case studies undp: bio-itza association, guatemala

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: BIO-ITZA ASSOCIATION, Guatemala

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

GuatemalaBIO-ITZ ASSOCIATION

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadththeir 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 modelsreplication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Yearsthe Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives 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 HugheWen-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 ParBrandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Bio-Itz Association, and in particular the guidance and inputs o ReginaChayax. All photo credits courtesy o the Bio-Itz Association and On the Road blog (http://ontheroad.biketravellers.com/2011/01/bioitza-jungle-reserve/). Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Bio-Itz Association, Guatemala. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858


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PROJECT SUMMARYThe Bio-Itz Association is an indigenous organization othe Mayan Itz people, located in the Municipality o SanJos in northern Guatemala, which works to involve localcommunities and incorporate Mayan cultural traditions in theconservation o regional biodiversity. Legally incorporatedin 1991, the associations rst major achievement came in1998, when it was granted usuruct ownership o a 36-squarekilometer area o orest, the Indigenous Community Bio-Itz Reserve the rst indigenous community reserve to beestablished in Guatemala.

The association brings together 60 member amilies andocuses on three project areas: biodiversity conservation,through the sustainable management o the Bio-ItzReserve; development o sustainable micro-enterprises;and educational programmes addressing environmentaland social issues that utilize indigenous Mayan knowledge.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2006

FOUNDED: 1991

LOCATION: San Jos, Petn Department

BENEFICIARIES: 60 families

BIODIVERSIT Y: 36 km2 Bio-Itz Reserve

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BIO-ITZ ASSOCIATIONGuatemala

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Partners 10


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he Bio-Itz Association (Asociacin Bio-Itz) is an indigenousrganization o the Maya-Itz people, located in the Municipality San Jos and the Department o Petn in northern Guatemala.he association involves local communities in the conservation ohe regions biodiversity, drawing rom and incorporating Mayanultural traditions. The organization was created by a group o Itzesidents in San Jos, Petn whose primary motivation or mobilizing

was preservation o their traditional culture and conservation o theatural resources and biodiversity ound in the jungles o Petn.

Asociacin para la Conservacin de la Reserva Indgena Biosera Itzwas legally incorporated in 1991.

One o the associations rst undertakings was petitioning localovernment authorities to extend a orest concession or communityonservation and livelihood activities. In 1998, the associationucceeded and was legally granted usuruct ownership o a6-square kilometer area o orest, the Indigenous Community Bio-

tz Reserve (RCIBI) the rst indigenous community reserve to bestablished in Guatemala. The association was ormally recognizeds manager o the reserve by Guatemalas National Council orotected Areas (Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas - CONAP)

n 2002. The association currently serves 60 member amilies in Sanos and in the communities adjacent to the reserve.

The Indigenous Community Bio-Itz Reserve (RCIBI) is locbetween the northern and eastern boundaries o San Jos, PeThis concession represents the last stronghold o natural orethe municipality and is o critical importance to the ecoloconnectedness o northern Petn, including the adjacent conceunits o the Tikal National Park and El Zotz-San Miguel La PaloBiotope, located within the Maya Biosphere Reserve. A numbcommunities live on the borders o the reserve, largely migrom other regions in Guatemala. Unsustainable arming metand poaching by these adjacent communities have threatenedreserves ragile ecosystems. With a vision o countering these trand incursions, the association aims to ensure sustainable na

resource management and biodiversity conservation in and arothe reserve. To this end, the association has created and implema management plan or the reserve, which includes a public usethat regulates local resource access and use.

Conserving environmental and cultural heritage

The rst o its kind in the country, the reserve is currently the protected area managed by an indigenous community or grouthe department o Petn. Biodiversity assessments in the resregister 260 species o auna over 10% o which are in dangextinction according to the Convention on International TradEndangered Species (CITES) 90 species o trees, and more than

Background and Context

We would like to share our story and experience with other indigenous groups, as it

communities on the ground that can make positive change happen not just governments, n

just policymakers.

Reginaldo Chayax, Asociacin Bio-Itz


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pecies o plants (many with ethno-botanical applications). Throughts conservation and livelihoods activities the association has workedo recover, reintroduce and disseminate traditional knowledge ohe Maya-Itz people. One outlet or this knowledge restorationxercise has been medicinal plant propagation. Focusing on locally-vailable plant species, the association has constructed a laboratoryo process medicinal plants into commercially viable cosmetic andealth products. Other alternative income-generating activities

ocus on reducing human pressure on the reserve and emphasizeustainability principles. One such activity has been the developmentnd operation o an Eco-Cultural Spanish Language School, whicheceives an average o 200 visitors annually. Through the school,obs and income have been created or the local population, andevenues generated are reinvested into conservation projects.

he reserve also contains culturally-signicant archeological sites,he most important o which is known as El Guineo. Though theite has been damaged by looters, most o the structures are stabler capable o restoration. The site is used by the association or

historical education, cultural exchange, archeological researchrestoration, and tourism. The reserve also contains an ancient Morchard, which preserves not only the historical arming praco the Maya-Itz people, but many traditional edible and mediplant species. Through management o the orchard, the associahas sought to maintain a historical reerence to the customtheir Maya-Itz ancestors. The site also serves as the basis oassociations environmental education programme and as a to

attraction.

