This paper analyses some key findings emerged in the study of the Mayan community of S. José Sinaché, located in the Guatemalan Highlands. The research highlights how colonial and post-colonial legislation influences the actual land tenure and hampers the development of the community. Little land ownership together with high demographic growth lead to insufficient crop production. As a consequence, human pressure on S. José forest and seasonal migration to sugar cane plantations of the Pacific Coast is carried out by householders in order to ensure subsistence to their families. A multisectorial approach must be implemented in order to give socio-economical and environmentally sound answers. New cropping and agroforestry techniques have to be coupled with the reformation of land property distribution and the participation of indigenous communities to decisional processes.
The study of the relationships between Guatemalan Mayan communities and the environment has a great importance in the view of understanding the possibilities of development on this country. Many researches have been focused on the advance of agricultural frontier and land management in northern departments, such as Alta Verapaz and Petén, where the large majority of primary forests are concentrated (
A historical review of the Guatemalan rural structure can provide essential elements for researchers and decision makers since the current situation is deeply linked to the Spanish conquer and the consequent transformations. In 1523 the last Mayan realms fell under the control of the Spanish Crown. In Mayan society the land tenure was structured into three different forms: the agricultural land privately owned either by the population or the aristocracy and communal land (
The present work was realized in the Mayan community of S. José Sinaché in the municipality of Zacualpa, Quiché Department. The Quiché ethnic group, whose the community belongs, occupies the northern west part of Guatemala Highlands, being the most numerous and widespread group even at national level. The municipal territory covers 336 km². The altitude varies between 1200 m (Picaché) and 2250 m (Cerro de los Monos). The southern part is occupied by the Rio Grande valley, in which volcanic ash soils have allowed the formation of a hilly landscape with the presence of badlands in correspondence of sloping areas. The northern part, instead, is mainly mountainous (Sierra de Chuachùs, part of the orographic system of Guatemalan Highlands) with thin soils rich in mica, gneiss and quartz. A typical temperate- hot wet tropical climate characterizes the region with a dry season from December to April and a rainy season from May to November with a mean annual value of 1500 mm. Temperatures are generally mild, annual mean of 18 ºC (maximum 30 °C in April and minimum 0 °C in December). The 84% of the population lives in small rural communities. The main occupations are agriculture and breeding, along with a marginal crafting activity. The municipality, one of the poorest of the entire department, is characterized by a fragmented land ownership and a subsistence economy. The precarious socio-economic conditions are indicated by some indexes such as the illiteracy rate (75%) and the malnutrition rate (35%), fairly higher than national values, 18% and 23%, respectively (
The community of S. José Sinaché covers 1416 hectares, being one of the largest community of Zacualpa. Considering the terrain characteristics, the territory can be divided into two different zones: a mountainous area, from 1550 m to 2250 m, with a low population density and important forest cover (about 60%), and a flat/hilly area with high human concentration and intensive agriculture.
The data collection has been carried out during a 2 months stay in the community from April to March 2006. The interviews were carried out in Quiché language with the aid of local translators and 57 out of 300 families were interviewed. In order to reduce biased answers, people were not forced to answer to all questions, especially when the respondent did not understand the meaning of the question or did not want to answer. The large majority of families (83%) was composed by 5-10 members, 13% counted 11-16 members and the remaining 4% had up to 25 members, with a mean of 8 components per family. The sex ratio was 48% male and 52% female. In order to have an exhaustive picture of the socio-economic conditions, questions focus on both agricultural activity and utilization of woody and non woody products. Additionally, information about the demographic growth and the story of the community were collected through bibliographic research and informal interviews. A rough characterization of the forest, in terms of species and typology, was achieved through 10 circular sampling plots (113 m2 each). The sampling point location was randomly selected by using a grid on the available 1:50.000 topographic map. Both “moist low-mountainous subtropical” and “moist subtropical temperate” forest type were investigated (see chapter: “The forestry sub-system”).
