Forest Governance and Management for Handicraft Production in Maya Communities

Maya artisans rely on their forests to carve wooden handicrafts that are sold to the tourism industry in Chichén Itzá and the Riviera Maya. Community forest management has played a pivotal role in maintaining the region's woodcarving species. This paper presents the organizations, institutions, and enforcement mechanisms under which forest management in six communities has responded to and adapted to the emergence of wooden handicraft production as an emergent livelihood within the tourism industry. Two organizational types oversee wood extraction for handicraft production: the ejidal and municipal. Both organizations work under the umbrella of the reglamento interno (internal bylaws/regulation), where milpa and de facto forest zoning influence community social dynamics and land use. The ejidal organization has more voice and influence in the decision-making processes related to wood access institutions. Formal and informal institutions were found to regulate the extraction, conservation, and regeneration of wood. Formal institutions are centered around the milpa, and de jure forest zoning policies established in the reglamento interno, the main policy that governs the ejido and community. Informal institutions emerged to promote sustainable use and to avoid depletion of the commons. Internal de facto ejido zoning and routes to harvest control the community's access to, and management of, forest resources. Institutional innovation emerged in one community as a mechanism to avoid wood depletion and allow forest regeneration. Understanding forest governance that encompasses all livelihoods in communities allows us to evaluate the long-term sustainability of forest management practices.