Indigenous Communities to Balance Human Needs and Environmental Protection
March 30, 2009
For over 800 years, the forest of San Miguel de los Altos has been protected by the Quiche Maya of Totonicapán, who long ago developed a system of traditional forest resource use and protection. Despite the fact that Totonicapán is a poor, densely populated farming province, the indigenous communities are determined to preserve its forests.
To safeguard this vital resource, EcoLogic has partnered with the Communal Forest Commission of the 48 Cantones to further large-scale reforestation efforts to restore degraded water catchment areas, construct fuel-efficient stoves, and defend community water rights from the threat of privatization.
A State in Peril
The State of Totonicapán is located in western Guatemala, within the Southern Sierra Madre mountain range. Totonicapán has 340,000 inhabitants and its capital city, San Miguel de Totonicapán, has a population of 96,000 citizens. Situated near the capital city, the forest of San Miguel de los Altos is a montane forest, comprised mostly of pine, oak, 
cypress, eucalyptus, and other conifers. Over 21,000 hectares in size, it is one of the last natural remnant old growth forests still existing in the region, making this one of Guatemala’s most important forests. The forest supplies freshwater to around 50,000 people in 62 communities and regulates water flow to the capital and other important regions downstream, such as the beautiful Lake Atitlán and the Samalá, Chixoy, and Motagua rivers.
Despite traditional forest stewardship, deforestation and environmental damage to the watersheds in Totonicapán are principally caused by the lack of environmental awareness in the general population and the increased demand of products extracted from the forest, including firewood and timber for other uses. Community members and leaders have recognized that immediate measures are required to restore the areas that have been degraded and to preserve the remaining forest cover of Totonicapán.
A Resilient People
The Quiche Maya of Totonicapán have been protagonists in a regional and national history that has been made more complex by co-existing forms of governance in Guatemala. The traditional Communal Alcaldes of the 48 Cantons does not always coincide with the formal municipal government system, which have different approaches to management and legal matters. At times the two have differed on land rights and legal authority, with the communities attempting to recognize the importance of both. For instance, the communities have documents dating back to pre-colonial times that recognize their ownership of the forest, yet according to elders, the communities have had to pay different governments three times to avoid being evicted from the territory.
Moreover, the forces of globalization and modernization have produced an overwhelming influence unlike any the community has ever confronted, leading to a wider gap between generations. The elders are connected to traditional structures, they speak Spanish less fluently than younger generations, and they tend to rely principally on their Quiche heritage and its inherent wisdom as it connects human beings and nature. The elder’s way of life is rooted in a strong value system and reverence for Mother Earth. It has been passed down via oral tradition, and they show, not by written means or formal lessons, but in their daily lifestyle, how to live in harmony with nature. On the other hand, the youth are increasingly attracted to and migrate towards urban centers and new ways of life, they are taught through formal schooling to separate natural processes from human society, and they are less involved in Mayan governance structures such as the Communal Alcaldes of the 48 Cantons. This growing trend has led to a gradual loss of traditional knowledge and the systems it sustains.
As Totonicapán’s Quiche elders continue to age, they are deeply concerned that their values and customs are slowly dying despite their best efforts to create a strong governance system with wide community participation. They feel estranged from the younger generation, which they perceive as indifferent to age-old wisdom and the importance of natural resources. The elders’ fear grows as they age because they have no documented “insurance” against collective memory loss—there is no systematized, agreed-upon version of how and why to manage the forest in a state of ecological and spiritual equilibrium, nor is the rich tapestry of stories that underlie it collected under one cover.
Still, the Quiche Maya view the forest as the life source of their community and culture, and their traditional forest stewardship has been instrumental to the preservation of the forest of San Miguel de los Altos. They have continuously served as stewards of the forest, which has always been central to their cultural survival, with a community structure deeply tied to reverence of the forest. The forest serves as a cultural and ceremonial space in which to honor the spirit of the mountain, or nahual, and the people have a set of practices that have not only served to defend against outside invasion but also to assure the sustainable use of forest resources with participation by and benefit of all communities.
Partnering with Leadership for Success
The Communal Forest Commission of the 48 Cantons is an organization with historic roots dating to before the arrival of the Spanish and the appearance of the modern state of Guatemala. The continued success of the organization can be attributed to the active voluntary participation of communities carrying out traditional kásqol, which means the exercise of power for the common good.
The 48 Cantons uphold a traditional Maya philosophy, which includes the search for equilibrium between the living universe and humanity, and the view that human beings are an integral part of the environment. To further the pursuit of achieving sustainable harmony with the natural environment, the 48 Cantons has formed a specific board to oversee and carry out the care of natural resources. Over the years, this board has evolved and changed names but it has always pursued the same mission. Today, it is known as the Board of Delegates for Natural Resources and is responsible for the coordination of activities toward achieving lasting protection of the surrounding natural resources.
EcoLogic has been working with this arm of 48 Cantons to achieve the common goal of promoting the conservation of threatened ecosystems in rural areas, where poverty is extreme, furthering sustainable livelihoods that affirm local cultures and engaging communities in natural resource management. Through our partnership, a compensation system has been strengthened that allows for the protection of 1,200 freshwater springs through mechanisms like forest patrols, regular watercourse cleanups, and reforestation of vulnerable and degraded areas. EcoLogic’s work in San Miguel de los Altos has sparked a high level of engagement and interest in conservation-led development.
EcoLogic and the 48 Cantons have worked together to implement successful activities in each community. Our methodology begins with community consultations to understand the reality and needs of each community and then developing a portfolio of projects for responding to these needs, creating community work plans in the areas of water, forestry, and payments for ecosystems services. Our approach has involved forest protection and reforestation, the construction of fuel-efficient stoves that reduce pressure on forests, and the protection of water sources that supply water to the communities.
This model has been the framework for the development of a series of actions at different levels, primarily at the community level, that respond to the needs of the communities while decreasing the pressure that threatens the surrounding forests. Our partnership has (or Together with the 48 Cantons, we have) achieved a number of results to further our shared goals, including a nursery that has produced 261,000 plants, the reforestation of 237 hectares of forest, the protection of 21,000 hectares of standing forest, and the construction of 221 fuel-efficient stoves. We have also trained 770 water committee members in environmental awareness and conservation, coordinated the work of 48 delegates for natural resources, and worked with 110 water boards for coordinating activities toward microwatershed protection. Through these efforts, we have ensured the permanence and conservation of 1,200 water sources, benefiting 12,600 people, and achieved a 90 percent reduction in the destruction of young Guatemalan fir trees, an endemic conifer species in danger of extinction.
We have also been working with the Association to ensure that forest stewardship is passed along to the next generation. Through the Traditional Memory Project, EcoLogic is collaborating with the Center for Indigenous Studies and National Geographic's Genographic Legacy Fund to help community elders to record and document historical forest management practices. Moreover, EcoLogic is working with the communities to increase youth engagement in local governance of natural resources. Through these efforts, we hope to continue the long-standing management of the Quiche Maya over this unique and important forest.
David Kramer, Sebastian Charchalac, and Rebecca Slocum contributed significantly to this article.