Maya Forest

Understanding the tradeoffs between forest management for sustained timber yield and other forest services in the Maya Forest involves some of the same issues considered in the other regions, but in the context of some novel social, political, and biophysical features.  The Maya Forest is, and for millennia has been, more densely populated than the other focal regions.  The resulting vegetation is a complex mixture of pastures and agricultural lands, secondary forests, and logged old growth, all of which shows signs of recent and historic human interventions. Centuries of selective logging – generally by external actors and without direct benefits to the local people -- have left much of the Maya Forest depleted of its most valuable timber species, tropical cedar (Cedrela odorata) and mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).   Further research and market development for lesser known species may reduce pressure on remaining stands of commercially valuable timber, and on the forest generally.

Moreover, deforestation seriously threatens exploitation of NTFPs, which constribute substantially to local and regional economies.  Little is known about how timber harvesting influences yields of the most important NTFPs in the region, including “chicle” (Manilkara zapota), a latex used in the manufacture of natural chewing gum; “xate” (Chamaedorea spp.), an ornamental palm used in floral arrangements; and allspice (Pimenta dioica). Finally, there is also large tourism sector, with a growing ecotourism component. WFT research will focus on the tradeoffs and complementarities between these different forest uses, and on the institutional capacity to manage these resources.