Regional Programme for Mesoamerica

The seven countries in Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and the southeastern portion of Mexico make up the region known as Mesoamerica. Within the scientific community, it has recently been recognized as the second most important of 25 hotspots in the world for species diversity and endemism. On the region's northern edge, the Mexican state of Oaxaca constitutes a transition zone between the nearctic expanse of North America and the neotropical realm of Mesoamerica and South America. Oaxaca's biogeographic location, as well as an extremely varied topography and multiple microclimates, make it the most biodiverse state in Mexico. GDF's activities in Mesoamerica are focused here, in the Chinantla Media and Chinantla Alta, in the boundaries between the Sierra Norte and Papaloapan regions of Oaxaca.

At elevations ranging from 200 to 2900 meters above sea level, the humid Chinantla is home to some of the largest remaining tracts of primary cloud forest in Mexico. With a canopy reaching to heights as great as 40 meters, the forest mosaic is composed of evergreen and deciduous plants such as oaks, pines, elms, palms, and tree ferns bearing epiphytes, vines, and lianas. Many of these plants are endemic and red-listed as endangered. Remarkable rates of endemism also occur amongst the area's amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, and important populations of jaguar, tapir, spider monkey, and toucans inhabit the Chinantla's forest. The region also bears great importance as a source of fresh water. The watersheds and rivers of the Chinantla, such as Río Perfume and Río Santiago drain into the Usila River, providing 50% of the water flowing into the Cerro de Oro reservoir, one of the main water reservoirs in southern Mexico.

Often biological diversity goes hand in hand with cultural diversity and Oaxaca State with its 15 ethnolinguistic groups illustrates this phenomenon. Such multiculturalism manifests in rich pockets of local ecological knowledge and the persistence of traditional land management practices. The well preserved forests and cultural landscapes of the Chinantla continue to be managed by its indigenous Chinantec inhabitants today.

While bioculturally rich, the remote Chinantla area struggles with severe poverty, and in recent decades, population growth, the expansion of agriculture and livestock, construction of new roads and water reservoirs, and migration have come to threaten the survival of its forest and the traditional knowledge of its management and use. But, in the face of the encroaching effects of modern changes, Chinantec stewards of biodiversity are actively adapting their traditional land management practices in order to improve local livelihoods and nurture their environment.

They have been involved in the creation of community conserved areas (CCAs), -nationally certified land managed through innovative use and conservation strategies that do not require local people to relinquish their ownership and management of forest resources. CCA creation is a nation-wide trend that builds on successful efforts to improve local livelihoods through community forestry and production of organic coffee. Based on collaboration between local people, academic centers, NGOs and governmental agencies, community conservation avoids deforestation, maintains hydrological resources and protects biodiversity.

In response to a local request for assistance, GDF is participating in this collaborative effort to enhance the management of the Chinantla's extensive CCAs. The focus of GDF's work is on strengthening the capacity of the Chinantecs and collaborating researchers to document and manage their biological resources and ecological knowledge in the form of ethnofloras and biodiversity registers that will promote biological, cultural and linguistic diversity in the state.