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dissertation entitled

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC RESOURCES USED FOR
FOOD FROM THE TROPICAL DRY FOREST IN THE
MIXTECA POBLANA REGION OF MEXICO

presented by

ALEJANDRO S. SANCHEZ-VELEZ

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY . RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
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June 25, 1998
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1M W14

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC RESOURCES USED FOR FOOD
FROM THE TROPICAL DRY FOREST IN THE MIXTECA POBLANA REGION
OF MEXICO

By

Alejandro S. Sanchez-Velez

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requiremmts
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Resource Development

1998

ABSTRACT

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC RESOURCES USED FOR FOOD FROM
TROPICAL DRY FOREST IN THE MIXTECA POBLANA REGION OF MEXICO

Alejandro SFSZImhw-Velez

The basic objective of this researdi was to identify the most important wild spades that
people in the loeal communities of the Mixtaea Poblma Region of Mexico gather fi’om the tropical
dryforesttobausadasfood 'Ihisragimis ammgthepoorestcftha county, mdracords alarming
deforestatim The study was cmcentratad in a rqiresmtativa village called "Los Amates”, where
loeal people are in a trmsitimal stage between 31 acmomy of subsistence did one of markets. The
research design included a survey administered to Los Amates housdiclds to learn the
sodoacmomic and cultural meming of these wild food spades, as well as the forces cmtnhuting to
their destructim. Two central hypotheses were: 1) Campesinos in the Mixtaea Poblma have
developed Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Wild Food Species, aid 2) The tropical dry forest
in the Mbdaca Poblma curtains a large number of wild food species.

The peasmts referred to over 25 of their favorite native spades by their local name. 'Ihese
werelocatad and idmtifiadintheirnatmalhabitats, and an evaluatim oftheir fraquaicy was
performed by field transects. The), the spades were labeled as rare, scarce or abmdmt The
findings also show that wild spades used as food embrace a diversity ofhabits, aid morphological
traits (fruit sizes, shapes, colors, flavors, etc), (11 which a1 empirical varietal classificatim relies.
Spades with food value include edible fruits, roots, seeds, flowers and leaves; cnnsmnad fresh, or
cooked according to traditional radpes. In additim, my present multiple uses, and at least six wild

fruit spades are commercialized, with sales representing over 21% of the household's net mnual

income. While difl‘aent spades show difl‘aent degrees of domestieaticn, others may be cmsidaad
tarnad and subject to an incipiait cultivation. However, this study grouped than as: l) protected
spades, 2) cultivated but not domesticated spades, 3) domesticated spades, and 4) completely wild
spades. Since several are wild relatives of already domesticated cultivars, these represent a gene
pool which might improve, to some extent, current food crops spades, or selected an innovative food
crops.

The foodstuffs are collected from Ejidal Communal Forests with open access to the Los
Amates Ejidatarios who hold the propaty rights on these lmds. Data showed that firewood
extractim, which rapresaits more than 50% of household net annual income, is the real eause of
deforestatim (95 % ofthe cut volume is for sale) while wild fruit harvest had the lowest impact The
high danmd for bioenagaties, has brought a urn-sustainable exploitatim aid regimally many wild
finds and energetic trees are being drastically reduced Since regulatims m the use of communal
lands are difi‘use and not enforceable the populatim growth almg with the free nmrkat-orientad
policy rdnforces the pressures for extracting more marketable products aid lard forest clearance.

The acmomic indicators estimated in this study (the Annual Net Income Pa Household)
show that most ofthe peasants live below the povaty line. Since a decade ago, they have not been
salf-suflidant in staple foods (ova 50% of grains come from outside). In genaal people pacaiva the
conplaxity aid seriousness of the exhaustim of the natural resource base at which their livelihood
depends. Howeva, for many the mly alternative is to emigrate. This scenario, rooted in a web of
acmomic, legal, institutimal and demographic factors, cmtrasts with the gamplasm ridmess still
keptinrarmmtforests, mdforthatreasmthestudy cmcludes byposing a) arrayofpolitical, legal,
technical, orgmimtimal, aid acmomic strategies to cope with human hardship, deforestatim and

genetic resources aosicn

COPyright by
Alejandro S. Sanchez-Velez
1998

DEDICATION

Since this research was a team efi‘ort
this dedication is made by me and my family,
my wife Rosita who helped me in doing every single piece of this
dissertation, and my sons Leito and Danielito, who worked as hard not only timing the
field work where they waa always presart with us but also
in enduring allthe phasesuntilthe rushto finish.

THEREFORE, WE WANT TO DEVOTE THIS THESIS FIRSTLY TO MY
MOTHER, DONA REGINA VELEZ DE LA TORRE, AND MY COUNTRY:
MEXICO, AND SECONDLY TO THE NflXTECA POBLANA REGION,
MY MOST LOVED CORNER
OF THIS PLANET

WITH ALL GRATITUDE
TO OUR DEAR MENTORS, PROFESSORS AND EXEMPLARY COUPLE
DR GEORGE AND MRS. NANCY AXINN

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Iamin debt to manypeople, however, Ifirstwant tothankmywifeRosa Mariafor all
her patiarce and help in all phases of my studies and research, and secondly to Dr. George H
Axinn, my mentor, major professor and dissertation director. Without his support it would
have never been possible to finish my PhD. Dr. Axinn devoted thousand of hours to solving
my academic concerns, to design my program and even oriented me in my firmily. His wisdom
was important in completing my studies and above all, this dissertan'on. Mrs. Nancy Axinn, for
her part, overcame the challenge of reviewing and editing the multiple drafis that I made.

