Conservation and Development in the Maya Forest:
Review of Timber, Tourists and Temples
by Ron Mader

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The Maya Forest, or Selva Maya, stretches across the waistline of Mesoamerica in a region shared by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. The Maya civilization took root here for more than a thousand years. However, this timeless forest is quickly changing.

The current rate of deforestation in the Maya Forest surpasses 80,000 hectares a year. As conservationists have championed the need for preserving the region's biodiversity, local leaders insist on the need to balance conservation with local development, primarily forest production, tourism and, more recently, organic coffee.

These integration of these topics is examined in the new book Timber, Tourists and Temples, (Island Press, 1998, 425 pages, $35). Editors (Richard Primack, David Bray, Hugo Galletti and Ismael Ponciano) have solicited articles from those working in the field and forest.

The book is the first of its kind and a welcome collection of articles and of voices from the living Maya and mestizos who inhabit the region. While the title is catchy, the book's subtitle better describes what it actually contains.

Subtitled, "Conservation and Development in the Maya Forest of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico," this book does look - in depth - at how locals are trying to balance making a living with conserving the forest. The articles came out of a conference that was sponsored by the Tropical Ecosystems Directorate of the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program held in Chetumal, QR in November, 1996.

The eclectic mix of academic prose often turns to the local actors for enlightenment. In Hugo Galletti's interview with campesino farmer Raymundo Terron Santana, Terron explains what the forests cannot be left untouched, despite the declarations of good-intentioned environmentalists. "We have been living in, managing and harvesting the forest for a long time," Terron says. " There are areas where we have been restoring and which we will incorporate into the permanent forest areas. There are other ecologists who see the situation as we see it, and this is very good for the peasants."

While the chapters are of high caliber, my chief criticism with the Timber, Tourists and Temples is that the alliterative title is highly misleading.

There are few examples of tourism and even less of temples in this book - unless we consider the Selva Maya a Green Cathedral of its own. The obvious questions seem unasked.

No mention is given of programs that could combine social tourism with the archaeological tourism that already exists. Is the grand Mundo Maya program truly promoting ecotourism or local control of tourism? This is unasked and unanswered in this book.

A more serious complaint is the lack of discussion on the transient nature of many of the official programs discussed in this book. Many of the chapters highlight new projects, but no mention is made of previous failures or the fact that the some of the projects highlighted here already have ceased to exist.

There's nothing wrong with change, but in an area where civilization can be measured in centuries, it's odd that foundations continue to promote 18-24 month programs for funding. Such short-term programs with little integration are criticized elsewhere, though not in this text.

In the introduction of the book, the editors describe and promote an integrated, regional approach toward conservation in the Maya Forest. An example is the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, which can provide a great deal of information on cross-border natural resource issues. However, very often this pooled technical data is "shared" no further than among a few elite organizations.

What this book does best is offer a glimpse into new strategies as well as the actions of key players - government departments, non-governmental groups, ejido committees and indigenous organizations. Bibliographic citations are also first-rate.

Forest management in Quintana Roo is examined in several chapters. How ejidos managed to harvest and replant sought-after species of hardwoods such as mahogany make engaging reading.

Likewise, the description of how community groups in Chiapas balance forestry with global environmental issues engages the reader with innovative programs that may hold the key to successful conservation strategies and environmental awareness.

Timber, Tourists and Temples is the most comprehensive book of its kind, as it examines social, political and environmental issues in this region. For those interest in forest management and the conservation of tropical forest ecosystems, this book is a must-read.

To order Timber, Tourists and Templest from Amazon.com, click here.

Author and journalist Ron Mader lives in Mexico and hosts the award-winning Planeta.com website -- www.planeta.com -- and is the author of the Mexico: Adventures in Nature guidebook and the Exploring Ecotourism resource guide. Ron leads workshops throughout the Americas.

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