We did not visit any field sites associated with this project. In addition to reviewing limited background material, interviews were conducted with Maderas del Pueblo at their offices in Mexico City (Lic. Miguel Angel García), with the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia (Salvador Anta, Ignacio Piña, Mauricio Soberanes, Manual Vargas Dominguez) and with SERBO (Ing. Leo Schibli). According to USAID and WWF-Oaxaca, Chimalapas continues to be one of the highest priority areas for protection in the country. The interior reaches of the 600,000 hectare area are largely unexplored and biologically intact areas known to contain large numbers of animal and plant species.

Currently Maderas del Pueblo is receiving a reduced level of financial support from WWF for their activities in the Chimalapas region, as compared to previous years. According to Maderas, problems started in mid-1993 when WWF altered its basic understanding of the social and economic nature of the project to one of "strict conservation." In addition, Maderas stated that "WWF has apparently lost confidence in the ability of campesinos to develop integrated development plans for the benefit of a larger community." While this is obviously a self-serving over-simplification of WWF�s institutional policy, the issue of how direct the relationship between agroecology activities and the protection of a core preserve is very much alive. Davenport and Kaus (1995) found "little obvious and direct relationship between the project-promoted agricultural and educational activities and the protection of old growth forest...resources distant from themselves" and their immediate economic needs. We feel that the relationship of these "social development" activities and the overall health and even survivability of the forest resource is not only apparent, but also measurable. The following findings and recommendations are written with that framework in mind.

1. The project has had a positive impact on land-use in the Chimalapas region, although this is the only wildlands area in the south, reviewed as part of this mission, which has yet to receive an official designation. The Mexican Government is promoting official designation for the reserve, but has yet to clarify its official stance. Maderas del Pueblo�s project is promoting creation of a "campesino ecological reserve," to be managed by the communities of the region. However, this position has brought Maderas into direct conflict with the State government which is proposing the internationally recognized designation of a Biosphere Reserve for the area. SEMARNAP is seeking a consensus on plans for conserving the area, and trying to mediate the conflict between Maderas and the State government.

Maderas del Pueblo has three main strategies to promote the campesino reserve and to promote social development in the region. First, it has promoted land tenure security for the ejidos in the region. A major success in this regard was the 1994 forced removal of Chiapaneca cattle ranchers and squatters from the community of La Gringa in the eastern flank of the reserve along the disputed Oaxaca-Chiapas border. Second, it has carried out a variety of community development activities, some of which have a direct conservation impact (abono verde) by making sedentary agricultural plots more productive, and others which, while having no direct conservation impact (health promotion), help build trust and increase the presence of Maderas in the area. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain a firsthand assessment of the impact of Maderas' community development activities. In addition, we did not have the opportunity to analyze data from this area, although there will be data available soon through the recent ODA-UK evaluation as well as a consultancy supported by WWF (see Monitoring and Evaluation Section below). Third, Maderas is promoting the idea of land-use zoning at the level of "congregacion." The Chimalapas region is composed of many small hamlets belonging to one of two very large indigenous agrarian communities -- Santa Maria and San Miguel Chimalapas. While official governance takes place in the cabeceras (equivalent to county seat) of Santa Maria and San Miguel, village life and informal governance occurs within the small hamlets, who are often ignored by or in conflict with the cabeceras.

As part of its renewed effort to mediate this conflict, SEMARNAP is promoting land-use zoning in the area, through a Consejo Tecnico de Concertación. While not in favor of all Maderas' positions, attitudes, or tactics, SEMARNAP has recognized the organization as a key actor in the region and has spent considerable energy and political capital in forcing the State government and Maderas to sit down at the same table with authorities of San Miguel and Santa Maria and all other local actors. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss land management in the region as a whole and to begin a pilot program for land-use zoning in one congregación, San Francisco de Paz, with the cooperation of all parties involved. Eventually, SEMARNAP and the other parties hope to develop land-use planning on a regional basis through the use of Estatutos Comunales, which are internal community land-use regulations which were created in the 1992 reform to Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution.

WWF now hopes to use future USAID and other funding to support this consensus-building effort for the development of estatutos comunales that include land-use zoning. Their support would not fund Maderas del Pueblo per se, but would encourage their inclusion in regional policy discussion. Funding would go to SERBO for completing research on the status of the region's forests which will be used as an input into the land-use zoning exercise as well as to SEMARNAP, to help them provide oversight and promotion of environmental zoning in the estatutos comunales (WWF 1997).

2. There is a problem of scale between small ecodevelopment efforts that have been implemented in the field by WWF and partners and the larger (geographically) impact of those projects that is expected by donors. WWF and partners have been working at the level of communities and ejidos. USAID/BSP want to know how local ecodevelopment and management changes can be extrapolated to assess and ultimately better protect the region as a whole, in this case, the unpopulated forested core area of Chimalapas that is of high conservation value.

The original goal of the Chimalapas project was community management of natural resources. The strategy was to work in pilot communities to develop small industry based on natural resources or agricultural products so that local people would decrease their need to clear land further into the forest. Thus, the impact of ecodevelopment can realistically be linked to the conservation of small areas along some edges of the greater Chimalapas region (covers 600,000 hectares in three states: Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Veracruz).

1. Maderas del Pueblo has essentially become independent from WWF by diversifying its funding base, most significantly with ODA-UK, which currently funds 90% of its budget. Miguel Angel García, Regional Coordinator of Maderas del Pueblo, stated that WWF (and specifically Guillermo Castilleja) is not in favor of a campesino reserve and that the new "strictly conservation" focus of WWF is incompatible with Maderas� mandate. Maderas is now a very large NGO, employing over 40 staff, including promoters from the communities. However, it continues to collaborate with WWF indirectly, by working with SERBO, which is funded by WWF.

2. The growth and strength of Maderas in one sense speaks to the success of WWF's efforts to build local institutions in the area. Maderas is clearly a socially-oriented organization, in which conservation is but one of a number of objectives that form part of the overall goal of campesino empowerment in the region. It is not surprising that Maderas has not evolved exactly the way WWF had envisioned, nor is this the result of the social orientation of WWF's Oaxaca office. It is largely a consequence of the context of Chimalapas, especially its isolation, the prevalence of caciquismo, and the severity of the land conflicts. The leaders of NGOs working in remote zones are willing to make great personal sacrifices, and identify strongly with the campesinos they are trying to help. While we were not able to carry out an independent assessment, we suspect that the Maderas leadership has become the leadership of a certain faction or factions within the community, rather than a resource for training and supporting local leaders. As there is no independent campesino partner organization, no clear mechanism exists by which Maderas can be held accountable to its beneficiaries. This reality notwithstanding, conflicts with the State authorities or regional economic interests should not worry WWF or its funding sources, since they are probably inevitable and in many ways necessary for change to occur. However, the lack of Maderas' accountability to the campesinos is of concern. We were not able to detect the nature of the relationships that Maderas has developed with its promoters, so we are unable to assess if Maderas is in fact training and empowering campesinos to make their own decisions and take their own actions, or if it is building its own power base in the communities.

3. Under these circumstances, WWF-Mexico should continue to recognize the role of Maderas as the only NGO in the region that works directly with campesinos in response to their concerns. However, WWF's role should be to involve other organizations that can provide resources that Maderas doesn't have, such as applied research skills. It should also support or encourage other NGOs to work in the area, in ways that avoid direct competition with Maderas and encourage campesino participation in all regional fora, so that Maderas is not allowed to be the only voice of the campesinos.

4. Maderas del Pueblo has become a major actor in a very polarized conflict, specifically with the State of Oaxaca Government and a certain faction of the cabeceras municipales. This resulted in forced removal of Maderas del Pueblo from the town of Santa Maria by the State.

ODA-UK is of the opinion (direct contact in writing via personal relationship of one of the members of the evaluation team) that "�Maderas is working well as far as the technical work is concerned; they are by far the most committed and most professional of all the NGOs we work with in Mexico. They have made some outstanding advances in agriculture and some modest advances in health. They have very good relations with the communities. They also have good support from SEMARNAP. As you may know, there is an orchestrated campaign against Maderas at the moment, largely stimulated by Oaxaca politicians. I suspect that there are two reasons for this: (a) envy of the large amount of donor funds that Maderas controls, combined with a (false) impression that others could have access to these funds if donors could be persuaded not to fund Maderas, and (b) fear of the possibility of a social movement arising in the Chimalapas orchestrated by Maderas which will do them no good in the forthcoming elections. There is no evidence of the latter. Maderas' undoubtedly has a 'political' stand on many issues around conservation in the Chimalapas and lobbies actively on these issues. However, the federal government is less worried about this than some (WWF) make out. Julia Carabias told us that she accepts that this NGO has a lobbying role as well as a technical development role, and that is OK as long as the two are kept separate."

5. According to Maderas del Pueblo, the issue of land security for individual community or ejido members may be more important in the long-term for conservation of the reserve than any other single activity supported by the project. If proven correct, this factor must be taken into account by all involved parties in the region.

1. WWF is responsible for the growth of Maderas, having provided funding and technical assistance for them during their formative years. It is not clear to us whether WWF tried to focus Madera's activities on conservation, or could have done so. It is clear, however, that WWF played a significant role as mediator between Maderas and the State government. It has also worked closely with SEMARNAP in this regard, and the SEMARNAP delegate, Salvador Anta, clearly sees Javier Castañeda as an ally and a resource.

