Mexico resource conservation and forest sector review - incorporating social assessment into economic and sector work

E N V I R O N M E N T D E P A R T M E N T DISSEMINATION NOTES TOWARD ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Number 44 Social Assessment Series May 1996 'Mexico Resource Conservation and Forest Sector Review-Incorporating Social Assessment into Economic and Sector Work The government of Mexico and a World potential for development in the sector, and Bank team incorporated social assessment underscored the opportunities available to (SA) into their analytical work when reduce poverty by making communal forest carrying out a comprehensive review of the enterprises commercially viable as well as forestry and resource conservation sector. sustainable. The process also provided a The analytical process allowed forest forum to indigenous forest communities to communities to articulate their interests, analyze their own problems and devise. raised policymakers' awareness of the appropriate development options. The Figure 1. Mexico Temperate Forests . ;'."':: . ' 5 .&g.ti R * I BRD 26O A0 LU N I T E D S T AT ES O F A M E R I C A X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 IA. '_t-' P A C IrC COOEAN * . .~~P Augusta Molnar ([A2NR) is the task manager of the Mexico Resource Conser',ation and Forest Sector Re\tiew. Task managers in the [AC Region who need operational support, training, or reference mate(aIls on SA and participation, should' contact Valeriajunho Pena (LATEN), Maria Elena Castro (LA3DR), or Estanislao Gacit-d-Mario ([AI ER).  Fiue2. Mexico Tropical. Forests' IERD 260,40 UNI TED STA TE S OfA AMEItICA 'K SO~~O~A . . CIIIH'JAHOA~~~~~~~I 17 'N' . . . . . . . . . . .. , N JUNE 5996' review findings were instrumental- ini the rather than encouraging private concession identification and desigti of the foUow-up . man'agementi' ef communal forests, permit- Community Forestry. Project, which seeks to ted. communities to develop their own forest pilot Mexico's new 'natural resources industries. But as the first inv'estment.of its management strategies., kind, it encountered environmental and. social problems that became highly contro- Origin of the Sector Review and the SA' versial in the' environmental nongovernmen- Mexico's forests and wildlands are of' tal'organization (NGO) community.. The tremendous environmental,' social, 'and project was closed prematurely iii 1993. economic value for b6th the nation and the . The 'World Ba'nk and the, govermment of global comhmunity (see maps). In the early Mexico recognizect the need.to 'undertake a I 996s, the World Bank financed an unsuc- comprehensive review o'f the sector prior to cessful projec.t in northern Mexico to help any new inves'tnents. In March 1993; they land reformn communities (ejidos) and agreed o6n the scope of, a sector.study that- indigenous communities with significn ' ol nlz nionmental, social, -communal forest holdings to improve forest eomi,adnstuionlise na management and -related commercial integrated way. The' task 'manager of the eniterprises'. The loan responded to a shift in review, an anthropologist, encouraged the the Mexican government's policy, whi'ch team to -incoTporate'SA'and participatory  -Box 1. Tools and Methods for Investi- processes into the Seven months after agreeing on the and Analyzing Social Issues sector. review. scope of analysis, stakeholders met at a gating and Analyzing Social Issues g.tng - -formal stakeholder workshop to discuss the For-each study, multidisciplinary teams of Investigation of review's findings and to consider the consutants visited-field sites and em- Sociagl Factors implications for the future. The stakeholders ployed a variety of tools:. The team deter- formuilated'a number of strategic recomn- VWorkshops. For the indigenous study, mined that the social mendations, which were incorporated into - the contractor hired a team of local - factors to be investi- the English and Spanish versions of the NGO staff with field experience, who. -gated should include sector work document (see box 2). held a rmultistate workshop attended by the following- . representatives of various indigenous * The potential of Recommendations groups that managed forest lands -, comnmunity and ejido The following were some of the policy, - . Gender oiiolysis. In oddition to carrying forest owners to legal, and institutional recommendations : out primary research (field .survoys), the - -develoDp viable that emerged from the review: - gender specialist contacted other field forestry enterprises, * Tenure rights should be clarified for re'seafchers -who provided secondary - as well as to meet private, ejido,- communal, and public case material- on gender roles in forest . - their subsistence forests and wildiands through a program - - . .use and management. : needs ' - of boundary demarcation and adjudication. . . Focus -aroups. The focus group inter- * The regional - * Laws and piocedures should be reviewed -rviews used drawinT s, photographs, and cultural, and gender - that affect ejidos' and community abili- views used drawins, -hotog~ciphs, and differences that - ties to enter into joint ventures with' other interactive diagnosis materials Io elicit st'keholders' att,tudes about - - - influence popula- ' private partners. elicit st'akeholders' attrtudes about employees' Focus groups.