Participatory Model for Sustainable Forestry Development Based on Common Property Resources in Mexico

Editorial

Sustainable development is a dynamic process for satisfying the society needs through the management and maintenance of the natural resources and the environment in the long term. This study was conducted in the Papigochi River Watershed, based on commons property resources like forest ejidos and rural communities, in the Northwest of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Forest ejido is a common property land, and ejidatarios have rights in common to the resources. The watershed was divided into two subsystems: forest and farming subsystems. In this watershed, the natural resources are being deteriorated and the inhabitants of rural communities are not satisfying their main needs. The community-based sustainable rural forestry development model, as a participatory model with a holistic vision, has been designed and applied in the forestry and agricultural sector in Mexico and particularly in the state of Chihuahua, among others.

Introduction

The objective was to design and apply a participatory model for establishing a multidimensional strategy to approach the sustainable forestry development.

The design and implementation of the participatory model was based on the participative democracy, holistic vision, and strategic thinking principles. The model mainly included: local people; Multi-Search Conference for Participatory Planning [1, 2, 3]; analysis of the socio-cultural, economical, ecological and politico-institutional dimensions, and the design and implementation of a hierarchical system of criteria and indicators to evaluate the sustainable development based on these dimensions. In reference to the conceptual bases, the following were considered: Socioecological system and multidimensionality [4, 5]. This considers the inclusion of at least five essential components in the formulation of a rural policy framework: a) multidimensionality; b) intertemporality and intergenerationality; c) multisectorality; d) the articulation of a territorial economy; and e) the search for greater institutional coincidence.

The participatory strategic management model for sustainable community forestry rural development, with criteria of efficiency, effectiveness and effectiveness, was supported by a comprehensive vision, a continuous, dynamic and adaptive process to the realities of the different contexts (social, economic, environmental, technological, and political-institutional, among others), and is structured with strategic actions in the short, medium and long term [6]. One of the fundamental axes of this model is the structure in the decision-making process, being the transition from the “top-down” approach that characterized the practice of rural development until the end of the seventies, to the “bottom- up” approach, which privileges the participation and empowerment of local people. In this process, participants developed long-term strategic missions and visions, and as a whole, strategic guiding plans. This model has the power to lead the system to create its own desirable and achievable future in the pursuit of sustainable forest development, since it directly involves the people who are living with the consequences of the different development projects. They are those who have ideals, judgments, knowledge and know their system [7].

As a result of the application of the participatory model described above, the sustainable development was graded as a poor development. A multidimensional strategy was integrated into the participatory strategic plan, including the common needs in the watershed and the specific needs for each of the subsystems (forest and farming).

Based on the preceding characteristics, this participatory model is the first of its kind. The structure and application of the participatory strategic management model described represents a comprehensive strategy, including the design, implementation, support, monitoring and evaluation of processes, to promote community forestry development on a participatory, self-managed, sustainable and competitive basis. The application of the participatory strategic management model of the socio-ecological system for rural community forestry development and the competitiveness of the community forestry enterprise is essential to promote communities or organizations that need to bring together people with diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives, as well as organizations in who need to develop long-term participatory strategic guiding plans or redefine directions for their future [8].

This model allows to impulse a development policy responding basically to the needs of the local people and it is supported in the bottom-up decision process. The model has flexibility and versatility, so it can be replicated in diverse geographical areas and socio-cultural and economical environments to regional, national and international level. Some additional practical examples of the strategic management model for sustainable rural forestry development and the competitiveness of community forestry companies are the following: Sustainable Forestry Development of the Ejido El Largo and Anexos, Madera, Chihuahua, Mexico [9]; Development of the Regional Association of Foresters “Baja Tarahumara”, A.C., Urique, Chihuahua., Mexico [10]; Participatory Strategic Plan for Sustainable Forest Development in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico [11]; and Sustainable Forest Development in the State of Nuevo León, Mexico [12].