2. Maderas del Pueblo is the most technically experienced and well-established NGO in Chimalapas, to the point of being a monopoly, despite some apparently severe political problems in the region where their presence remains controversial (e.g. Sta. Maria).

3. An attempt should be made to reconcile WWF�s relationship with Maderas. Maderas continues to be a strong force in the region. WWF (from Oaxaca office) has played important roles in Chimalapas since 1990: as a donor early in the project's history, providing technical assistance, and as a mediator in difficult political and social situations. Ideally, all the pieces, actors, and institutions need to be pulled together to work on Chimalapas. Salvador Anta (SEMARNAP representative in Oaxaca) suggested that all actors sit down together at the table, without their respective political agendas, to discuss potential solutions to the principal social and agrarian problems in the Chimalapas region. A consensus is needed to resolve land tenure issues and to determine priority areas for conservation in order to stop the ongoing fragmentation of the forest.

1. Since Maderas no longer receives direct funding from WWF, and is not included in the Phase II funding request to USAID, it is difficult for WWF to obtain good data from Maderas in order to evaluate its effectiveness. Maderas has recently completed an internal evaluation for ODA-UK, but we did not have the chance to review this document. ODA also did an evaluation of the area, which is only now being completed. ODA has also supported consultancies for Maderas to gather baseline data, but has been unsatisfied with the results to date. It plans to support new consultancies this year.

2. WWF's plan to support a consensus-driven plan for community-controlled conservation is sensible. WWF can play a role in promoting political pluralism in regional policy development and in providing complementary applied research that can help formulate appropriate zoning decisions. It is important to fund other actors besides Maderas but to continue to work collaboratively with Maderas, whose role and credibility in the small congregations in Santa Maria and San Miguel Chimalapas are evident.

3. SERBO, in collaboration with Maderas, is performing an analysis of the status of the forest cover and its dynamics in Chimalapas. SERBO's objective in performing this type of landscape-level analysis is to evaluate land-use change over the last decade and link this change with land tenure issues. This will serve as baseline information for land use planning at the community level, including the designation of priority areas for conservation. Recent deforestation in Chimalapas is evident and attributed to three factors in particular (information from discussions with Miguel Angel Garcia, Maderas, and Eduardo Iñigo, WWF-Mexico; satellite imagery of region seen at SERBO): First, increased incursions by cattle ranchers into forested areas of Chimalapas. The abrupt topography and the lack of water in the core forested region of Chimalapas have thus far served as the best deterrents to development. Artificial rainfall collectors for cattle have the potential to render this biologically important and relatively untouched region more accessible for development. Second, continued incursions by peasants from Chiapas into the contested (political limit between Oaxaca and Chiapas) eastern boundary region of Chimalapas. Third, increased incursions by local agrarian peasants (including indigenous communities of Sta. Maria and San Miguel Chimalapas) into forested areas as a result of shifting agriculture. Evidence for this is seen on Landsat images analyzed by SERBO; however, Maderas does not consider shifting agriculture to be an important factor of deforestation in the region.

4. Maderas del Pueblo, in conjunction with SERBO and SEMARNAP, is undertaking a pilot project aimed at preparing a land-use zoning plan at the level of a single Congregation (Rancho or Hamlet), rather than at the level of a community. This is important for two reasons. First, the Estatutos Comunales are structured for the community level, and second, this method does not deal with land-use on an integrated basis, making it extremely difficult to prepare such a plan at the level of the Community at any future date.

5. USAID has asked WWF on several occasions to substantiate the status (success/failure) of its agroecology activities as well as the viability of such activities to contribute to the maintenance of the core forest areas. The issue in Chimalapas is apparently related to logging by timber companies and large-scale absentee ranchers, and NOT the local inhabitants. As we did not have the opportunity to review any data updating this situation, the general premise expressed in Davenport and Kaus (1995) that the Maderas del Pueblo agroecology project "...by promoting sustainable agricultural practices, probably will not have any measurable, direct effect in the short-term on the rate of deforestation, since it is targeting a group which is not primarily responsible for the deforestation in the region" seems to still be accurate.

1. Maderas del Pueblo has assumed a much more important role in all aspects of the management of the Chimalapas region (natural resources, social, economic, political aspects). There is a likelihood that their role will continue to increase in the future. Even though WWF is no longer supporting their activities directly, they should make an attempt to maintain regular contacts as the results of this effort will have application in other sites.

2. While USAID expressed difficulty in understanding the connection between local activities and regional conservation goals, one of AID's primary project objectives is to strengthen the abilities of local partners and stakeholders to address issues of regional-level sustainability. It should be understood that without local institution and community building efforts, regional goals, such as conservation of core forest areas have virtually no chance of being successfully maintained over the long-term.

3. WWF should coordinate with other funding agencies active or with an interest in this region, especially for the gathering of baseline and monitoring data. ODA plans to fund consultants for baseline data collection for the Maderas project; WWF should discuss this with ODA to maximize the value of these expenditures.

4. The deep cliff-bound canyons and forests of Chimalapas (and adjacent El Ocote), are poorly known biologically and would therefore be an excellent place to focus a strong biological monitoring program. These biologically diverse regions may yield the first Mexican breeding records of orange-breasted falcons (D. Whitacre, pers. comm.) as well as the northernmost remaining population of harpy eagles (scattered records of this species, although none recently). The geological history of the area makes it particularly interesting for two reasons: (1) its location between the pre-Cambrian Sierra Madre de Chiapas and the coastal plain leading to the Gulf, and (2) its large geographical extent forms an integral link within the biological corridor through Mexico (El Triunfo-Chimalapas-El Ocote) to Guatemala. Furthermore, the human population density in the region is relatively low, therefore creating optimism for the long-term survival of intact forests and other natural landscapes.

B. El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve

El Triunfo is considered by many to be the most successful attempt to preserve a critical landscape in Mexico�s history. The ecodevelopment project, initiated in 1991, has focused on training and extension efforts with local coffee growers. The project has been instrumental in creating a grassroots organization, CESMACH (Campesinos Ecologicos de la Sierra Madre de Chiapas), which is now the executing organization which WWF funds. CESMACH is a campesino organization whose members are ejidatarios in 3 communities that are in the buffer zones of the El Triunfo reserve. CESMACH�s technical staff and promoters concentrate their activities on training efforts which have focused on soil, water and crop management for the conversion of coffee cultivation methods from traditional, using agro-chemicals, to organic. The organization has recently started to export organic coffee to the US. Members and promoters have also participated in environmental education courses stressing the importance of integrated management of the core and buffer zones of the reserve.

1. The establishment of CESMACH and its growth since that time should be considered a project success. The CESMACH organizational structure mirrors that of other successful campesino production organizations in Mexico (such as Plan Piloto Forestal (PPF); Union UCEFO etc.). Its main advantage is that the technicians are directly accountable to the beneficiaries. The organization has quite a bit of institutional maturity for only having existed 2 years, as evidenced by strong participation and leadership of the elected directors, relations with members and respect. CESMACH is a base organization with an elected leadership, a voluntary membership of coffee producers, a technician and 6 promoters employed by the organization, who are paid with WWF money. They also have another technician on loan from the reserve and paid by the reserve. One weakness is lack of a formal connection to the ejidal structure in all but one community.

2. CESMACH was not only spawned by the MEP program but has been strengthened as a direct result of its interaction with WWF-Oaxaca. Formation of this Union has facilitated certification of individual member�s coffee as organically produced, something that could not have occurred without the assistance of WWF. They shipped their first container of organic coffee to the United States in May of this year. This should be seen as a clear and measurable impact of the MEP project.

3. Some 180 socios in five communities have switched from traditional coffee farming methods employing agro-chemicals to the organic methods supported by CESMACH. Approximately 210 hectares have been certified "organic" by OICA (Organic Crop Improvement Association International) a private, professional organization based in the United States. This is considered a major success of the project.

4. CESMACH members noted that an increasing number of non-member ejidatarios have begun copying the organic coffee farming techniques.

5. There is little hard data on differences in net profit from organic vs. traditional coffee production. However, both yields per hectare and market price per kilo are greater for organically produced coffee. This is due in part to the fact that funding for 1997 arrived late (in April) so this step of data collection has been stalled. An impact assessment of project activities (conversion to organic coffee, agroecology, environmental education, cooperative marketing) on (a) deforestation rate (through reduced and managed logging, sedentarization of agriculture, reduction of forest fires), and (b) increased family income in the region will be carried out jointly by the Instituto para el Desarrollo Sostenible de Mesoamerica and CESMACH. The social impact evaluation is considered participatory in nature and includes "attitude measure" conversations/interviews about the value of the forest in the core area with local ejidatarios.

Changes are palpable but not defined nor measured either in production benefits nor in social cognizance of the long-term benefits of maintaining an intact forest tract. Local growers that participate in the CESMACH program are today (5/97) pleased with the improved product and environmental conditions resulting from their efforts when compared with products of traditional coffee growing methods. They know that the weight of the green bean is 80-85 kilos for organic production vs. 65-70 kilos for traditional production and thus feel confident about the difference in quality of the coffee product. Preliminary data suggest that traditional methods yield 6-8 quintales per hectare while organic coffee produces nearly twice that amount, 12-14 quintales per hectare. In addition while labor costs are higher, organically certified coffee commands a N$ 1200-1500 per kilo price vs. a N$ 800-1500 per kilo price on the international market. These trends notwithstanding, detailed economic, ecological, and other production measures remain elusive and comparison among new and traditional growing and production methods is, by and large, anecdotal.