- - tions' relationship ' * Forest regulatory frameworks and criteria government employees. Focus groups. were Olso used to identify priority sites - with iorests and for acceptable management practices r of high-value biodiversity in the . 'e -wildl;nds - - should take -into account indigenous - of high-value bi6diversit.y In the. .-- biodiversiTty study. he interal and customary laws and cultural values. - - external constraints to comnmunity - - . - ' ' organization around ' . Box 2. Participatory Analysis and ' - -' ' 'forestryantizaion es'' Dissemination of Findings foetyactivities. -- - The pressures on environmentally The findings of the studies were important areas and the potential for - - ' discussed in depth by the joint Bank- - income-generating strategies that would - government task force, which met for - not degrade the resource base.' an intensive, three-day v\,orkshop.in To investigate these issues, a number of ': - November 1993. Later, the task - ' - - studies were contracted to. Mexican nation-- force, assisted by a professional als. An anthropologist was fietained to study facilitator, presented the findings to indigenous forest communities, a team of ' senior forest service staff, staff of gender specialists undertook a gender. - other government agencies, the analysis, and an NGQ with 1i'fteen years consultants who undertook the experience in providing technical assistance - - studies, and memnbers of academia. to forest ejidos and communities carried out- The draft report was'disseminated to a stutdy of forest ejido comnmercial enter- a brooder audience at a workshop . prises. A variety of toolsand methods'were for thirty goverhment staff, a number '- ' employed during data -collection (see box of eiido representatives, twenty - 1). Stakeholders from selected states also-: -members of NGOs and the aca- - - - - ' - met in focus groups to analyze govermment - demic community and Bank special- - ) forest management and forestry enterprise ists. The English version of the report - ' q - - - services. ' has now.been finalized and the government is preparing the Spanish - version for presentation in Mexico.  *The Forest and Wildlife Secretariat should sectQir and of the opportunities to reduce promote and etnfostdelpn,pverty through commerciadly viable, diffu'sing .technologies and information, sustainable communal forest enter- and implemeniting regulation, while pnises. devolving responsibility .for infrastructure * acilitated the, proces of turning review to state and local government. .rec~ommendations into policy.S Several of the recommendations ~formulated in the Outcom'es stakeholder workshop have already The participatory apoach to the bee implemented, includinig deregula- sector study enabled, the Bank teamr antd tioni of productive forest activities.. the govermment to reach consensus on key Helpe the government turn policy into. sector issues and to draft a document that practice. The SA Was useful in the relecte noa elte.I dii# to formulation of the new Ministry of providing a productive foruTm for the Einvironmient, Natural'Resources, and resolution of contentious issues, the SA Fisherie's, and a shift in government *Allowed local communities to articulate practice ha's.beguni toward decen'traliza- their needs and aspirations. The re'view tion and greater participation in resource process provided a forum for previously conservation and forestry developae'nt. marginalized indigenous forest commu- Smoothed the way for identifying and nities t-oanalyze their owni problems and designing a participatory proje-ct. By devise appropniate developMent options., informing project pl-anners about i'ssues *Helped build the capacity of inieos such as targeting the poor, improving groups. The SA produced an inidigenous social beinefits, reducing social ris'ks; peoples development Plan that was and incorporating s-ocial analysis and sbsequently finianced through an' participation, .the SA enabled them to Institutional Development Fund grant. plan' an appropriate project for the *Helped policymakers s.ee: the legi'timacy country- and, the sector. The proposed of indigenous issues in general, and of project strikes. a balan,ce between* 'local enterpien prIcl. Teprovidinig assistance to ejidos and participation of forest communities in .commiunities, strengtheniing the capacity the SA raised -policymakers'. awareness of private service prov'iders, and foster- of the potential for. development in the ing a sustainiable prtected areas system. p pro~~ Printe on 1 00% post-consumer recycled paper