The members of my academic committee; Dr. Eckart Dersch, Dr. Michael Gold and
Dr. Steven Hamilton gave support and understanding to my research since it was a difirse idea.
Every one fi'om their perspectives helped me build the knowledge on which this dissertation
was designed Besides, as my professors they have influenced my professional career.

I want to thank my home institution: The Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, which
gave support and permission for doing my doctoral studies The W.K Kellogg Foundation
awardedmeascholarship forthreeyaarsandfimdadmydissertationresearch Fromthis
agency I want to mmtion specially the encouragemart received from Dr. Marcos Carnesi, Dr.
Heliodoro Diaz Cisrrercs, and Dr. Marcos Kisil who along with Mrs Rebbaca Hernandez, Mr.
RobertDeVries,MissMariaMartinand MissDeniseAlvarado alwayswerewillingto
support me. Thanks to all of them for trusting me. Additional fimding was given by the College
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at MSU which granted me with a Dissertation writing
completion scholarship. The Candace Thoman Scholarship was other important source of
support to cornpleta my academic goals

The Center For Latin American and Caribbean Studies was also important in my
academic work at Michigan State University. Special thanks to Dr. Scott Whiteford and Dr.
Manuel Chavez who were intaested in assisting me since my first arrival to MSU.

I thank to my fiiends and professors Dr. Manuel Angel Gomez C., M.C. Francisco
Ramirez D., Dr. Diodoro Granados S., and Emma Estrada M, who always gave me
arcanragemart in doing my PhD. Their advice and academic support has been decisive in my
career. Many thanks also to my dear fiiend Dr. Esteban Valtierra a bright W.K Kellogg fellow

vi

who always was available, open minded and resourceabla to help me in my computer problems
and to deal with all the process of completing my phi). even through the distance.

By the same token, thanks to my fiiands and colleagues Dr. Ramiro Garcia Ch, current
director of the CIESTAAM, and Dr. Enrique Serrano G., and MC. Baldemar Arteaga M.,
former director and current director of The Division de Ciarcias Forestales respectively. They
facilitated ofiicial vehicles to travel through the Mixteca Poblana region during the
development of my field research. Thanks also to Mr. Francisco Ramos M, who helped me in
the identification of the plant samples collected in the field trips and to pose the scientific names
ofthafood speciesfotmd Iwant alsoto mentiontoMrs Margarita Jimaraz de Farfan, she
helped me in capturing and formatting the Spanish version of the survey questionnaire rmtil all
details were completed

My fiiends and field guide-informants through the Mixteca’s tropical dry forest, Don
Atilano Chavez, Don Vicente Chavez and Don Felix Anaya deserve all my graditude. Crucial
was the collaboration of Don Atilano Chavez who always was ready and tireless in doing and
explaining all what he knows about the wild food species of this ecosystem fiom his village:
Los Amates. Together we walked miles and miles. He is a real expert in ecosystem
management and holds what scientist call Traditional Ecological Knowledge. It was my
pleasure to work with him and to laam fi'om his generous will to help.

Iwantto alscthanktothe Ing. CarmenRiosLtmawhowentwithmeto thefield and
participated diligently in the smvey questionnaire administered on and in the field trips. His
company and experience as a representative of the SEMARNAP was important in getting the
data Don Amando Herrera and the Professor Gregorio Alvarado helped me in the
administration of the survey questionnaires and made the interviews Thanks for their
participation Thanks also to my sisters Maria del Socorro and Maria Eugenia, they spent lots
of time in getting secondary data from official reports and setting appointmarts with
representatives of some institutions and agencies

I appreciate the efforts done by Mr. Abraham Martinez and Mr. Jose Luis Hernandez

in draw'mg the sketches of the food plant species based only on the samples collected in the