6. A scientific evaluation of organic vs. inorganic growing methods would be of use both to donors and to local farmers who are experimenting with new methods for coffee production. Success of organic vs. traditionally-grown coffee could be concluded if: (a) the price of organic coffee is higher over time; (b) the price of organic coffee is more stable in the international market, therefore rendering it a more reliable income for the family; (c) the condition of the soils are better conserved using organic methods; and (d) less land is needed to reach economic goal; less need to cut down more forest area. There is a need to produce measurable comparisons for the following three reasons:

(1) Data that indicate improvements in the quality of the product or the environment and/or a higher or more stable market price are the best way to build confidence and enthusiasm in project participants. Such documentation is likely to capture interest for increased participation in the local area.

(2) On-going evaluation is a self-checking process that is likely to catch potential environmental problems, either in production (e.g., the presence of a new disease or parasite) or in environmental impact (e.g., the comparative effects of vertical vs. horizontal terraces on erosion prevention and debris capture), before they become liabilities.

(3) AID needs an objective measure of success in terms of conservation impact of the project that it has been supporting for 2 1/2 years. This requirement would be filled with a more rigorous comparison of the two production processes, their respective products, and the present state of the coffee fields, particularly in ecological terms that are likely to be affecting the surrounding environment. These data would just be estimates of the effect of local coffee production on the status of the local environment. These data cannot be extrapolated to estimate the impact of small local projects on the entire reserve area due to different social conditions on the periphery (some is buffer zone, some is not) and the interior of the reserve as well as different ecological conditions over an altitudinal gradient on both Pacific and Gulf facing mountain slopes.

1. The intensity of the problem of land invasions has greatly increased. Private fincas as well as the reserve have been invaded by campesinos belonging to radical social organizations as well as entire ejidos who had never received a final response concerning their applications for increasing the size of their ejidos for their sons. In this context, CESMACH plays a critical role in two major ways: First, it provides a way to help reorient campesino demands for a better standard of living from land invasion tactics to that of integrated development activities. Second, it is a partner for any new experiments such as palm production and reforestation of precious hardwoods because there are extension specialists in place who have already built trust with the local campesino communities.

2. The government needs to be more forceful to protect the nuclear zones of the reserve for everyone's benefit. This approach has backfired in the past, however, and there is much disrespect for those who try to enforce legal protection. The IHN used to place too much emphasis on protection before becoming more conscious of the need to consider social development problems along with environmental problems. Now the renamed "guardias ecologicas" are being given opportunities to learn about and contribute to monitoring and evaluation programs to try to change their image as participants rather than policemen.

The five core areas/nuclear zones of the reserve are partially surrounded by buffer zone (est. 80% of core area periphery; core areas and buffer total 119,000 ha) but some edges are immediately adjacent to non-protected regions. Some of the five isolated nuclear zones are therefore surrounded by ejidos and private land owners. Encroachment by human populations appears to be a threat on all sides of all core areas. Ejido lands in many instances are being stretched to their limits by burgeoning population (4.5% reproduction rate in Chiapas) and encroachment on legally protected areas is likely to be imminent.

3. Lasting forest protection is most likely to occur in areas of topographic relief and inaccessibility to higher elevations; this includes much of the area comprising nuclear zones. Inter-connections among these zones via a ridge-line forest belt through ejido properties that is not legally protected may survive by virtue of being inappropriate for farming. The high ridge (about 2600 m) of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas will protect itself due to the inhospitable environmental conditions. At the highest elevations, the forest is short "matorral" comprised of species of Ericaceae and an agave without spines (Beschorneria albiflora). Just below this windswept zone is a short (4 m tall) forest where Drymys spp. are among the dominants and many different epiphytes are abundant (E. Martinez, pers. comm.). This elevation is not immediately threatened by humans and is therefore less strategically important in terms of allocation of human and financial resources.

4. There is consensus among both the promotores and CESMACH members concerning the importance of protecting the environment for the entire community. In a like manner, there is a good understanding about the relationship between mismanagement of the forest resource and the availability of water and the productivity of soils over time.

5. The project should take greater advantage of the natural resources and manage them with greater intensity. Investigate ways to exploit non-timber forest products and secondary wood products in an ecologically sensible way. More local species may be viable as commercial wood products. Up to now, focus has only been on traditional timber markets, e.g., pine (Pinus spp.) and "cedro" (Cedrela odorata). The timber products available in the montane zone (1500-2000 m elevation) are mostly species of rapid growth (e.g., Liquidamber sp., Pinus ayacahuite, Quercus skinneri and other Quercus spp.) that are useful for secondary industrial products such as wood dowels, pencils, matches (E. Martinez, pers. comm.). Furthermore, this is an excellent area for cultivating and harvesting the species of "xate" (Chamaeadora spp.) most appropriate for the ornamental flower market. Even in our short walk to the coffee plantation outside of Nueva Colombia, there were frequent individuals of this small understory palm growing along the trail.

6. Better integration of ecodevelopment projects that serve as links to conservation in the El Triunfo region is needed. CESMACH should increase training at the community level in general, and particularly, increase education and involvement of women in economic activities (e.g., to make carbón as substitute fuel). There seems to be plenty of money from a variety of sources to promote projects in El Triunfo. Still, it was surprising how deficient some local promoters were in recognizing potential natural resources in their own forest environment. Environmental education programs are obviously not wholly successful in getting information to local people about management of local resources, at least in Nueva Colombia.

1. Unlike when Davenport and Kaus� (1995) evaluation was written, the reserve is now managed by a very competent entrepreneurial director (Alejandro Hernández ) who is very supportive of the integration of social issues and community development projects. He views these efforts as indispensable to the preservation of the core areas of the reserve. He prioritizes the threats to the reserve identified by TNC as follows: agrarian problems (land invasions), expansion of lands for coffee, corn, cattle, and wood extraction. He spoke very firmly about the usefulness of CESMACH as an ally for management of the reserve, as did his field director (Martin Castilla) for three main reasons: First, CESMACH is a partner with which he can negotiate and invite to participate in regional consultative forums as a voice for campesinos. Second, he thinks that intensive agroecology is the key to increasing production and incomes on limited land. Third, it is easier for the reserve promoters to work with an organized group than with individuals, and the government can�t organize peasants in this atmosphere according to all sources consulted.

2. CESMACH is increasingly viewed as an effective intermediary in reserve management decisions and is a member of the consultative body (comite consultivo) of the reserve.

3. A threat analysis was carried out by Reserve office (i.e., Alejandro Hernández, Dir. of the Reserve). Greatest threats are: (1) social organization; (2) coffee growers; (3) agriculture, mostly corn; (4) cattle; (5) forest fires; and (6) extraction of Chamaeadora palm. Some of these threats (e.g., agriculture, cattle) have been subsidized in the past (A. Hernández, pers. comm.). Probably the most severe problem in the El Triunfo region is that 100% of the arable land is already under cultivation. Lack of land has lead to periodic invasions of fincas, for example Sta. Rita invading Prusia. There is also cultivation of heroin poppies, Papaver somnifera, in the region (E. Martinez, pers. comm.). This adds to violence in the region.

1. CESMACH did not implement a system of monitoring or evaluation when the program started, making it difficult to assess the impact of its work. To correct for this deficiency, and establish baseline data for future monitoring and evaluation, WWF is depending on a consultancy. WWF has contracted the Instituto para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Meso- America A.C. to conduct an evaluation of the economic, social and environmental effects of the CESMACH technical assistance program in the communities in which it has worked. This evaluation will carry out a survey in order to develop: (1) a comparison of the costs and profits of traditional vs. organic methods of corn and coffee production; (2) a comparison of soil conditions under the traditional vs. organic regimes; (3) an assessment of the impact of the environmental education program on local inhabitants' attitudes about conservation and knowledge and attitudes about the reserve El Triunfo; (4) an evaluation of the programs and operations of CESMACH; and (5) an assessment of mitigation of deforestation through an estimation of the rate of adoption of the new technologies and the effect of the new technologies on campesino land-use decisions in the area. CESMACH is cooperating with the evaluators and is committed to instituting its own system of monitoring and evaluation. It is concerned that the system be useful not only to funders interested in conservation, but to its own beneficiaries.

2. Comparative analysis of forest cover and land-use changes is presumably in progress, if not yet completed, by the IHN with the Instituto para el Desarrollo Sostenible de Mesoamerica. This institution is the consulting group that worked with TNC on the original land-use map of El Triunfo. Thus, they are building on existing base-line biogeographical information and have the technical expertise to carry out the project. Our conversation with Pablo Muench (ex-Director, Instituto) indicated that the cartographers/geographers/field verifiers had indeed begun their assessment but we had no opportunity to see work in progress.

