Caring for Xate, caring for Xateros: NGO monitoring, livelihoods, and plant-human relations in Uaxactún, Guatemala

In Uaxactún, a community forest concession inside Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve, three species of xate palm, a non-timber forest product, are at the heart of quickly evolving webs of knowledge, identity, institutional alliances, and livelihoods. Xate palms are simultaneously the "daily beans" for the majority of Uaxactún residents, the object of intense study and regulation, a commodity marketable to international floral markets, a marker of local identity, and a ubiquitous part of the forest landscape. Now, as the result of a series of projects instituted by the conservation NGO, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other institutions, xate in Uaxactún is being transformed from a "natural", exploited part of the landscape to something to actively cuidar, or care for. NGO-driven dynamics of monitoring, study, and other external knowledge-making about the village are central to these ongoing shifts in xate-human relations, and to broader changes in local senses of place and identity. "Care" describes both material and affective relations, including practices and values that strive for a more liveable world without assuming an ultimate goal or a best solution. NGO projects that foster relations of care between villagers and xate palms are also a form of caring for villagers themselves, working as they do towards sustainable shared human/non-human futures. At the same time, however, these projects are "necessary but not sufficient" – caught in the problematic local scale, and failing to address deeper structural problems that keep Uaxactún residents dependent on precarious sources of income.Keywords: Guatemala, Maya Biosphere Reserve, NTFPs, NGOs, environmental knowledge, care

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Editorial

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605302000017 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 1-2 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E.J. Milner-Gulland

Keyword(s):

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Task Force ◽

Central Africa ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Research Areas ◽

Track Record ◽

West And Central Africa ◽

Wildlife Conservation Society ◽

The Uk

Is bushmeat just another conservation bandwagon?There is currently great interest in the sustainability of bushmeat hunting (bushmeat being any wild animal by hunted for human consumption). All the big conservation ‘players’ have contributed to the debate, issued statements or funded research. IUCN's World Conservation Congress in October 2000 and the CITES Bushmeat Conference of the Parties in April 2000 both discussed bushmeat. Both organisations have since sponsored initiatives in West and Central Africa aimed at obtaining action on the issue. Major conservation organisations are funding research, including the Wildlife Conservation Society (which has a long track-record in this field) and Conservation International. The World Bank has commissioned a major report on the issue (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is a partner in a UK government-commissioned project identifying priority research areas. Conservation organisations have formed the US-based Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (see http://www.bushmeat.org), of which FFI is a member, and the UK-based Bushmeat Working Group of the Tropical Forest Forum (see http://www.forestforum.org.uk), where academic conservationists and government policy makers can exchange experience and ideas.

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Durable Rural Development Through the 2014 - 2020 National Rural Development Program

Studies in Business and Economics ◽

10.2478/sbe-2018-0026 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 147-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paul Lucian

Keyword(s):

Rural Development ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Rural Economy ◽

Development Program ◽

Development Programs ◽

Local Identity ◽

Rural Development Program ◽

Implied Contracts ◽

The Moment ◽

The Village

AbstractRural Development Policy is a priority for the E.U., as half of the Union’s population lives in rural areas. This policy is focused on society’s durable development, under all its aspects: economic, social, cultural, and so on. The challenges which rural areas of member states face must be addressed, while at the same time applying European norms and standards for rural development. After Romania became a part of the E.U., rural areas here were supported through several national rural development programs, so as to create a durable and sustainable rural economy. Major changes are required to achieve this kind of development, such as replacing old agricultural structures, modernizing the village, while at the same time maintaining cultural and local identity. Rural areas in Romania are often affected by natural disasters. During the last 17 years, national rural development programs implied contracts worth billions of Euros. For instance, through the 2020 NRDP, a budget of 9.5 billion Euros was allocated, 8.1 billion Euros coming from E.U. funding and 1.34 billion Euros as national cofinancing. At the moment, Romania’s absorption degree for the 2020 NRDP is of 20% and is expected to surpass 50% by 2020. Another regional program includes the concept of Spatial Development - Romania - 2025. Spatial planning supports the avoidance of rural dispersion. The betterment of infrastructure is supported, such as access roads, expanding base utilities, consolidated works to prevent flooding or landslides, and so on.

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Resource Development and Market Value for Non-wood Forest Products of the Banyang-Mbo Sanctuary of Nguti, Cameroon

Asian Journal of Economics Business and Accounting ◽

10.9734/ajeba/2020/v20i330327 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 39-45

Author(s):

Tem Henry Buh ◽

Tchatat Kezeta Bili Samuel

Keyword(s):

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Data Gathering ◽

Market Value ◽

Forest Products ◽

Marine Species ◽

Sampling Techniques ◽

Geographic Dispersion ◽

Non Timber Forest Products ◽

History Of ◽

Wildlife Conservation Society

The research begins with a brief history of the Banyang-Mbo Sanctuary (BMS) of Nguti, its demographic and geographic dispersion. Next, we aim to identify and analyze the various non-timber forest products, which range from plants, animals, birds and marine species. With the aid of write-ups from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cameroon, the spatial distribution of these products, vis-à-vis their proximity to surrounded villages is presented. Effort is equally made to know the activities of the villages and other environmental factors that affect the growth and existence of these products. Three objectives and three hypotheses were formulated to give direction to the study. Convenient and purposive sampling techniques were used in the study with the help of questionnaires for data gathering. The population of the study comprised 141 households in Nguti vicinity and a sample size of 105 respondents obtained with the use of Yaro Yamen’s formula. The statistical tools used for data analysis were frequency, mean and tables of percentages to organize the data collected. The instrument was validated by three experts and reliability justified by a coefficient. The study recommended that education on the development of non-wood forest resources should be practically oriented and existing markets should be sustained while new ones be sought for the sales of the final products.

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