Living Land

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forest lands, as well as for carrying out activities for soil

conservation and restoration, reforestation and fertilization,

and protection and maintenance of reforested areas within a

three-year implementation period.

An innovative element of this programme is the payment

granted to landowners as compensation for the land opportu-

nity cost. This ensures landowners will have no reduction in

income while reforested areas are established, and encourages

actions for protection and maintenance in order to ensure a

greater survival of planted trees.

An important aspect of forest resources in Mexico is the

collective nature of land tenure. Ejidos and communities

(both forms of collective ownership) own 62.6 million

hectares of forests, rainforest and arid forest vegetation,

equivalent to 45 per cent of the total forest area of the

country. Management of common-use forest resources

in Mexico has been analysed in various studies, which

concluded that in many cases these have been managed in

a sustainable way providing various social, economic and

environmental benefits to the population, especially for the

most vulnerable (indigenous people, women and the poor).

CONAFOR strengthens forest governance and promotes

mechanisms for social engagement to support planning,

consultation and dialogue, ensuring representation of the

Community involvement in Santiago de Anaya

Santiago de Anaya is located 140 kilometres north of Mexico City in the

Mezquital Valley, which is characterized by its semi-desert climate.

This was once an important mining region, but today the population

is engaged in rain-fed agriculture and extensive livestock farming. High

levels of desertification have been caused by overexploitation of its

timber resources to supply the mining industry and by overgrazing.

The community has ‘Otomi’ origins, a native indigenous group organized

through ‘mayordomias’ (stewardships) and ‘faenas’ (tasks) to perform

welfare duties, including those related to protection and conservation.

Reforestation and soil conservation activities in the region started

in the 1980s. In 1998 a community development programme was

launched to strengthen organization, training, technical assistance and

inter-agency support, in order to create a transferrable model for the

protection, conservation and improvement of the natural environment.

Through a model of participatory planning, areas were defined for

reforestation; plant species, planting methods, soil and water conservation

activities were determined; and projects to diversify productive activities

were identified. Soil was prepared in contour lines using machinery, and

individual terraces, trenches, dikes, stone dams, gabion retaining walls

or other land structures for water storage were constructed, allowing an

increase in the survival of planted trees to 80 per cent.

Thanks to various institutional programmes over the past three

decades, a semi-compact area above 1,800 hectares was restored with

the plantation of introduced and native forest species. Currently, pine

trees reach up to 8 metres high. The soil has been stabilized from erosion

and at least three water springs are maintained in the restored areas.

The conservation of wild flora and fauna, increased infiltration of

water, soil conservation, use of non-timber forest products, lower

consumption of wood through the use of efficient stoves, improved

landscape and wildlife management areas are some of the benefits

obtained by the community.

The achievements and organizational model for community

involvement provide an example for replication on a larger scale, and

the community was awarded the National Forestry Merit Prize in 2005.

The local community in Santiago de Anaya were involved in planning and carrying out conservation and improvement measures

Image: National Forestry Commission archive

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