The recent six month award to the Instituto for cartographic products and an analysis of forest cover and land-use change is ambitious in scope (both geographic and thematic) and level of detail. Products will include a base map of the Reserve area and various thematic maps such as: socioeconomic indicators (e.g., demography, education, basic services), land tenure status, forest cover, and land use. Maps will be produced at different scales (1:50,000 and 1:100,000), georeferenced visual and digital data from images will be provided, and a system will be designed to monitor and evaluate future changes in land use and standard of living in the region. It is unclear how this valuable monitoring material will be used in the future as the El Triunfo site is destined to be phased out by both TNC (Sept 1997) and WWF (in the next few years). The benefit of these base-line maps and data produced for a long-term monitoring effort at El Triunfo must be incorporated into the phase-out plan.

3. WWF should pay careful attention to assure that the dual "audiences" of the monitoring and evaluation system are served, i.e., the donors and the beneficiaries. While the consultant's plan seems adequate, it was hard for us to see how it would be implemented. Since CESMACH has no researcher/academic within its staff, and the técnico has a fairly small amount of formal training, it may be unrealistic for him to assume responsibility for the kind of on-going measurement of impact that funding agencies are likely to demand. WWF should consider trying to find an academic who would make a long-term commitment to the organization as an advisor in this area.

1. CESMACH still requires institutional development technical assistance, especially in the areas of fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, and probably (we couldn�t see) administration, especially as their export business expands.

2. Other actors have to take on the task of dealing with other threats and specifically, building political consensus to deal with those threats. At this point, that role falls on the shoulders of the reserve management, which is now better able to take on that role than any NGO, outside donor like WWF, or any campesino or other organization. In this context, it�s still necessary for donors to encourage the establishment of organizations like CESMACH, because they are an essential element in the jigsaw puzzle necessary for reserve management.

3. USAID has expressed the concern that CESMACH has a very limited impact on conservation because it works in only five communities in the buffer zone of the reserve. Not only is CESMACH unable to address other threats to the reserve, such as private cattle ranching, but its ability to generate a rapid multiplier effect is also open to question. However, this is not so much a weakness of the strategy of community development that CESMACH and WWF have chosen, but rather a predictable result of the magnitude of the problem of conservation in the area. As stated earlier, we believe that organizations such as CESMACH are essential elements for successful reserve management, and we believe that if CESMACH could incorporate all the communities surrounding the reserve, or if there were other organizations like CESMACH in the other areas of the reserve, several major threats to the reserve would be reduced significantly. However, community organizing, a la CESMACH, is very slow and cannot be quickly expanded.

4. USAID and WWF should assess the cost of promoting community development in other communities surrounding the reserve, either by providing CESMACH with more técnicos or by starting similar efforts with new technical assistance teams in other parts of the buffer zone. Some costs of expansion to new areas may be lower than the costs of initiating CESMACH, since the technologies have now been tested and marketing channels opened. However, the high costs of organizing campesinos cannot be expected to fall significantly, nor can the pace of organizing be accelerated greatly.

5. In El Triunfo, the ecodevelopment equation has two parts: making sedentary agriculture more productive and profitable, and creating viable economic activities that use the standing forest. The ecodevelopment program in El Triunfo has only been successful in introducing alternative agricultural methods. While it makes sense to start with the stabilizing the agriculture sector, this should only be seen as the first step. However, there are no tested, economically viable models for extracting timber or non-timber products in the El Triunfo area. The steepness of the terrain makes commercial timber production inefficient. There are undoubtedly a number of non-timber products that could be commercially exploited. However, their exploitation would require a significant external investment to initiate a holistic sectoral strategy. This strategy would need to include basic applied research on biological populations and sustainable-use criteria, social organization for production and marketing, market research and developing marketing channels. None of this has been done for the region, and it would require a coordinated effort including researchers and specialists. While CESMACH could be the implementing agency of any such experiment, it cannot, as a small campesino organization, be expected to take a leadership role. WWF or a government agency would be a more appropriate leader.

6. Conservation focus including basic and applied biological investigation and strategic ecodevelopment efforts should be directed towards protecting the core area of forest between 1200-2000 m elevation. This forested belt is the most threatened as it is: (1) the region of intensive coffee cultivation; (2) the zone of greatest diversity and abundance of real and potential timber and non-timber forest products; and (3) relatively accessible and has a pleasant climate for human habitation.

Compilation and up-dating of baseline data about flora, fauna, and ecological characteristics of the reserve area have been carried out by the IHN and scientific investigators from other institutions. The flora and fauna of the largest core area (and maybe one other) has been inventoried but the other three patches remain unstudied. The Pacific slope of the reserve is biologically poorly known (E. Martinez, pers. comm.).

Overall flora appears particularly interesting due to the juxtaposition of temperate and tropical species, particularly at elevations >1200 m [the pass on the road leading to the community of Nuevo Colombia is 1700 m; Nuevo Colombia and the coffee plot we visited is at 1300 m]. Along the road and in the forest many species of the predominantly temperate genera Pinus, Quercus, and Liquidambar grew alongside tropical Lauraceae and Meliaceae and species of Chusquea, Alnus, Chamaedorea, Hamelia, Croton, Bocconia, plentiful and diverse orchids and herbaceous and semi-woody composites. The abundance of fruiting Lauraceae is likely to attract large frugivorous birds such as quetzals.

7. It should be noted that CESMACH members are interested in finding economic uses of the forest; they have recently proposed a project for the commercialization of the Chamaedorea palm. They asked for funding from the state COPLADE (the state planning agency) but were denied as this agency was spending its resources dealing with land invasions and other more pressing political problems.

8. We think the job is far from over in El Triunfo, even though WWF has made a decision to phase-out its involvement over the next several years because of an institutional mandate to diversify their portfolio to other regions of biological importance in Mexico. Two major leaps are necessary for the El Triunfo ecodevelopment project to have a broad conservation impact. First, CESMACH would have to grow and work in other communities along the periphery of the reserve, or new organizations would have to be incubated in these locations. Second, efforts to find ways to commercially exploit the standing forest would have to be intensified. Without these two steps, CESMACH can continue to have a limited but important effect in the communities it is currently working, but cannot hope to greatly expand its impact through a magical multiplier effect. The alternative agricultural techniques are economically viable, but they require more labor and do not dramatically increase incomes, so adoption in the region will be slow.

9. If WWF does withdraw, we think it is important to consolidate CESMACH before it does so. This would require two areas of institutional strengthening. First, it would require substantial training in fundraising for CESMACH's técnico. Second, CESMACH would greatly benefit from the consolidation of its monitoring and evaluation system, so that it could evaluate its on-going progress and make strategic decisions based on its own evaluations.

C. El Ocote Ecological Reserve

Linea Biósfera, the executor of the ecodevelopment project in El Ocote, was founded by a professional couple from Mexico City who have lived in the region for twelve years and have dedicated their lives to helping the campesinos of the area. Their team also consists of four other técnicos who are paid out of "project money;" three salaries being divided among the 6 people in the organization. In addition to the offices of CEDRO/Linea Biósfera, we visited Malpaso (and the Union el Triunfo de los Pobres chile bodega and receiving station) and the Luis Echeverria ejido.

1. Linea Biósfera has been instrumental in creating and catalyzing development of the Union el Triunfo de los Pobres, to date the most successful grouping of campesinos in the region. Linea Biósfera has enormous influence over the Union and shares offices with it in Malpaso and has been working with communities around El Ocote for 11 years. This dedication to task and continuity are its greatest strength. Both Jaime Magdalena and Mauricia Gonzalez are well-known and trusted by community members in the region and seem not to have ulterior motives in helping campesinos improve their economic condition.

The Union is the main political voice of the campesinos in the region. The main activity of the Union is commercialization and marketing of chile as part of a strategy to break the power of the intermediaries in the region. The Union also has a store for basic goods, owns a small cargo and transportation service, and approves the promoters who work with Linea Biósfera.

2. An evaluation of the costs and benefits of producing chile using the organic vs. traditional methods should be carried out. Comparisons should include the amount of time/labor needed to prepare fields, plant, maintain, and harvest chiles, as well as the amount of land needed for adequate production for the family's economic needs. Quantitative comparison of the quality and quantity of chile crops could be made, including the weight of the harvest and its market price. Numerous biological factors such as soil humidity, and size and condition of the plant could also be compared qualitatively.

The cultivation of organically-grown chiles appeared to us (during a short site visit to three plots at the ejido Luis Echeverria) to be in at least as good or better condition than traditional chile cultivation in the same region. Organically-grown chiles were planted in slash and mulch fields with shade trees (often economically important themselves) left standing and no burning; fallen wood was allowed to decay in situ. The chile plants looked healthier, the fruits were larger and more abundant, and the soils were more moist under a thick leaf litter layer. No data were available to quantify these visual differences.

3. If low ecological-impact agricultural practices are to have a direct effect on reducing the rate of deforestation in this reserve, project sites should be strategically placed physically closer to the core area where intact forest still stands in good shape, not where forest has already been changed. For a variety of practical reasons, however, cultivating chile and corn in that more mountainous area is unlikely to be popular with local farmers. It is perhaps more practical to recognize the success of the ecodevelopment project at El Ocote as an improvement of the economic status of poor, mostly indigenous communities. The increase in the self-confidence and respect of indigenous farmers and higher prices for their products in the marketplace at Malpaso, further demonstrates the success of the cooperative Union el Triunfo de los Pobres in that conflictive milieu.

