case studies undp: management and conservation organization (omyc), uaxactun, guatemala

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION (OMYC), UAXACTUN, Guatemala

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/case-studies-undp-management-and-conservation-organization-omyc-uaxactun 1/10

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

Guatemala

MANAGEMENT AND

CONSERVATIONORGANIZATION (OMYC),UAXACTÚN

Empowered live

Resilient nation

Empowered live

Resilient nation



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that woor people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their 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 models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s 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 Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, 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 Par

Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Management and Conservation Organization (OMYC), Uaxactún, and in particuthe guidance and inputs o Roan McNab (WCS–Guatemala). All photo credits courtesy o Roan McNab, Rony Garcia, Miriam Castillo, aJulio Zetina. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Management and Conservation Organization (OMYC), Uaxactún. Equator Initiative C

Study Series. New York, NY.

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdf


http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858





PROJECT SUMMARYUaxactún is an ancient archaeological site in the heart o the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, popular with tourists orits ancient ruins. Its 140 mestizo and indigenous amiliesprimarily subsist on non-timber orest products such asedible ruits, gum resin and palm leaves; their sustainablemanagement o orest resources over the past eighty yearshas complemented conservation eorts, and has led to aproductive partnership between the community and theWildlie Conservation Society (WCS).

Local residents are represented by the Management and

Conservation Organization (Organización de Manejo y Conservacion - OMYC), which manages resource extractionwithin an 84,000-hectare orest concession. Concessionrents are supported by WCS, which also provides supporton the harvesting and marketing o non-timber orestproducts, ecotourism ventures, minimal impact timber use,and the conservation o game species.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2002

FOUNDED: 1998

LOCATION: Petén region, Guatemala

BENEFICIARIES: 140 mestizo and indigenous families

BIODIVERSITY: 840 sq. km. community forest concession

3

MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATIONORGANIZATION (OMYC), UAXACTÚNGuatemala

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context4

Key Activities and Innovations 5

Biodiversity Impacts 6

Socioeconomic Impacts 6

Policy Impacts 7

Sustainability 8

Replication 9

Partners 9



4

he Mayan Biosphere Reserve (MBR), located in northern Guatemala’sargest region, Petén, is the principal intact tropical rainorest in

Central America. The ecological landscape o MBR is a combination savannahs and wetlands. Established in 1990 by the Government Guatemalan, the 1.7 million hectare (4.2 million acre) reserve was

reated to conserve natural biodiversity and cultural values and totop uncontrolled deorestation.

A community-managed orest concession

Uaxactún is an ancient archaeological site in the heart o the MBR,opular with tourists or its ancient ruins. Uaxactún’s 140 mestizo and

ndigenous amilies primarily subsist – both or consumption and inerms o livelihoods – on non-timber orest products such as edible

ruits, gum resin and palm leaves. These are renewable resources thatan be harvested without killing the trees or degrading the orest.

n an eort to stem deorestation, the Government o Guatemalaas oered 25-year concessions or resident communities to legallyxtract non-timber orest products. This has enabled the local

ommunities o Uaxactún to live o the land, while also contributingo its preservation.

he Management and Conservation Organization (Organización

de Manejo y Conservacion - OMYC), was created to represent theesidents o Uaxactún and to manage and conserve the orest

round Uaxactún sustainably. The organization pays concessionees to the Government o Guatemala or the right to sustainablyxtract orest products rom an area o more than 84,000 hectares

207,500 acres). OMYC works with resident communities to produceustainable land management plans and business plans that

elp to govern natural resource and orest use. By legally gainingghts to the area in which they live, OMYC has provided residentommunities with an opportunity to protect the orest, provide or

ocal wellbeing and livelihoods, and maintain their cultural identity.An 80-year history o sustainable orest use with no dependence

n timber enables community extractive activities to eectively

complement conservation eorts. In order to pay concession rOMYC is supported by the local branch o the Wildlie Conserva

Society (WCS). Additionally, WCS helps the community imptheir orest management capacity, with support on the harvesand marketing o non-timber orest products, ecotourism vent

minimal impact timber use, and the conservation o game spec

Sustainable orest management planning

In order to qualiy or concessions, a land management plan clearly establish where and how resources will be harvested. Oworks with resident local and indigenous communities to dev

these requisite plans. In each plan, areas are demarcated oharvesting o traditional renewable resources. While the plan a

or logging, community members are limited to a selective hao 162 hectares (400 acres) per year within a specied 8,000 he

(19,280 acre) area o their concession. The management planidenties critical habitat or endemic species, which must reuntouched.

