Lluvia Enojada-Tyoo Kuasi': The Political Ecology of Forest Extraction in the Sierra Chatina, Oaxaca, Mexico

  • Shmelev S
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Abstract

The Sierra Chatina (see Figure 1) is inhabited by some of the poorest indigenous communities in Mexico, yet possesses pine and oak forests that are among the most valuable timberlands in Mexico (A. González R. and N. Rodríguez 1995:85; S. Nahmad et al. 1993). Over the last 25 years, rural development has led to large-scale environmental changes in the Sierra Chatina. The most visible has been the loss of 40 percent of the area's natural vegetation (D. Liverman and M. Patterson n.d.). Deforestation has not only accelerated climatic changes in the region, but has exacerbated the devastating effects of flooding as Hurricanes Pauline and Rick proved only too tragically in the fall of 1997. This paper briefly outlines the major activities contributing to deforestation and examines the role played by neoliberal restructuring in these processes. Although commercial logging has been the primary factor in deforestation in the Sierra Chatina, a host of secondary processes have contributed to deforestation as well. These include a mix of local subsistence activities, agropastoral activities, coffee production, and fuel wood harvest. Although the Chatino have long managed their forests successfully, timber companies—backed by Federal forestry policies—have wrested control over forests from local communities. 2 These companies have overexploited these forests, and the Chatino have become victims of the ecosystem's degradation.

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Shmelev, S. (2000). Lluvia Enojada-Tyoo Kuasi’: The Political Ecology of Forest Extraction in the Sierra Chatina, Oaxaca, Mexico. Journal of Political Ecology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.2458/v7i1.21546

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