There is little direct connection between the rural development activities (growing organic chile and corn and sedentary cattle production) being carried out in communities around the Netzahualcoyotl reservoir near Malpaso and the conservation of forests on the slopes and peaks of the mountains in the core area of El Ocote Reserve. Based on our short site visit, conversations with numerous players, and satellite images, it appears that the communities where organic agriculture is being employed are close to the edge of the reservoir for practical reasons (easier access by boat, flat land for farming, closer to market). This lowland (300 m elevation) region is and has been largely deforested for some time (20 yrs) and is distant from the core area of the reserve.

3. Hands-off management is a worthwhile strategy for protection of the forested core area of El Ocote. Some of the highland regions of El Ocote have been planted with marijuana and the violence associated with narco-trafficking has increased noticeably (e.g., the flight of a family fearing drug-related retaliation in Luis Echeveria). This situation further compromises the reality of resource management and legal protection in the more remote highland region. The core area of the El Ocote reserve is best protected by geophysical factors that make it inaccessible and inappropriate for human use. The abrupt topography resembles a sharply-toothed ridge that is usually hidden in cloud cover (we observed the ridge briefly from two directions: at the far end of the new highway just before the turn off to Apic-Pac and from the reservoir). The limestone (karst) substrate of the highlands lacks surface water thus creating a region that is inhospitable to humans and their domestic animals.

These same physical factors are likely to create ecological conditions that implicate an interesting flora with a high percentage of endemism. No biological studies have been carried out since the 1950s; there are an estimated 50 species of endemic plants in the region from the Río de la Venta (700 mm annual precip.) to Malpaso (4000 mm precip.) (E. Martinez, pers. comm.).

4. Linea Biósfera has recently hired a technician to initiate a project to promote sedentary cattle production. He previously worked for the Instituto Nacional Indigenista doing the same work in a nearby region with similar conditions. This program has the potential to significantly reduce deforestation since the threats analysis carried out by the IHN stated cattle as one of the principal threats to the reserve.

1. WWF initiated its work with Linea Biósfera after Pronatura and Ecosfera left the region and has been active since that time. This occurred, according to Javier Castañeda, because of limited staff and a lack of commitment to working with campesinos in this very isolated region. The social context is very complex and difficult including extreme poverty, exploitation of indigenous people by the government and private intermediaries, extreme factionalism in the ejidos along religious and other lines, and violence, both between ejidatarios and directed at ejidatarios by the state apparatus, lack of roads, and associated problems with marijuana cultivation. The extreme conditions of the region were in evidence immediately in the region, even in such a short visit. In the ejido we visited, a feud over marijuana cultivation resulted in a murder and the exit of the perpetrator's family due to fear of a vengeance attack; the power of the intermediaries in undermining the local campesino organization was also in evidence.

2. WWF and Linea Biósfera are trying to build into the Union a more business-oriented structure, so that the economic activities have a manager and are separated from the other activities which include political representation and project development. The Union comprises 21 ejidos and has a typical membership structure in which each ejido elects delegates to the Union, which then elects a leadership and a consejo de vigilancia. There is no separate manager for the Union's economic activities of the store, the acopio of chile, or the transport. Although considered to be an important organization, the Union is organizationally weak because the leadership changes every three years and inexperienced people assume management of complicated businesses.

1. Support from WWF has strengthened the Union and allowed Linea Biósfera to build the Union. This is a major accomplishment in the area and it is clear that Linea Biósfera has been instrumental. At the same time, the dominance of Jaime Magdaleno Ramírez in the Union is very marked, potentially representing a serious weakness should he decide to leave the project for whatever reason.

2. It seems unlikely that legal protection will do much towards real protection of the El Ocote forests given the poverty of the people who live there and the repression to which the indigenous communities have been subjected. It appears that at least some of the present human use of the core area is for growing marijuana, a situation that is unlikely to be controlled by imposing new legal land designations. A threat analysis was carried out by Linea Biósfera. The greatest threats were found to be: (1) cattle; (2) shifting agriculture; and (3) the demographic explosion. The bank will give credit for cattle if the land owner has a corral. This obviously encourages land owners to cut down trees and put in a fence to pave the way for financial subsidy. One of Linea Biósfera's goals is to implement an "ordenamiento" (ecological zonification) for each community to make their own land-use planning decisions based on soil quality, availability of water, forest cover, etc. Linea Biósfera also wants to redefine the nuclear zone of the reserve so that there are no human-use areas within the core area.

3. Base maps and/or ecological zonification of communities are extremely useful tools for land-use planning and should be produced for the region. It is, however, critical that community consensus for planning decisions of this magnitude be reached. Recent (1990s) satellite images of the El Ocote area show rectangular 1-ha newly deforested patches in some of the protected valleys of the highland region. SERBO interpreted these incursions as more distant chile fields planted by local farmers. After visiting some chile fields at El Ocote and talking to the farmers, we were convinced that the size and location of those newly invaded areas preclude the possibility of chiles. Chiles are planted locally in "tareas" (25 x 25 m) and a single farmer is not likely to plant more than 3 tareas of chiles; 1 ha would require far too much labor to maintain and harvest. Highland plots are much more likely to be planted with marijuana.

1. One of Linea Biósfera's primary goals is for the local ejidos to develop a land-use plan and zoning for their lands which should provide a model for regional planning. Linea Biósfera has successfully helped several ejidos designate land which will be preserved as forest and in which agriculture will not be permitted. They hope that this decision will be replicated in other ejidos. One indicator of consensus about the importance of collective land-use planning, according to Linea Biósfera, is that the communities they work with have rejected the option to privatize their ejidos, as permitted in the new Agrarian Law. Privatization would make ejido-level land-use planning very difficult. Other ejidos outside the influence of Linea Biósfera have chosen to privatize.

2. While Linea Biósfera stated that they are committed to complying with WWF's requests for monitoring and evaluation, they have not, to our knowledge, instituted their own internal evaluation system. In addition, they have several objections to the external evaluation proposed by WWF. This external evaluation was to be conducted by the Instituto de Desarrollo Sustentable de Meso America, which is also conducting the evaluation for El Triunfo. Linea Biósfera's objections are that the evaluation is not participatory and would not be useful to the project's own development. They fear that in the conflictive atmosphere of the region, the evaluation could do more harm than good, raising suspicions among campesinos about Linea Biósfera. It will be important to see whether Linea Biósfera can negotiate with the Instituto to come up with an alternative plan for evaluation that meets both WWF-USAID criteria and their own.

3. SERBO, in collaboration with Linea Biósfera, is carrying out a comparative analysis of forest cover and land-use change in the El Ocote region. A summary of results of recent analyses should be presented to AID and others. This includes an analysis of the dynamics of land-use, namely the geographical fluctuation of the regions undergoing land-use transformation based on time series of satellite images (total period of 19 years): 1976-84 (8 yrs); 1984-90 (6 yrs); 1990-95 (5 yrs). During each of those time periods, land was designated in the following three categories: selva (humid tropical rain and cloud forests), deforested, and water. However, an ecodevelopment site strategically placed to reduce deforestation in 1996 will not necessarily be strategic in 2005.

1. Based on size, location, present status of the forest, and degree of threat, this site should be ranked lowest priority for active conservation of the four southeastern MEP sites. One third of the reserve (total 48,000 ha) has already been deforested, leaving about 30,000 ha intact. What forest is left is over karst and is likely to be biologically interesting. Due to the geology, there is little surface water over most of the highland region, thus reducing the likelihood of sustained human intervention. The karst strip that traverses the El Ocote reserve continues in a NW direction and runs through northern end of Chimalapas. Therefore, a much larger tract of similar habitat is represented in that ecodevelopment and conservation site as well.

2. CEDRO will be used as a central training site for farmers throughout the region. CEDRO (the training center for agroecology) is seen as a strength in El Ocote by WWF. Unfortunately, we did not see nor spend much time discussing the goals and achievements of this training center. WWF and Linea Biósfera have begun to focus on and strengthen this specific activity as other El Ocote project activities are phased out over the next few years. CEDRO is seen by WWF as a good opportunity to be made the most of. Strategic placement of future agroecology sites will increase the conservation impact of this ecodevelopment model.

D. Calakmul Biosphere Reserve

We visited four ejidos participating in the Calakmul project (11 de Mayo, Polo Norte, Valentin Gomez Farias, Nueva Vida). The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve includes slightly more than 700,000 hectares and is one of the largest remaining tract of tropical forest in Mexico. It has an exceedingly diverse fauna including 250 bird species, five of the six Mexican cats, 45 species of butterflies, monkeys and a number of other important species.

1. Pronatura's program has been successful in both promoting alternative agricultural practices and in supporting sustainable harvesting of non-timber products. This is important because the shift to sedentary agriculture is not enough to stop tree cutting in the region -- a number of informants told us that ejidatarios commonly cut down trees in their individual parcels, usually without reforesting. Pronatura is also supporting economic activities using the standing forest on individual ejido plots, with important results not only in terms of generating income but also in changing attitudes and behavior concerning the importance of conserving the remaining forest in each plot.