OMYC has been eective in addressing poverty reduction throug

sustainable use o orest resources. Sustainable orest managemhas enabled the community to reap the benets o local knowl

o the orest in which they live. The organization has workepromote the harvesting o non-timber orest products that req

little by way o specialized skills, equipment or investment, incluchicle, xate and allspice. The new management plan has eectstopped the over-exploitation o orest resources, while the inc

generating potential o the local communities has been improv

Beyond sustainable orest management, the organizationadvocated against threats to the orest rom extractive indusraised local awareness o the need or conservation, and develo

alternative livelihood activities, leveraging the expertise o extepartners or the long-term sustainable development o the regi

Background and Context



55

Key Activities and Innovations

he Mayan Biosphere Reserve is particularly well suited to thearvesting o non-timber orest products. Densities o xate, chiclend allspice in the region are relatively high due to low overall

pecies diversity. Higher density translates to more ecientarvesting or local communities. Many o the marketable endemic

on-timber orest products are also highly resilient, durable andasily transported. Among the most important species to the local

conomy are xate palm ronds (an understory jade palm that growsbeneath the canopy and is used or greenery in foral arrangements),

hicle latex (used in chewing gum), and allspice. Taken together,

hese three products alone provide employment or over 7,000people in Petén and annual revenues o over US$47 million.

Three traditional, sustainable livelihood activities

he chicle tree is among the most abundant in the jungle o Petén.n places, it is possible to nd over 30 trees in a single hectare. Chicle

arvesters (or “chicleros”) collect the latex during the rainy seasonrom July to February when it fows more easily. Using a sharp-edged

machete or small pocket knie, chicle collectors make zigzag cutsrom the base o the tree trunk up to its rst branches. The latex drips

own these grooves and is collected in a bag attached to the treet the bottom. Tapping wounds are generally placed at 16-inch (40m) intervals, and usually require between two and ve years to heal.

Chicle gum is the tree latex o the chicozapote, chicle, or sapodilla

ree (Manilkara zapota). Traditionally, the Mayan Indians o Mexicond Central America chewed the raw chicle latex, but more recently

t has ound commercial value or use as an elastic ingredient in

hewing gum.

he raw latex is boiled, coagulated into crude white chicle, and then

molded into blocks. The boiling process requires skill to gauge whenhe chicle is at roughly 33 percent moisture content and needs to

be poured o. Crude chicle has a composition o resin, gutta, arabin,alcium, sugar, and various soluble salts. The blocks o chicle are

hipped to the United States or use as the base in chewing gum. In

addition to its latex, chicle trees bear edible ruits, valued amonmost nutritious and delicious in tropical America. The rough bruits are between 3-4 inches wide, with yellowish-brown fesh

is translucent, sweet, and wholesome.

Xate is an ornamental palm lea collected rom the understory po the genus chaemadorea. Harvesting o xate is considered on

the most important economic activities in the community, as it tplace year round. Xate leaves can be harvested sustainably witharm to the plant i only a ew leaves are removed rom each p

Each Xate plant produces up to ve harvestable leaves over a twour month period. Xate harvesters (or “xateros”) walk many m

daily through the orest, selectively removing palm leaves so ato damage standing plants. Once picked, the leaves are sorted

bundles or manojos o approximately 45 marketable ronds, wcontractors then carry to processing warehouses. Xate palm leare collected primarily or export to forists in the United States

Europe.

Allspice comes rom the ruit o one o two small trees: Pim

dioica, or Pimienta gorda. Allspice gets its name rom an ar

that includes cloves, juniper berries, cinnamon and pepper.pimenta tree is related to the clove tree, and the oil o thespices has the same principal element, eugenol. Allspice harve

(or “pimenteros”) prune the branches o the trees to bear su

ruit, remove the berries, and dry them over an open re or uthe sun. Ater drying in a jungle clearing, the berries are sentcollection point where they are usually boiled to avoid mould.

are then dried urther beore shipping to the United States, Rand Europe or use as a culinary or pickling spice, and are requused in commercial sweet-pickle preparations. Ground allspi

used in such blends as pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, seaseasoning and curry powder, and is present in many sausage

pickled meats or sh products. It is also oten used in sweet bgoods, puddings and ruit preparations. The trees regenerate

pruning and can be harvested again ater six or seven years.



6

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

The local community uses the orest resources sustainably and, as aesult, have made a big impact on preserving and regenerating the

environment. There are several biodiversity benets o harvesting

ate, chicle and allspice, primary among them that they representn economic alternative to cutting down the orest, raising cattle,

or growing corn, which largely have degenerative and deleteriouseects on the land. Moreover, the new management plan has

temmed the over-exploitation o orest resources.

n 2009, the Uaxactún Community Concession carried out an

environmental assessment o endemic fora and auna as well as aomprehensive reorestation eort o two species; Chamaedorea

oblongata and Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii . As part o thisproject, capacity building on income diversication, trainings,

nd educational activities were carried out with the communityo increase awareness o conservation benets. Daily wages were

provided to community members enlisted to support with the

eorestation. Over 50,000 trees were planted in the interior o he Uaxactún orest, the largest number o plants and largest

eorestation eort ever undertaken in a single season.