The rural landscape of Guatemalan Highlands preserves the signs of the strong exploitation carried out during the colonial and post colonial period (see chapter Land tenure in Guatemala from colonial period to present time). Whereas other parts of the country such as the Petén and the Sierra de Las Minas forest, located in the North and the East respectively, are interested by an extensive and not permanent agriculture, common of new colonized areas, an intensive and permanent agriculture characterizes the Central Highlands. Within this picture, the community of S. José provides a typical example of the history and the development of mountainous indigenous communities. Furthermore, the analysis of the current socio-economic situation offers a clear idea of the deep and long-lasting modifications on land management produced by the Liberal Reformation. As a matter of fact, the productive structure and land tenure at the time of the foundation of S. José have lasted substantially unchanged. Before 1930 the area appeared scarcely inhabited and mostly covered with pine forests. At that time, landowners established in S. Josè about 45 families of farmers in order to provide housing for those natives who were seasonally employed in the sugar cane plantations located in the Pacific Coast. The pivotal struggle of the Guatemalan productive structure, the contrast between large property and small property land, was therefore created (
The land tenure in the community is organised as follows: 7% of the families owns up to 0.6 hectares, 60% between 0.6 and 1.2 hectares and 33% between 1.2 and 1.8 hectares, with a mean of only 1 hectare per family. The small property ownership has determined the development of a subsistence economy in which the main cultivation is maize, used mainly for cooking
Mexican bean is the second most important cultivation, frequently grown on maize’s stems, followed by other vegetable such as tomato, onion, cabbage, pepper and peanuts. All vegetables are promptly consumed and only 15% of the families reaches a productive surplus which is normally sold to middlemen that provide low margins of profit. Besides, home gardens are present in 35% of livings and their products, avocado (
The presence of animals in the community is mainly represented by poultry. All interviewers own chickens and turkeys, 87% pigs, while only 35% sheep and a mere 20% cows. Meat does not normally belong to the family diet, being a sort of emergency food in case of economic difficulty, whereas animal products, such as eggs and milk, constitute an important source of proteins. Sheep and cows, not numerically relevant, are left in the household surroundings or in forest, while poultry and pigs are fed with maize. This practice determines a further decrease in the availability of this already scarce product (
The agricultural production cannot absolutely cover the requirements of S. José families. With a mean annual production of about 1520 kg and an average consumption of about 2150 kg, householders need to buy maize. Of the people interviewed, 9% buy up to 500 kg, 56% from 500 to 1000 kg, 15% from 10 to 1500 kg and 20% up to 2000 kg.
Since the land owned by each family is too small to ensure the subsistence, the farmers are obliged to find an alternative source of income outside the community. As already mentioned, this source is to be found in the sugar cane plantations of the Pacific Coast. Although the indigenous working force is not forced any more to work in plantations as at the beginning of the last century, the productive deficit forces anyway farmers to seek seasonal job elsewhere. Of the S. Josè adult males (16-60 years old), 93% migrate seasonally toward the western coast in order to provide the family with the necessary. Because of hard climatic conditions and high load of work, most of the interviewed persons admit to assume amphetamines during their stay in the plantations. Besides the direct consequences on workers health, the migration affects the entire family: since the community is cyclically populated and depopulated, women and children must supply to men absence with heavy works. Furthermore, the adult male migration causes school abandonment, since children must replace their parents on the every-day work in the farm. This vicious circle does not permit new generations to escape the social exclusion that only the access to education may provide. The timing of migration follows the cycle of maize cultivation. From January to March more than 50% of male population works in plantations. On April the farmers usually go back to their fields to sow maize and accomplish to other cultivation tasks until the harvesting on mid-end of August. Eventually, they return again to the sugar cane plantations until the end of the year (
Since families depend mainly on the incomes coming from the work in the sugar cane plantations, their economic stability is strictly connected with the price fluctuation in the national and, especially, international market. The farmers cannot influence the price and are constantly subjected to landowners. A typical example of this situation occurred with coffee plantations. As a matter of fact, the economy of entire departments on the Highlands depends on this cultivation and the international crisis of prices from 1999 to 2002 has severely stricken the rural population (
According to the Forestry Resource Assessment (FAO, FRA 2000) in the year 2000 forests covered 2.85 millions of hectares, 26.6 % of Guatemalan territory. Among them, the large majority were broadleaves (82.2%), then conifers (9.9%) and mixed forests (8.9%). Between 1990 and 2000 the mean annual rate of deforestation was about 54000 hectares and Guatemala, with 15.9% of total forests lost in ten years, ranked among the first 20 countries in the world (
The forest of S. José occupies about 60 % of the entire surface of the community and the sample plots have enhanced the presence of two different forest formations. According to the phytoclimatic classification of Holdrige (
The indigenous measure unit for firewood is the
Even if firewood is the most utilized forest product, also timber is important as building material. The typical house is composed by five rooms, the walls are made of clay bricks and timber is used for roof structures, doors and windows. The timber consumption was calculated by taking into account both answers obtained during the interviews and field survey data. This method proved to be necessary since inhabitants were not able to quantify in terms of volume the precise amount of timber felled. Of the people interviewed, 45% declared to use “two trees” to build a house, 37.5% “three trees”, 13% “four trees” and 4.5% “five trees”. Considering that, from field survey, the standard tree used for timber shows a diameter (d.b.h.) of 45-50 cm and a height of 25-28 m, a unitary value of 1.6 m3 can be derived, with an average consumption per family of 4.43 m3. Because of the scarce durability of pine wood and the absence of conservation treatments, householders are forced to reconstruct periodically their house. A total of 49 % of individuals need again new timber every 5-8 years, 19% every 9-12 years, 21% every 13-16 years, 6% every 17-20 years and 5% every 21-25 years, with an average interval of 10 years. The data collected show that firewood and timber requirement reaches the value of about 15 m3 per year in each family, with a predominance (96%) of firewood. Comparing this percentage with the national datum (67%),a high rate of consumption and dependence on firewood is highlighted in the community. From a qualitative point of view, big trees are preferred for timber utilization while medium or small size trees are used for firewood.