Through its integrated conservation, education and sustaindevelopment activities, the reserve endeavors to be a modeindigenous and community-based natural resource managemThe reserve employs 28 people, including a reserve coordinatoresource guards, twenty seasonal workers, and a technical advAdditionally, community members are employed directly byassociation, the Spanish School, and the medicinal plant procescenter.


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Key Activities and Innovations

Asociacin para la Conservacin de la Reserva Indgena Bioseratz oversees activities in our main areas: the management androtection o the Bio-Itz Reserve, the processing and sale o

medicinal plants, management o a Spanish language school;nd delivery o a social aairs and training program that oersocational skills training.

Conservation and livelihoods in the Bio-Itz Reserve

Within the Bio-Itz Reserve itsel, activities include the management ecotourism, regulation o access and use, biological monitoring,nd the maintenance o perimeter trails. All activities include the ull

nd direct participation o community members o reserve-adjacentommunities. A public use plan developed in consultation withhe community delimits dierent use zones and is designed to

maximize ecotourism potential while minimizing the environmentalmpacts o human incursions into ragile ecosystems. The associationonducts regular and detailed ecological assessments to ensureective monitoring and inormed regulatory principles.

Maintenance o the Bio-Itz Reserve has important implicationsor the larger Maya Biosphere Reserve, as it provides connectivityetween other conservation areas such as the Tikal National Park, Elotz Biotope, and Lake Petn Itz. Central to eective management the reserve have been outreach and awareness-raising eorts,

otably a community care program which raises awareness amongsthe local population o conservation issues and incentives.

he program also conveys to national and international stakeholdershe benets o a community-based conservation approach. Outreachorts to both scale levels are inormed by biological monitoring andesource documentation. One such example is a program developed

with the Municipal Forest Fire Commission to prevent and controlorest res in the region. The association works through communityurveillance and monitoring to collect data on incidents o orestres, requency, location, species aected, and the source o specic

threats. Beyond tracking orest res, biological monitoring vehicle or combining scientic and traditional knowledge systboth in data collection and cataloguing the uses o medicinal pl

Medicinal plant cultivation

Indeed, medicinal plants orm an important dimension o associaactivities. Local uses o medicinal plants and the traditiknowledge systems employed in service o their conservatiwere being lost and undermined by the introduction o momedicine. A medicinal plants program launched in 1993 aimrestore and reintroduce traditional knowledge and popula

the use o medicinal plants. The association operates a labora(and processing center) which use locally-available and sustainharvested medicinal plant derivatives in shampoos, creams, sobalms, tea and syrups. As a complimentary activity, the associamanages a botanical garden and a medicinal plant librarvolunteer program around medicinal plants conservation is oto local students and tourists.

Language school and social afairs training program


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o generate revenues to und conservation activities, the associationoperates a Spanish language school. Inaugurated in 1998, the school

as been recognized (and accredited) by Guatemalan ministries oducation and national tourism. The school oers visitors intensive

anguage courses in Spanish (twenty hours per week), extra-urricular activities and accommodations. (To promote local culturend ownership by community members, a homestay program is also

oered). The school has been an essential source o income and job

reation.

he most recent activity area launched by the association is asocial aairs and training program. Started in 2003, the programerves a undamental role in advancing the associations objectives.

Members o reserve-adjacent communities are empowered through

vocational training, which in turn opens doors or income generaand supplementation. Trainings and workshops are oered in asuch as baking, sewing, ecotourism (guiding), agro-orestryenvironmental education. The program also provides techassistance or small-scale business and enterprise developmScholarships are oered to local children and youth to cover scees and higher education. By increasing the livelihood opavailable to local communities, the program has been signica

ensuring long-term organizational and social sustainability.

The world needs to know that there are still many communities of people dedicated to actin

as guardians of nature. We count ourselves among them guardians of the worlds natur

heritage.