This scaling up o reorestation eorts – which concentratedprimarily on the xate tree – is a refection o the positive impacts

esulting rom OMYC’s work and the conservation agreementigned between OMYC, WCS, the National Council o Protected

Areas (Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas, CONAP), Conservation

nternational, and local conservation partners.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

OMYC, with the support o WCS, seeks to help manage resources

n a sustainable manner, conserve the orest’s productive capacity,nd improve the lives o its members. OMYC uses committees,

ommissions and its General Assembly to delegate the management

o economic activities to its partners and members. The organizhas taken eorts to ensure that women are equal stakeholde

decision-making. Women have participated in all positions oBoard o Directors, including management o the organizatunds, where three out o our o the Treasurers have been wo

Gender hurdles still exist, however, as some concessions inbiosphere do not allow or the participation o women.

Benets to local livelihoods

Local livelihoods have improved as a result o harvesting and senon-timber orest products. Xate and allspice collection in parti

require little by way o specialized skills, equipment, or investm Through the reserve management plan, equitable access

benet sharing is now ensured. Many amily incomes have increto twice the minimum wage.

An associated benet o the concession agreement has been thacommunity has gained entry into the state social security system

essential resource that was previously unavailable to much opopulation.

Ecotourism has been developed as a source o income or

Uaxactún villagers, who receive 5 percent o net earnings roeco-tourism ventures in the region. Income generated thro

ecotourism has been invested into community projects, incluwomen’s cooperatives, small business ventures and local schoo

OMYC and WCS have launched a easibility study on the commercially productive tree in the MBR – the xate tree.

project is the rst o its kind in the MBR, attempting to estaplantations rather than simply transplanting wild plants. The prhas established a sample plot where the participation o chil

and amilies is encouraged. The local community participatdata collection, tree germination, and cost accounting. Base

germination success to date, the project has attracted investm



nterest, oering potential nancial support to an additionallyustainable activity. The project has had the additional spillover

benet o local community members collecting seeds rom the test

plot to develop their own reorestation plots. OMYC has plans todouble the size o the pilot site and to begin the harvest o leaves in

hree years.

To capitalize on the act that the area contains one o the most

celebrated archaeological sites o the Mayan civilization, and thatmany other important archaeological temples surround the villages

o Tikal, Rio Azul, Mirador, and San Bartolo, OMYC has started amall ecotourism project. The project is designed to ensure that the

benets o ecotourism development are under the control o thecommunity, and not in the hands o external stakeholders.

An innovative awareness-raising venture

OMYC, with the support o WCS, has also acilitated an innovativeeducational partnership or the last our years with LightHawk

Uaxactún, a U.S. pilots NGO dedicated to conservation. The groupshave partnered to fy villagers over the orest and surrounding areas

o educate local community members on both the condition o thentact orest as well as external threats on the periphery o their

and. Community leaders are fown to various areas o MBR whereextractive industries (mostly oil and timber) have either degraded ordestroyed orest cover or acilitated land incursions by neighboring

communities prone to slash and burn agriculture.

POLICY IMPACTS

When OMYC began in 1998, orging institutional partnerships

a priority. WCS responded with nancial and logistical supand helped OMYC attain ormal legal status as a civil so

organization. Now, OMYC has one o the largest commuconcessions in Mesoamerica, and is an anchor o the Mesoame

Biological Corridor. The concession awarded to OMYC has impr

the community’s resilience to external threats on the orest and livelihoods. When OMYC began, the biggest threat to local sec

and conservation o the orest came rom concessions grantethe timber industry which were encroaching onto community la

In more recent history, however, the community has been upressure to open their orest to oil exploration and developm

as well as to housing an outpost o the Guatemalan military. instances, and with the support o its partners, the community

OMYC have successully resisted this encroachment.

This has come at some cost, orgoing short term gains in reve

and inrastructure or longer term sustainability and conserva(At one point in time the community, which lacks a potable w

system, was oered unctioning water wells in exchange or drrights). OMYC credits a strong partnership with the ability to cou

the lobbying eorts o large-scale extractive industries, to eduthe local population on imminent threats to their security, anthe promotion o transparency and democracy in how developm

decisions are taken.

7

Control and surveillance sta in fyover practice or threat detection (orest res, encroachment, illegal logging, etc.)



