Building effective international, multicultural alliances for restoration of ejido forests in the Sierra Madre Occidental

Abstract

Effective NGO-government-community alliances are the key to overcoming the complex socio-political obstacles to conservation in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Over 80 percent of the territory in the Sierra Madre Occidental is communally owned. Agrarian and other socio-economic conditions present both opportunities and obstacles to conservation. Conservation, environmental justice, and community development are inseparable components of effective conservation in the communal lands of the Sierra. Case studies from the Sierra Tarahumara and Madera regions reveal the effectiveness of interdisciplinary, multicultural strategies, participatory planning, and diagnostic processes in weaving the social fabric for environmental protection and restoration.

Parent Publication

• Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: Biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II

Citation

Gingrich, Randall. 2005. Building effective international, multicultural alliances for restoration of ejido forests in the Sierra Madre Occidental. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane G.; Edminster, Carleton B., comps. Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II. Proc. RMRS-P-36. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 364-370