Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Community Forest Management: Evolution and Limitations in Mexican Forest Law, Policy and Practice

Abstract

Community forest management (CFM) is often a field of encounter between knowledge systems, where a conventional forestry blueprint is frequently applied in contexts rich in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). This is the case in Mexico, a bioculturally diverse country and a reference of community forestry. Based on a review of laws, policies, literature, and empirical examples, we explore technical, epistemological, political, and contextual dimensions associated with the inclusion and exclusion of TEK in CFM in Mexico. Our analysis is composed of three steps: (1) A diachronic analysis of how TEK and associated practices have been considered by federal forest laws and codes (1960–2018), (2) a diachronic analysis of the scope of conventional forestry and its evolution in time and space, and (3) situated examples illustrating the inclusion and exclusion of TEK in CFM. We argue that: (1) Legal recognition of TEK as a concept does not necessarily entail the legal recognition of all traditional management practices; (2) the inclusion of TEK in CFM is heterogeneous across communities, ecosystems, regions, products and historical trajectories; and (3) different traditional practices are not equally integrated in CFM: traditional practices that contradict the spatial segregation of activities (i.e., land sparing) favored by conventional forestry tend to be less easily accepted or ignored by government institutions.

Sociocultural drivers of mycological knowledge: insights from Wixarika and Mestizo groups in western Mexico

“…In this study, people who emigrated abroad or to other cities within the country knew the same as the rest of the people of the same cultural group. Migration is usually associated with cultural changes and interference in the transmission of TEK, not only due to the loss of contact with resources, but also because the impact of the dominant societies reduces interest in preserving beliefs, practices, and knowledge [ 97 , 98 ]. However, the people of Tlaltenango and Villa Guerrero preserved their knowledge, since they actively seek to have contact with the resources present in their place of origin despite the distance.…”

Fifteen emerging challenges and opportunities for vegetation science: A horizon scan by early career researchers

“…Evidence suggests that conventional scientific approaches to land management have failed to address environmental complexity and heterogeneity (Adams et al, 2014; Klooster, 2002). Conversely, traditional ecological knowledge, including local, peasant, traditional and indigenous forms of ecological knowledge (Berkes & Folkes, 1994; Sierra‐Huelsz, 2020), has a distinct rationale underlying vegetation management. In traditional societies the fundamental motivation for vegetation and landscape management is aimed at ensuring a food supply throughout the year (Berkes & Folke, 1994), in a more sustainable way.…”

Beyond participation: How to achieve the recognition of local communities’ value‐systems in conservation? Some insights from Mexico

“…The prevalence of a conventional scientific paradigm within environmental laws and policies, particularly insofar as it favours globally applicable knowledge, hinders the recognition of local communities’ values based on traditional knowledge and experimentation. In Mexico, this results in the partial exclusion of traditional ecological knowledge from forest management and environmental management more broadly (Sierra‐Huelsz et al, 2020).…”

“… 7 7 This occurs despite the promotion of indigenous and traditional knowledge as a principle in the 1997 forest law (DOF, 2018), that has been expanded in later laws (Sierra‐Huelsz et al, 2020). …”