8

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYOMYC believes that processes o development and conservationn Uaxactún require a long-term vision o sustainability. OMYC has

igned a concession contract granting rights to the harvesting o on-timber orest products or a period o 25 years. This concession,

which will expire in 2025, is subject to extension or another 25

ears at its conclusion. As a requirement o this concession, OMYCccepts responsibility to comply with a total concession payment o

Q. 417,000 (equivalent to around US$55,600) to manage the orest ineeping with “green seal” certication standards (Smart Wood), and

o ensure the sustainable management o natural resources in the

rea. Additionally, OMYC assumes responsibility or stewardship o he many Mayan ruins and monuments in the area.

nnovative nancing mechanisms

An essential partner to the sustainability o OMYC has been the

Moriah Fund, through which a unique concession ee paymentcheme has been developed. The Moriah Fund made a contribution US$20,000 to OMYC which was to be earmarked exclusively or

ayment o the concession. The unds were deposited in a xedeposit account with high interest (between nine and ten percent)

with the goal o paying the concession based on the interestenerated. This payment system was put in place to remove any

ommunity incentive to deorest or harvest timber in order to coverhe costs o the concession.

esearch conducted by WCS on endemic wildlie has also allowedOMYC to develop a wildlie management plan that has led to the

onservation o a threatened species as well as improved localvelihoods. The Oscillated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is endemic to

he Selva Maya. OMYC has developed a management plan or theunting o these turkeys, both or sport and consumption. Prior to

he OMYC management plan, male and emale turkeys were hunted

ndiscriminately. Now, in partnership with the National Wild Turkey

Foundation (NWTF) and CONAP, OMYC is investigating the poteeconomic benets o turkey sport hunting to the local popula

where emales are conserved during reproductive periods the majority o revenues are generated through the huntin

male turkeys. Revenues are being used by OMYC to monitoturkey population, to monitor grants, and to und activities ocommittee o hunters that coordinates and manages the pr

at the community level. Revenues have also been invested replication activities in Carmelita.

OMYC takes an integrated view to resource management, ensu

that the local economy is not dependent on a single activity or

As a village, Uaxactún received Presidential recognition in 199its resource management eorts.

Drying o ramón (Brosimium allicastrum)



99

REPLICATION

key element o the OMYC strategy is ongoing investment in theevelopment o educational programs. The organization is working

o develop a community technical center, where local youth andther village residents can learn computer skills and gain access

o the internet. OMYC also works to support the local high school,which has three grades in operation and which currently has 51

tudents enrolled. A wildlie-based environmental curriculum haseen developed or the school, to help mainstream conservationwareness or the next generation.

OMYC works with Conservation International on their Conservation

teward’s Program, which is designed to oer leadership trainingnd embed conservation incentives into the community. Plans

re underway to build a research station that will provide crucialnormation on all aspects o Uaxactún and the surrounding area.

PARTNERS

With support rom WCS and the United States Peace Corps, OMYCalso able to negotiate a reduced rate o almost hal or its conces

payments to the Government o Guatemala. The organizationdepends on several partners to ensure the ecological integrity o

area and to guard against external threats. Partners that have bsupportive in this regard include: the Natural Resources De

Council (NRDC), ParksWatch, Tropico Verde, Honeysuckle, andOilwatch Audubon Society. The National Fund or Conservahas provided unding or a number o project components.

National Wild Turkey Foundation supports research on Uaxaturkeys. Additional unders and supporters o OMYC include

Association o Forest Communities o Petén (ACOFOP), CICAClaireborn Ortenberg Foundation, Moriah Fund, Disney Founda

LightHawk, Rainorest Alliance, Conservation Trust in GuatemalaPeace Corps, Florida University, York University, Florida InternatUniversity, Columbia University, University o San Carlos, CONAP

the Institute o Anthropology and History.

Mural o Xate production chain: ‘selection’ and ‘cutting’

Mural o Xate production chain: ‘nursury’ and ‘xate collector’

Women o the community in xate selection activities at thedistribution center

Xate nurseries (Chamaedorea sp.)



Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017Tel: +1 646 781 4023www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s 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 organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

©2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

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

FURTHER REFERENCE

Calestous, J., and Timmer, V. 2003. Social Learning and Entrepreneurship: A Framework or Analyzing the Equator Initiative and the

Equator Prize Finalists. http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2002winners/OMYC/juma_timmer_equatorpaper_031205

Radachowsky, J. 2003. Eects o Managed Extraction on Populations o the Understory Palm, Xate (Chamaedorea sp.) in Northern Guatem

Video on Management and Conservation Organization (OMYC), Uaxactún, 2002 (Vimeo) http://vimeo.com/27255303

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2002winners/OMYC/juma_timmer_equatorpaper_031205.pdf





http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2002winners/OMYC/effects_of_managed_extraction_on_populations_radachowsky_2003.pdf


http://vimeo.com/27255303

http://vimeo.com/27255303





http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348068099.pdf



case studies undp: management and conservation organization (omyc), uaxactun, guatemala

Documents