Reginaldo Chayax, Asociacin Bio-Itz


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Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

The Bio-Itz Reserve ullls several key unctions in protecting theorests o northern Guatemala. Among the other elements which

make it unique, the reserve is the last vestige o natural orest inhe buer zone o the Maya Biosphere Reserve. As such, it servess an indispensible unction o housing endemic biodiversity andpecies native exclusively to Petn. The reserve also links a biologicalorridor which extends rom the northern boundary o the buerone to El Zotz Biotope, and continues to the MiradorRo Azul

National Park, providing connectivity with the Kalacmul Reserven Mexico. Additionally, the reserve serves as a natural barrier to

human encroachments into El Zotz Biotope and Tikal NationalPark. Through inclusive zoning and regulation including themplementation o control and surveillance plans the association

has strengthened conservation eorts in the two core areas o theMaya Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is ocially recognized in the

istema Guatemalteco de reas Protegidas (SIGAP), the Guatemalanystem o Protected Areas.

Bio-Itz ecosystems and endemic species

The predominant ecosystems in the reserve are evergreen broadleaorest and palm orest, the latter being dominated by palma deorozo, or prickly palm. The area o the palm orest covers nearly

hree square kilometers, is relatively fat, and is prone to regularooding. This ecosystem has been classied as a priority oronservation as it provides habitat or more than 44 mammalpecies, including the Lowland Paca (Cuniculus paca), Bairds TapirTapirus bairdii) and the puma. The broadlea orest covers a largerrea o nearly 30 square kilometers and is characterized by a orestanopy o between 25 and 30 meters high. The orest is known or its

high foristic density, with 90 tree species grouped into 37 amilies.Undergrowth biodiversity includes 144 species, o which 139 haveethno-botanical uses. Notable medicinal plant species include

apodilla (Manilkara sp.), the Maya nut tree (Brosimum alicastrum),

Chechen tree (Metopium brownei), Bullet tree (Bucida buceMahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), Cedar (Cedrela odorata)Allspice (Pimenta dioica). The latter also have cultural and traditsignicance to resident local communities, and are customused or construction, handicrats, and ornamental decoraConservation o local biodiversity and survival o the traditMaya-Itza culture are considered indivisible.

According to biological assessments conducted by the associathe reserve contains 73 species o birds, 53 species o reptilesamphibians, and 44 species o mammals. O these, 28 specielisted by the Convention on International Trade in Endang

Species (CITES) as threatened or endangered. Their survival is dirdependent on the conservation o the standing orests in the resThe reserve also contains an important watershed or the regionmultiple resh water sources. The Cantetul River runs intermittethrough the area, allowing or the prolieration o amphibian spand the development o a unique micro-ecosystem. This ecosyhas drawn scientic interest or biological monitoring studies.

The association has also conducted an impact assessment to ganthropogenic pressure on the reserve and its natural resouVarious threats rom adjacent communities were mapped placed on a scale ranging rom low to extreme. Those thalling in the category o most destructive included the looting

destruction o archeological sites, the introduction o invasive species, the degradation o watersheds, the loss o wildlie habimposed changes to wildlie behavior, deorestation, proliero orest pests and diseases, and the loss o orest cover. Baseidentied priority interventions, the association has underta number o response measures to control and regulate huincursions into the reserve. Among other things, the associacontrols and monitors species health, ensures proper signagdierent zones, runs a conservations education and awareprogram (with a high level o ownership by community memband cleans and maintains trails marked or ecotourism. Tou


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activities are limited to these trails, ensuring that human incursionshave a low impact on the ecological health o the reserve. The areaso orest previously degraded by arming or orest res, meanwhile,have shown signicant recovery since the beginning o the project.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The conservation o the Bio-Itz Reserve has had substantial benets

or the population o San Jos and other neighboring communities.One o the most signicant benets has been the recovery andpreservation o indigenous Itz culture. The cultural history o Sanos, Petn is linked to the pre-Hispanic vestiges o Mayan culture.

The indigenous communities o the region have aced the steadyencroachment o modernization and, along with it, the erosion ocultural identity and links to traditional knowledge and ancestry.The Bio-Itz Reserve has provided a cornerstone o rescuing Itzaculture, as it provides tangible evidence o the peoples cultural andnatural heritage, allowing them to rediscover their roots througharchaeological sites which date back to the pre-classic and classicMaya periods.

Beyond the enormous cultural importance o the reserve, theassociations work has also had signicant economic impacts or localcommunities. The unique ecosystems and biodiversity o the reservehave enabled the association to develop ecotourism activities.Ecotourism provides a platorm o cultural and environmental pride,as well employment opportunities and income or local people.Community members have been trained and hired as eco-guidesand all sourcing is done through local service providers. So too, theSpanish language school has been a valuable source o revenueor the reserve and incomes or the local population. Similarly,he medicinal plants processing center has taken locally availableesources, created commercially viable products, and opened up

new markets. Lastly, the associations social aairs and trainingprogram oers local community members vocational training andoptions or income generation that were previously non-existent.A diversied base o livelihood options has translated to greatereconomic security or local economies.

POLICY IMPACTS

The association stands out in Guatemala as an exceptional case ondigenous management o natural resources and protected areatewardship. The indigenous community reserve was the rst ots kind in the country, setting an important precedent or nationalenure reorm and devolution.

