Landscape Approach to Support Regional Action in Communal Forest Management: the Case of the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

Forest landscape structure comprises a mosaic of natural and human-modified units, which when well depicted, may help to plan and implement forest management policies, which commonly assume territorial homogeneity. Usually, forest policies lack the use of spatial tools that can help scale up conservation program in heterogeneous forested landscapes. This paper applied a conceptual methodological framework as baseline to guide regional strategies and scale-up community collective action based on local forestry ejidos and communities. The study case was conducted in the Mixteca Alta, a forestry region in Oaxaca, Mexico, where common property prevails. Zoning was made based on biophysical, social, and forest management criteria. A total of 97 communities were surveyed and the region was disaggregated into five zones based on precipitation, watersheds, community forest management experience and level of regional collective action. Each zone was recognized as having different forestry potentials and intervention needs, ranging from restoration to timber and non-timber product management. This zoning proved the potential to guide forest projects and promote joint regional forest development. The potential use of landscape zoning was discussed in the light of the current need for scale-up forest policies.