2. Pronatura has been quite successful in promoting apiculture as a key component in the agroecology program in the region through the extension efforts of one technician and a number of local promoters. Three primary impacts of this activity are worth noting: (1) Honey production provides revenues for people during the time of the year when no local agricultural crops are being harvested; there are few other revenue sources during that season. Honey is also used for consumption by the community. The price of sugar is high and honey is used as a substitute. (2) Bee keepers protect the forests that their bees are dependent on and each group of bee keepers know that their bee colonies need about 4 km² of forest to make adequate amounts of honey. They are careful to maintain sufficient area of forest land within ejidos to avoid competition among hives. Local bee keepers are well aware that bees use different flowering plants at different times of the year and that flowering intensity can vary annually. One of the apiculture promoters at the ejido 11 de Mayo was particularly impressive in his knowledge of flowering phenology. Jorge Lopez Sanchez, who has been an apiculturist for 11 years, used his nose to decide where he would hang traps to catch native bees as we rode through the forest in the back of a truck. (3) Bee-keeping had been a very strong economic activity in the region, but had declined from a peak of 400 tons to a trough of 40 tons in 1986 because of the Africanization of the beehives. In addition, there is a plague which has impacted the region over the last several years. The plague is called "la varroa" or varroasis. It is a mite that can wipe out entire honeybee colonies and is a problem now in the US as well. Native bees (not Apis mellifera) are unaffected by this parasite. When the chemical insecticide "Apistan" was used at Calakmul, local honey that was exported to Europe showed traces of it. The whole region suffered because of the use of this chemical, as the market price for honey dropped from 12 to 8 pesos per kilo. The bee keepers at Calakmul are now using formic acid, a natural product produced by bees, to control la varroa. This treatment does not affect the quality of the organic honey.

The bees are dependent on a wide variety of jungle species which bloom at different times of the year; campesinos have clearly acquired a knowledge of and appreciation for the various jungle plants that help their bees produce honey. In the past, the industry was dominated by large bee-keepers. That has now changed; the revival, which depends on domesticating wild bees caught in the jungle, has occurred on a small scale. The campesinos in the program that we visited had from 12 to 40 cajas. This has important conservation implications, because it seems to build a base of support for keeping the standing forest among a large group of beekeepers.

3. The slash and mulch method for clearing acauales - instead of burning - is now the preferred method to prepare land for planting corn in the ejido 11 de Mayo. This ejido is within 700 m of the core area of the Calakmul Reserve.

4. Agriculture is a good business for the farmers in the ejido Polo Norte. Each head of household had about 40 ha (some wives had another 40 ha) of which 5-6 ha were dedicated to planting corn and chiles. Six ha is about all the area a family can handle in terms of labor. They claimed that paid contractors are rare because everyone has work in their own fields. We were not completely convinced of this answer. Polo Norte farmers are wealthy enough and the topsoil is deep enough to withstand yearly plowing by tractors. This is not the case (the wealth and the state of the soil) in most ejidos adjacent to Calakmul.

5. Farming practices have changed from a traditional cycle of one harvest/yr., slash and burn, another harvest/yr. We spoke with ejidatarios who had been involved with Pronatura and were fertilizing their crops with green manure (a.k.a. abono verde, nescafe, terciopelo, velvet bean), some since 1993. Now, land is burned once, the soils are turned once or twice with tractors, nescafe is planted with crops, and the same farmers are getting two harvests/yr. in the fields where a single harvest used to be the norm. Farmers spoke enthusiastically about the success of their milpas. One man said that he has had nine harvests of corn and a little chile from the same field in the 4 1/2 years that he has used nescafe. Most farmers don't bother to harvest nescafe; some do but only to spread its seed over more hectares of their milpa.

Some ejidatarios are not involved in the organic farming program because they don't have the patience to wait to see the effects of green manure. Benefits are not as immediate as they are with chemical fertilizers; differences are apparent after the third year of use. Green manure increases the production of corn and chile crops but more important to the farmers is the labor and time that it saves in not having to clear new lands yearly for shifting agriculture. The conservation implication is obvious.

6. Farmers pointed to the clear skies around Calakmul as evidence that burning was decreasing. April is the end of the dry season, the burning period. We saw some smoke on the horizon but nothing like the heavy smoke-filled air we experienced in Chiapas.

7. The environmental education project of the Pronatura Calakmul team has focused on the promotion of integrated micro-farms in the campesinos� solares. These are designed not only to be environmentally efficient, but also to help campesinos value the region's biodiversity and the Mayan cultural heritage of plant knowledge. Approximately 26 women are participating in the program.

8. Forest management has assumed new dimensions in this region of Mexico in terms of the economic contribution which integrated use of the forest resource can provide on a family or ejido level. Some of the principal products being managed in a forested tract within the ejido 11 de Mayo, buffer zone of the Calakmul Reserve include:

"ramon" Brosimum alicastrum

- fruit is used to make pozole

- fruit is fed to pigs

"pimienta" Pimenta dioica (allspice)

- allspice is good market product

- this tree species of economic value is used for reforestation

"guaya" Talisia olivaeformis

- edible fruit

"jobo" Spondias mombin

- edible fruit

"chicle" Manilkara zapota

- production of chewing gum

- wood is resistant to pests and fungus; Mayans used wood for beams

"xate" Chamaedorea oblongata

- leaves of this ornamental palm are used in floral arrangements. The Calakmul climate is too dry for good leaf production; montane forests of El Triunfo are more appropriate.

These two native plants were grown in a home garden in 11 de Mayo:

"chaya" Cnidoscolus chayamansa

- forage for pigs

- mixed with lemon to make a beverage

"chihua" or "calabasa maya" Cucurbita sp.

- the seeds are used for human consumption

1. The organizational and institutional aspects of the Calakmul site are very encouraging. First, there has been significant involvement in the area by several NGOs, a number of academics, and a number of different government agencies, resulting in significantly greater investments of money and people than in the other sites. Second, the institutional coordination and cooperation among NGOs active in the Calakmul area is unusual and has resulted in a holistic strategy in which a sensible division of labor has been agreed upon. This has greatly aided Pronatura's work, because they can build off the social infrastructure created by other organizations. For example, their entry into communities was eased by their collaboration with the Consejo Regional de Xpujil, a campesino organization to which most ejidos belonged when Pronatura began its work. Pronatura is essentially an extension agency that works with individual farmers. We believe that if it were operating in a vacuum, with no campesino organization to dialogue and collaborate with, it would be much weaker. However, since there exists a number of campesino organizations (the Consejo Regional de Xpujil and a number of newly formed consejos), Pronatura has been able to tap into collective campesino organizations when needed, as well as to contribute to an overall project for integrated conservation and development, that is greater than its own activities.

2. Pronatura's team in Calakmul has had exceptional success in establishing positive relationships with campesinos in its area. The team leader is a campesino himself, trained by Rolando Bunch, and has extraordinary inter-personal and communication skills. Nowhere else did we see the enthusiasm generated among local campesinos for the extension team, evidenced by active participation not just of promoters but also of campesino participants, in all aspects of the project. Both promoters and campesino participants were exceptionally articulate about their involvement in the program, about the alternative agricultural techniques they were using, and about the importance of conserving the forest. We had a strong sense that campesinos were not given a preset package of new techniques, but were actively experimenting with and thinking about new principles of farming.

3. Women were active and articulate participants in the program, aided by a very competent woman agronomist who was in charge of the home garden project. The entry of women as apiculturalists was recognized as a significant advance for the participation of women in income-generating projects. Again, this was helped by the presence of the Consejo, which has its own region-wide women's organization, and there was some overlap between the women promoters working with Pronatura and the Consejo's women's organization. However, it also speaks to the success of the Pronatura extension team in encouraging female participation, and in generating trust among both male and female participants in the value of the effort.

4. The Pronatura-Calakmul team has the advantage of being a "subsidiary" of a national conservation organization with a particularly strong regional branch in Mérida. This provides the Calakmul team with a number of resources, including fund-raising capabilities, sound financial management, and public relations. It also relieves WWF of some of the support work that it has had to carry out in other sites.

5. Pronatura's participation in the WWF ecodevelopment program has affected its vision of how best to conserve natural areas in Mexico as well as the long-term sustainability of this effort. Pronatura clearly has a heightened appreciation of community development as a key element in their conservation work. While the Mérida staff remain somewhat inexperienced in this area, they seem to have made a commitment to continue to integrate social issues into their on-going conservation efforts.

6. Pronatura has a revolving loan fund that allows campesinos to borrow to make the initial investment of about 4,000 pesos to start small bee-keeping businesses. They have exported "ecological" honey to Europe, which brings a higher price than the domestic market. Last year, they experienced a setback when some honey was rejected by the European buyer because some beekeepers had used a chemical to control infestations or disease. Chile production in the region by some richer ejidatarios that use chemical pesticides has impeded the organic certification of the project's honey.

7. In addition to individual plots that still have some forested areas, large tracts of communal land have also been designated as permanent forested areas by the ejido assemblies. This land-use designation -- albeit somewhat rudimentary -- is a major victory for conservation. Commercial forestry enterprises run by the ejidos are now being promoted. WWF has begun to fund Bosque Modelo to pay for some portion of the technical services of these enterprises' forestry activities. Technical services are the prerequisite for legal commercial logging and include developing and implementing sustainable timber harvesting management plans, marking allowable cuts, reforesting, and other activities necessary for long-term sustainability.

8. We feel WWF's participation in commercial forestry is important for two reasons. First, technical services cannot, at this time, be financed by the revenues from the harvested timber. Most of the very valuable timber (especially mahogany), has already been taken from these forests, and markets for the "lesser-known" tropical timber (corrientes tropicales) are still problematic. Subsidizing a portion of the technical services helps assure that timber is harvested sustainably. In addition, we think it is important that WWF work with multiple partners, rather than rely on one partner to carry out everything.

