram.Steinberg,M. K. 1996. Parksand Politics in MayaBelize.FourthWorldBulletin5 (1-2): 50.. 1997. Death of the Dance: CulturalChangeand ReligiousConversionamong the MopanMaya in Belize. Cultural Survival Quarterly 21 (2): 16-17.. 1998. PoliticalEcology,CulturalChange,and Their Impact on Swidden-FallowAgrofor-estry Practicesamong the Mopan Maya in Southern Belize. ProfessionalGeographer 0 (4):407-417.TMCC[ToledoMayaCulturalCouncil]. 1997. TheMayaAtlas:TheStruggle oPreserveMayaLandin SouthernBelize.Berkeley,Calif.:North AtlanticBooks.Wilk,R.R.,and M. Chapin. 1989. Belize:LandTenureand Ethnicity.CulturalSurvivalQuarterly 3(3): 41-45.Wright,A. C. S. 1996. The Columbia Forest Reserve.ECO,March-April,5-1o.

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