Also secondary forest products are extracted from S. José forests. The most important product is certainly the
Because of the social and political situation caused by the civil war, an accurate inventory to determine the forest growth and, consequently, the sustainability of the current rate of firewood and timber consumption was not undertaken. The passage from forest to cultivated field of many steep sloping areas together with the building of new houses shows however the strong and increasing pressure on woodland. The diagram in
The study of the historical, economic, social and environmental context of the S. José community allows to formulate some considerations on the present and future perspectives in the management of natural resources in the Guatemalan Highlands. The actual land system can be considered as the final phase of a process originated during the Spanish conquer. Little impacting land exploitation and low pressure on forests, typical of Mayans extensive cultivations, changed dramatically with Spanish colonization. In this period the construction of new settlements aimed at concentrating and controlling the indigenous population (
From what mentioned above, it appears extremely important to undertake actions for the conservation of the mountains forest of Guatemala. Nevertheless, the complexity of factors interacting in the communities requires multisectorial answers: beside technical solutions, effective management plans must be carried out in order to involve the entire population in forest conservation. The redistribution of lands constitutes undoubtedly the pivotal node in the planning of a new land system and management of the Highlands. Beside the agrarian reformation, technical solutions must be taken into account in order to increase crop yields and reach both food security and sustainable use of natural resources. The most important cultivation which requires an improvement is surely maize, being the basis of the indigenous alimentation. Genetic selection and improvement of local varieties may have a comparable importance. After the peace accords many projects have been implemented and positive results could favourably influence maize yields. Regarding the exploitation of forest products, the implementation of agroforestry systems could reduce the pressure on the forest by providing firewood and timber as well as other products such as forage and green manure. The criteria for the selection of the most suitable species should be: rate of growth, wood and foliage quality and nitrogen-fixing ability. In addition, these species should be already available in the community. This is an important aspect to be considered since the implementation of new techniques could be more easily developed by using species which are already grown by the farmers. For these reasons,
Along with any technical proposal, which effectiveness is linked to many factors (cost-benefit feasibility, applicability with respect to biotic and abiotic components, etc.) social and political aspects such as the relatively new migration trend towards the U.S., need to be considered. The remittances of emigrated relatives are remarkably changing the economy of indigenous communities, and the social and economic effects must be carefully studied. As already observed in Mexico (
The development of S. José and the other communities of the Highland, however, cannot be achieved without the involvement of the population in the decisional processes. The ongoing decentralization is a unique chance to ensure a territorial planning where, through negotiation and real democratic participation, the conservation of natural resources may be coupled with the satisfaction of the needs of people. In order to include the less powerful parts of the population in this process is therefore necessary that local institutions legitimate and encourage representation of the communities (
Relationship between maize cultivation phases and seasonal migration to sugar cane plantations.
A model of the relationships among various social, productive and environmental components in S. José community.
Distribution of monthly maize consumption.
Maize (kg month-1) | 0 | 1-14 | 15-27 | 28-45 | 46-90 | 91-135 | 136-180 | 181-225 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
consumption for humans (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 28 | 14 |
consumption for poultry (%) | 0 | 26 | 34 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
consumption for pigs (%) | 13 | 20 | 47 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Monthly and annual maize consumption.
Consumption type | Tot. monthly(kg) | Tot. annual (kg) |
---|---|---|
consumption for humans | 130 | 1560 |
consumption for poultry | 30 | 360 |
consumption for pigs | 20 | 240 |
Total | 180 | 2160 |