9. The principal threats (following analysis) to the integrity of the Calakmul forest are: (1) ecotourism and consequent road building; (2) cattle; and (3) the vision of local ejidatarios who were not involved in the process of the declaration of the Reserve. Tikal is only 150 km away from Calakmul and if tourism is not well-managed, it could be a threat, especially if proposed highways are constructed. Penetration roads are followed by cattle ranchers (e.g., as in Tabasco). To most local farmers, open land - and more of it - has always been considered more valuable than forested land. Increasing the sphere of influence of Pronatura to include ejidos that are strategically located to prevent incursions into the forested area of the reserve is a desirable strategy. High priority would be the community of Conhuas and others nearby that are located on the northwest corner of the large forested block.

1. Calakmul is the only site in which the double strategy of valorizing the standing forest and increasing productivity on sedentary agricultural plots is taking place.

2. NGO collaboration in the area is oriented towards initiating a process of land-use planning in the region. The first step in this process has been completed in 30 out of 72 communities, where the ejidos have designated 111,000 hectares of their lands as permanent forested areas (AFPs), thus excluding them from agricultural use. This is the only MEP site where this has been accomplished. While Pronatura was not directly involved in creating permanent forested areas, it supported the Consejo in its efforts.

3. Pronatura and Bosque Modelo/Consejo Regional have agreed upon a division of labor that is workable and mutually supportive. Bosque Modelo/Consejo are helping the ejidos organize community enterprises to carry out sustainable commercial timber exploitation in the permanent forested areas. Pronatura is promoting conservation practices among individual households on their agricultural plots and their home gardens. This is important because ejido plots in the area are large-- usually from 40 to 50 hectares per ejidatario. A minority of these have already been cut for agriculture, but conserving the rest can have a large impact on the total forested acreage in the area.

4. Pronatura is only one of several NGOs working in the Calakmul area. Unlike in other places, NGOs are cooperating and coordinating activities, which greatly strengthens the overall efforts to promote integrated conservation and development in the region. Bosque Modelo (Canadian funding) is the largest NGO, and is now merged with a large campesino organization in the region, the Consejo Regional Xpujil. Bosque Modelo has a budget of over $200,000 per year, substantially greater than the Pronatura-Calakmul project.

1. The Calakmul team has been greatly aided by the participation of a respected anthropologist as team advisor. This anthropologist has helped design and implement surveys that are being used for the monitoring and evaluation system. However, much of his data has yet to be analyzed or submitted to WWF-Mexico. This issue notwithstanding, he has been able to insure that the evaluation is useful to the participants as an analytical tool, not just to the donors. As an anthropologist, he is not well-trained in quantitative methods, making for some frustration on WWF's side, since the data has not been delivered in a succinct and summary format. However, the presence of an academic has been very positive, and WWF should encourage collaboration with academics in other old and new sites.

2. Pronatura Peninsula Yucatan has the most developed Monitoring and Evaluation program of any of the six sites we visited. Data has been collected on several important indicators including: lands not burned that would normally have been, increase in the diversity of crops and economic activities, crop production levels, stability of harvests of basic grain crops, numbers of individuals participating in the project, and the history of community parcel use as a measure of trends in total hectares of forest lands as well as the maintenance of biological corridors. Each of these indicators requires a discussion beyond the scope of this report. However, at a minimum they should be examined and the methodologies reviewed in order to determine if they meet USAID standards as soon as possible.

3. While these data collected thus far are not necessarily comparable, campesinos have gained an appreciation of the need to document the impacts of the project on a number of natural resource measures. Baseline data is present in some cases, but the number of samples is quite small. Much of this data will be presented to USAID in July in its next progress report.

4. Limited objective data is now available to support the contention that the project is positively impacting the number of hectares burned. In the specific case of Calakmul, it is estimated that 1200 ha less was burned during the 1995 burning season due to the success of alternative agriculture techniques and the development of related projects for utilizing forest resources in a sustainable fashion. The results of an analysis on changes in forest extension in the Chimalapas region will be available in July from SERBO, but preliminary indications are that there has been a net reduction in both the rate and number of hectares cleared and burned for milpa. There appears to be some relationship between less slash and burn and the increased economic viability of honey and pork production projects, although these relationships will have to be analyzed more thoroughly before any conclusions can be determined.

III. OUTCOMES - NORTHERN MEXICO PROJECTS

1. Calakmul has the most favorable prognosis for conservation and development of all the sites in WWF's ecodevelopment program. It can be a model for conservation and development in the tropics. Local actors envision creating a model "green pole," where rural development and environmental protection can go hand-in-hand. We believe the pieces are in place to do so because both the resource endowments and the institutional context are quite favorable compared to other sites. Not only do local ejidos surrounding the reserve have plentiful agricultural and forested land that can be commercially harvested for both timber and non-timber products, but the region also has archaeological sites and is close enough to Mérida and the Cancun coast to be part of a tourist route. In addition, although the actual managers of the reserve have sometimes been problematic (since it is seen as a political post), there are very strong NGOs including Bosque Modelo and Pronatura.

2. We think it is important to complement the promotion of sedentary agriculture with activities that generate income from the standing forest. In Calakmul, the Pronatura project has already begun working with bee-keepers using the same promoter/extensionist model that they use for teaching organic agriculture. Beekeeping is occurring on the individual forested plots of the local ejidatarios, and this is providing an incentive to stop deforestation on these plots.

3. We feel that WWF should expand its role of promoting a holistic, regional perspective on conservation and development by flexibly filling funding gaps when necessary. WWF can help by supporting both agricultural development and economic activities in the forested areas. It should work with multiple actors, and as in other areas, bring together NGOs, researchers, and other actors on specific projects.

We visited two sites in northern Mexico: El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in the State of Tamaulipas and Sierra Madre in Chihuahua State. As we had less than one day in each of the two northern projects visited, we were only able to form impressions of these projects. We did not visit any field sites or communities collaborating in the Sierra Madre Occidental project, but rather met with the Director of CASMAC and other individuals he suggested. Our two-day proposed field visit to El Cielo Biosphere Reserve was reduced to one given transportation difficulties.

A. El Cielo Biosphere Reserve

Given transportation difficulties, we had less than one day of actual field time in two of the ejidos associated with this project, Ejido Alta Cimas and Ejido San Jose. We met with the Director of Terra Nostra (Sergio Medellín) and through him, 17 male promotores and 13 women active in the El Cielo project.

1. The �Organizate! ecodevelopment project being implemented by Terra Nostra in five ejidos within the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve boundaries is an obvious success in terms of positive impact on the lives of the campesino participants. The five communities and the approximate number of residents in each are: (1) Alta Cimas, 160 people; (2) Joya de Salas (20 de Abril), 100 people; (3) El Tigre, 400 people (80 are ejidatarios); (4) San Jose, 60 people; and (5) Lazaro Cardenas, 20 people. Only a small percentage of residents in each community are involved in the project; only Alta Cimas has a women's project. We do, however, question the cost-benefit in terms of the number of ejidos/individuals that are directly affected by this project and the benefits that it has provided to a few. Greater efforts at outreach, in order to involve a larger number of rural people, are recommended.

2. Our general impression is that Mr. Medellín is well known and respected by the individuals contacted and that his project has had a notable and positive impact on these ejidos. The women�s project directed at providing tourist services (hotel, restaurant) and gifts (jams, preserves, tejidos, etc.) appeared exceptionally successful. The other projects visited, including honey production, shiitake mushroom production (still in the experimental stage), ecotourism services (guides to the caves, development of an orchid trail), palm harvesting and cultivation were all successful. Overall, we feel that these people were certainly not living in dire poverty. Undoubtedly, the project has allowed participants to improve their income and status in the community, but we did not have access to any record of income patterns.

1. Terra Nostra is a community activist organization first and, by virtue of the relationship of the ejidos with the land, a conservation organization second. This is not necessarily bad, but it will undoubtedly be more difficult to generate objective data on the project�s impact on preserving core forest in El Cielo Biosphere Reserve.

2. The exuberantly positive attitudes expressed by every campesino we met who was associated with the BSP-funded El Cielo ecodevelopment project were notable and bode well for this region after Terra Nostra leaves. For example: Most of the male promoters and campesinos that we met in Alta Cimas (El Cielo) were timber harvesters (lumberjacks) as well as farmers before becoming involved with �Organizate!. Today, these men say that it would be difficult for someone to come and cut even one tree off the land of the five communities that are participating in the ecodevelopment project. The inhabitants of the upper elevation communities that we spoke to are happy to be living where they are, even though the road that reaches them is very bad and passable only with four-wheel drive, land is generally steep - they can't grow fields of nopal - and it is a longer distance (often on foot) to the municipal center, schools, and markets. The 13 women that continue in the Alta Cimas/El Cielo project are all upbeat and enthusiastic; they range in age from about 16 to 60. They have found their independence - to varying degrees - and take the day-to-day running and administration of the project, its successes and failures, and its potential for growth, very seriously.

1. Terra Nostra has obviously been very successful in building the support of ejidos involved in the project through support for development activities at the community level. Very successful projects exist in both the agriculture and tourism sectors which have helped Alta Cimas Ejido and San Jose Ejido diversify their economic base and preserve the forest resource.