An indigenous community reserve model

The association was ocially granted management authority ohe reserve by the National Council o Protected Areas (CONAP).n 2005, with the support o Fundacin ProPetn, the Global

Environment Facility, and the European Commission in Guatemala,he association was used as a model or an advocacy eort to create

a new protected area category in Guatemala, that o the indigenouscommunity reserve. The objective o the campaign was, promotinghe legalization o land under community management in orest

reserves through the promotion o an Indigenous CommuReserve category that would recognize this type o managemewithin the national legal system in the provisions o Law o the Congress o the Republic. The project involved extenknowledge sharing and network development between a vao local and regional actors, including 14 indigenous organizatinvolved in the management o communal orested areasnon-governmental organizations working on related issues

government institutions, two academic entities, and two reginetworks. The association coordinated with CONAP to raise awareness about the proposed category, conducted studiequantiy the socio-economic benets o two model sites, acilitated site visits between communities to share inormaexperiences and knowledge. The goal o achieving ormal recognition or the indigenous community reserve category iunmet, and advocacy eorts by the association and its partcontinue.

The association has been equally active in advocating or incluo indigenous community reserve areas in the ProgrammeForestry Incentives (PINFOR), created under the Forest Law

1996 to promote reorestation, aorestation and sustainable omanagement. The law established that 80% o annual PINunding be allocated to plantations, while the remaining be used or the management o natural orests. In order to quor the latter, orest management plans must be approved byGuatemalan National Institute o Forests (INAB). I indigecommunity reserve areas were properly recognized in law, PINwould oer a window o opportunity or the association togovernment unding or reorestation and orest managemactivities and to urther integrate their work into national pwork.

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Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYThe association has legitimized indigenous community reservesas a viable land and resource management model. Within thismodel, the conservation o medicinal plants underpin the culturaland ecological sustainability o the association. The reserve is aiving gene bank o culturally-important and biodiverse plants. The

uses and applications o these plants as they apply to improvingocal livelihoods provide a tangible link to traditional knowledge,

ancestral history and an ethno-botanical heritage. The reserve and itsbiodiversity are a unctional repository o accumulated knowledgeand community identity. This provides a strong basis or social

cohesion and collective action. In the same vein, the association isnstitutionally sustainable thanks to a commitment to participatorymanagement and local inclusion in decision-making.

Above and beyond the revenues generated rom medicinal plantsand the Spanish language school, Asociacin para la Conservacinde la Reserva Indgena Biosera Itz is working to promote a rangeo environmentally sustainable and responsible community-basedenterprises that will contribute to its long-term nancial sustainability.Partners to the association have recommended linkages with stateprograms and particularly the Ministry o Economy in cultivatingbusiness development capacity, both within the association andwith community enterprises.

PARTNERS

Fundacin ProPetn provided technical assistance and partneredwith the association between 2002 and 2008. Its sta providedexpert guidance and resources to help manage the project. Theproject received USD 750,000 in unding rom a variety o key donors:Fondo Nacional para la Conservacin de la Naturaleza (FONACON Guatemala), Ford Foundation, Global Environment Facility (GEF),Soros Foundation, and Whitley Fund or Nature.

The association has developed several partnerships government ministries and agencies in Guatemala. Among therelevant o these include: the National Council or Protected (Consejo Nacional de reas Protegidas - CONAP), the Municio San Jos, the Petn National Institute o Forests (INAB), anNational System or Prevention and Control o Wildres (SisNacional de Prevencin y Control de Incendios Forestales - SIPThe association also participates in inter-institutional coordinactivities at the municipal level as part o a roundtable o protearea co-administrators, and represents the Maya-Itz people oDepartmental Council or Urban and Rural Development.

Other important partners have included research institutes University o San Carlos o Guatemala and University o the Vo Guatemala and international NGOs such as ConservInternational.


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

FURTHER REFERENCE

Bio-Itz website http://www.bioitza.com/

Bio-Itz Photo Story (Vimeo) http://vimeo.com/24283705

PowerPoint presentation on Bio-Itz http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLACREGTOPSUSTOU/Resources/BBLGuatemalaBio_

Ecoturism.pd

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)304 East 45th Street, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10017Tel: +1 646 781 4023www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizatio recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator InitiativeAll rights reserved
http://www.bioitza.com/http://www.bioitza.com/http://vimeo.com/24283705http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLACREGTOPSUSTOU/Resources/BBLGuatemalaBio_Itza_Ecoturism.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348152829.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348258301.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348160741.pdfhttp://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLACREGTOPSUSTOU/Resources/BBLGuatemalaBio_Itza_Ecoturism.pdfhttp://vimeo.com/24283705http://www.bioitza.com/

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