Reconciling policy and practice in the co-management of forests in indigenous territories

• In Event: The Evolving Struggle for Indigenous Territories in Latin America

Abstract

This paper analyzes reforms in property rights and forest policies in Peru and Bolivia that created co-management systems in indigenous territories with the intention of providing livelihood benefits and promoting sustainable forestry. Communal property plays an important role in securing access to natural resources by indigenous households across the Amazon. Tenure reforms often created expansive communal territories to ensure that residents are able to meet their livelihoods needs, particularly forest based livelihoods. As a result, national forest policies usually establish specific regulatory regimes for the co-management of forest resources on indigenous lands. Recognition of the rights of indigenous people to control and manage forest resources in recent decades has been a positive advance. However, the associated regulations and mechanisms created by forest policies often limit benefits or distort the management practices and market access for indigenous people. For example, while residents typically manage subsistence and economic production at household or domestic scales, regulatory mechanisms assume collective organization and decision-making. In addition, the expectations that forest management units will be segregated from other uses conflicts with the complex, integrated systems used by many indigenous communities. Usually, it is difficult to separate the management of agriculture and forests within the productive landscape mosaics found in indigenous territories. This paper draws on examples from Peru and Bolivia to examine differences between the management models conceptualized in policy frameworks with observations of local practice of indigenous families. The paper concludes by suggesting strategies for improving support for the sustainable management of forests by indigenous communities.

Author

• Peter J Cronkleton, Center for International Forestry Research