2. There is some "institutional bad blood" between Terra Nostra and PROYDEAS which should be explored before a decision is made as to Phase II of this project. Before meeting with Mr. Sergio Medellín of Terra Nostra, Peggy Stern spoke with a staff member from PROYDEAS, A.C. in Tamaulipas. There is animosity among a group of academics at the Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas (UAT), and Sergio Medellín and his colleague Armando Contreras who left that university group. The award from BSP to Medellín and Contreras in 1993 coincided with their formation of the NGO Terra Nostra, ostensibly to support the project, as they had alienated themselves from the UAT. Dr. Stern did not raise this issue with Sergio Medellín. USAID in Mexico recently (April 1997) received a proposal from PROYDEAS (under the name of Nostra Terra) for a community sustainable development project in the El Cielo region. Funding for this project should be considered in light of (is it different from or complementary to?) Terra Nostra's project that has been funded directly from BSP in Washington.

1. A more in-depth evaluation of this project should be undertaken including the opportunity to speak with a number of local people not involved in the project. Doug Mason and Jim Rieger presented a recent evaluation of the project (Sept. 1996). Our observations concur with theirs, particularly regarding the direct conservation impact that should be produced with some of the income-generating projects (e.g., understory palm management for ornamental market, dead wood harvest for fuel) promoted by �Organizate!. Like Mason and Rieger, we did not have the opportunity to talk with ejido members that were not involved in �Organizate! activities. We had a one-day and overnight site visit at Alta Cimas and San Jose, both within the Reserve limits. We had hoped to talk to the past and present Municipal Presidents but since our arrival and departure through Gomez Farias was on a weekend, we were unable to do so as they do not live there.

2. It was not clear if biological/natural history research has been carried out on the resources chosen for management and harvest (e.g., palmilla). Some American and Mexican graduate students have set up experimental protocols at Alta Cimas and are involved to some extent in this project. Biological information about these resources is essential to manage them appropriately; if it doesn't exist, research should be carried out in conjunction with management.

1. We left with the general impression that perhaps Terra Nostra should consider "graduating" Alta Cimas from that of a recipient community to that of a training community with a new set of ejidos. Medellín appears to be aware that the continued success of the project overall will depend on each sub-project's newly acquired autonomy, and that he is willing to let go. An example of this is his laissez-faire attitude with respect to the woman's group ("Tienda La Fe") in Alta Cimas where they are themselves obviously in charge and making their own decisions in a positive way. Terra Nostra should focus on spreading the education, practical experience, high hopes, and enthusiasm to more individuals within each of the five communities already involved in the project and as well as to other communities in and around the Reserve. Promoters from the five communities are likely to be the best ambassadors for outreach. This will spread the benefits of the project by using the original beneficiaries to be involved in the technical training of their neighbors.

2. The project should continue to encourage and teach campesino farmers/vendors to defend themselves from exploitation in the marketplace as well as the skills to develop new resource management expertise and experiment with developing new products and markets (e.g., shiitake mushroom growing). One of the overall objectives of the ecodevelopment project at El Cielo is to teach each group of campesinos involved in sub-projects (e.g., the women's store and restaurant, and the men who run the Hotel El Pino in Alta Cimas, the carpenters of 20 de Mayo ejido, the palmilla (Chamaedorea radicalis) growers at San Jose) to manage their own financial well-being. The campesinos want to be able to sell their product to whomever will pay the highest price at any time. Taking a product to market entails dealing with intermediaries who are often aggressively manipulative and much more financially savvy than the campesinos, especially when they are attempting to sell new products.

3. Encourage more young people in the communities to attend secondary schools. This may be facilitated by raising money to build a safe and comfortable place for students to live and eat in Gomez Farias during the school week. Creation of infrastructure will have to be accompanied by a change (leap!) in attitude by parents and students to recognize the importance of secondary school education, for their daughters as well as their sons. Primary schools are located in each community (at least the four larger ones) of the El Cielo project. The only secondary school is located in Gomez Farias, an approx. 5 hour walk downhill from Alta Cimas and farther from other communities.

B. Sierra Madre Occidental

The Sierra Madre Program is, without question, a human rights driven project. The indigenous populations of the Sierra Madre have been repressed and pushed to territorial limits and the edge of their own and their cultures' survival. Sites where CASMAC/SMA are working were chosen within a human rights context, not within the context of conservation strategy. With murders, incarcerations, and blatant exploitation of indigenous people commonplace, it would be difficult to rationalize a priority greater than the defense of human rights in a region made exceedingly violent by outsiders pursuing illegal activities (e.g., drugs, logging).

In addition to our meetings with Randy Gingrich and the staff of CASMAC/SMA, we visited with Francisco Cardenal, employed by the State (Chihuahua) Servicios Coordinados de Educación Publico, who is functioning as a catalyst with communities involved in the project. He has helped organize various workshops concerning the management of natural resources. Until the late 1970�s, the Tarahumara had had a structured and integrated view of the management of natural resources, even though large tracts of forested land were heavily logged. However, the relatively large sums of money paid to grow drugs has markedly impacted this traditional relationship of the Tarahumara as well as the economies of their communities. In an attempt to regain control of their economic future, Cardenal feels that the Tarahumara are very open to alternative development projects. Even traditional forestry harvesting activities have not benefited the indigenous peoples to a level that was initially thought possible, due to unforeseen costs which they are required to pay from what would be their net profit. Other traditional uses of forest resources include timber harvesting, production of herbal medicines, and jams from both native and small gardens of cultivated fruits.

The CASMAC/SMA project is aimed at biosphere reserve planning, community promoter training, small-scale eco-development and institutional strengthening to sustain conservation initiatives in the Sierra Tarahumara. In 1997, CASMAC/SMA will concentrate on five initiatives which will pilot-test the viability of providing an environmentally stable base to those of drug growing and timber exploitation: agro-ecology training, woodworking, organic paper making, small-scale forestry projects, and medicinal plant extraction and management. CASMAC/SMA will also conduct community fora and pre-investment analyses on small scale, sustainable restoration forestry enterprises, community protection of El Metate old growth mesa, continuation of the work of the Bio-regional Conservation Network, completing the baseline social and environmental studies, and expansion of the radio communication network (radio programs).

No field visits were undertaken during our mission.

1. USAID should recognize the horrors and gross reality of the situation imposed on the Tarahumara and Tepehuan people in the Sierra Madre. It should be appreciated that BSP funds are doing a lot of good in the human rights spectrum, as supported by recent international prizes (Goldman Environmental Award, and the Conde Nest Environmental Award) won by CASMAC leader Edwin Bustillos. This has brought international recognition to the BSP-funded work of CASMAC/SMA.

2. The environment of the Sierra Madre Occidental (Sierra Tarahumara) has been severely altered; 80% of the original forest cover is gone (R. Bye, unpubl.). Therefore, future activities should be focused on sites which: (a) have some degree of relatively intact forest; and (b) are removed from the worst of the violence. Gingrich mentioned the Basaseachi National Park and an area nearby where endangered thick-billed parrots are found (NW of the communities where the human rights work is on-going). This might be an appropriate place to begin comprehensive conservation efforts in the Sierra Tarahumara.

1. The project is world-renowned but exceedingly fragile, in large part due to the extreme conditions under which staff must function. The threats to the Sierra Madre environment and the local people (indigenous and mestizo) are numerous and enormous. They include: (1) International Paper Company; (2) drug lords and hired thugs; (3) corruption, often by government officials who may free drug lords and incarcerate indigenous people (the latter do sometimes grow marijuana and opium poppies under duress and/or for subsistence); and (4) Japanese investments in the Barranca/Copper Canyon tourist project. In addition, project staff (Gingrich and Bustillos) are threatened (with prices on their heads) by drug capos and must rely on the good will of the local inhabitants in order to be able to travel with some degree of safety to the field.

1. Randy Gingrich may "burn-out" given the vast number of tasks and the depth of the problems being encountered. He works nearly full-time as a fund-raiser and has been quite successful at it but has only limited office support for project administration and coordination among on-going activities. His time is so limited that he is only able to travel to the field about 3-4 times each year. We feel that he needs to narrow and delimit the products that will be produced by the end of 1997 and assist that they be done well. This will help the office staff realize they are actually making progress and should also help with potential donors. We also encouraged Randy to make certain that BSP is well informed about progress in the project.

2. Project activities must be more focused so that socio/ecological/political efforts will truly contribute to positive environmental impacts in the future. Gingrich is all over the board with his ideas and efforts, most of which are imaginative and potentially valuable. It is impossible, however, to implement them all, particularly under the difficult and unpredictable working conditions of the Sierra Madre Occidental. He is doing himself, his staff, the project, and maybe his proposed beneficiaries a disservice by trying to implement such a disparate array of community development, environmental education, agroforestry, agroecology, handicraft, natural resource management, clean energy, and forest conservation projects over a wide geographical area. All are valuable projects, but there are only 24 hours in a day, even for people with a "missionary" zeal.

We did not discuss this aspect of the project given the brevity of our visit and the priority of the issues which Gingrich and his staff wanted to communicate to us. It is our impression that little formal monitoring has been undertaken.

Furthermore, the significant question remains as to how BSP will effectively evaluate the impact of the Sierra Madre Program on human rights, ecodevelopment, or the environment given the conditions under which the project team (not to mention the locals) must work?