fieldtransacts.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES xi

LIST OF TABLES xii
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Problem Backgrormd l
1.2. Problem Statement 3
a) Population Growth, Poverty and Food Security 4
b) The Free Access to a Comrrnmally Ownadtdt' 7
c) Germplasm Stock; Tiny Islands of Wealth in a Sea of Poverty 8
1.3. Asarmptions of the Research 9
1.4. Research Objectives 11
1.5. Research Questions 11
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 13
2.1. The Mexican Tropical Dry Forest 13
2.2. Food Germplasm: Culture and Tradition 17
2.3. Wild food and Associated Services fi'om Traditional Ecosystem Management 19
2.4. Genetic Resources from the Tropical Dry Forest 22
2.5. In situ vs Ex situ Conservation: Genetic and Biology Levels: 27
2.6. The Patent System and Wild Germplasm Stocks 33
2.7. Domestication Process 35
2.8 Traditional Ecological Knowledge 36
2.9 Ethnobotany and Ethonoecology Studies 38
2.10. Population, Poverty and Production 40
2.11. Fostering the Local Food Production 44
3. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY SITE AND RESEARCH METHODS 48
3.1. Study Site 48
3.1.1. The Mixteca Poblana as a subject of Study 48
3.1.2. Biophysical and Socioeconomical Traits ofthe Study Site 50
3.1.2.1. Biophysical features 50
3.1.2.2. Socioeconomic features 53
3.1.3. The Los Amates as a Community Type 55
3.2. Data Collection Strategies 57
3.2.1. Direct Observation 57
3.2.2. Preliminary Survey 58
3.2.3. vaey Questionnaire at Household Level 58
3.2.4. Field Work 60
a) Transacts 60
b)Irrventory of Semidomesticatad Plant Orchards 61
c) Laboratory Work 62

3.2.5. Sampling Procedures 62

3.2.6. Research Guide-Informants and Assistants 63

3.2.7. Research Hypotheses, Key Variables, and Operational Definitions 63

3.2.8. Data Analysis Strategy - 67
4. FINDINGS 68
4.1. Introduction 68
4.1.1. Remarks on Data Collection Strategies 69
4.1.2. Features of the People Interviewed 70
4.2. The Preliminary List of Wild Species Used as Food 70
4.3. The Ranking of Food Species 72
4.4. Wild Food Species as Components of the tdf 73
4.4.1. Field Transacts 73
4.4.2. The Degree of Frequency 74
4.5. Cultural and Frmctional Features of Food Species 76
4.5.1. Cultural Traits of the Species Identified 76
4.5.2. thctional features: Alternative uses of native food species 79
4.6. Levels of Cultivation, Taming and Domestication 84
4.7. Food Plant Spades Cultivated at Household Level 91
4.7.1. Domesticated Non-native Species 91
4.7.2. Wild Species Formd in the Backyards 93
4.8. Measurement ofPaople's Willingness to Food Plant Trees 95
4.9. Farming Systems and Food Supply 97
4.9.1. The Milpa System 97
4.9.2. Livestock Composition 98
4.9.3. Food Accessibility at the Household Level 99
4.10. The Economic Meaning of Native Foodstuffs 100
4.10.1..Tha intellectual value of the heirloom food varieties 100
4.10.2. The cactus Family 102
4.11. The Household Annual Net Income in the Los Amates Comrnrmity 105
4.11.1. Description of Income Sources 105
4.11.2. The Line of Poverty as a Comparative Measure 110
4.12. The Forces Bringing Genetic Resource Erosion 111_

4.12.1. Land Tamra and Poverty Rights 112 '
4.12.2. Demographic Behavior and Migration 115
4.13. Conchisions 1 16
5. CONCLUSIONS, SUMMARY AND OPPORTUNITIES

FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 118
5.1.Hypotheses Discussion 118
5.2. General Conclusions 125
5.3. Inplications 129
5.4.Racommendations 130
5.5. Sunnnary 133
5.6. Ijnl'tations of This Study 135

5.7. Opporttmities For Future Research 137

ix

6. REFLECTIONS AND FURTHER IMPLICATIONS
6.1. Who first, Ecosystems or People?
6.2 .Population Growth
6.3. Priorities on Pmperty Rights and Land Use Policy
6.4. Technical Measures
6.4.1. Mimicking Nature; an Agrosilvopastoral Initiative
6.4.2. Local Organization and Inter-Institutional Coordination
6.4.2.1. The Generation of a Strategy
6.4.2.2.. Who May Pay for a the Implementation of a Mixteca‘s Plan?
6.4.2.2.1. Local and Governmental Role
6.4.2.2.2. International Scope
6.4.2.221. Bioprospacting and the Optional Value of the tdfGene Pool
6.4.2.222. Join-Implementation Projects
6.5. Feasibility of the Alternatives and Initiatives Presented.

7. LITERATURE CITED.

8. APPENDIX

139
139
141
144
146
147
149
149
151
152
153
153
155
156

157

169

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. A theoretical response of the tdf to natural and human disturbance, 15
based on observations done in the Mixteca Poblana Region by Sanchez (1998),
and Hypothetical Approaches of Murphy and Lugo( 1986).

Figure 3.1. The Mixteca Poblana Region, the tdt' distribution and the location of the
study site. 51

Figm'a 3.2. A digitalized image ofLos Amates Commrmity subwatershed where the
study efl‘orts were located 52

Figure 3.3. The general strategy followed in this research is outlined in the above
summarized diagram 59

Figure 4.1. The assessment of food tree richness through the transects let us identify them
among the tdl'. 74

Figure 4.2. Once found in its natural habitat, a plant was described as is shown above and
samples of its parts packed to identify its correspondent scientific name, and
drawings made. 75

Figure 4.3. An examle of food species with rmltipurpose features found and described
from samples collected in the transects. 82

Figure 4.4. A protected wild species of food An example of potential food crops found
in the edges, betwear open firllow lands and the tdf patches 86

Figure 4.5. The process of selection, protection, cultivation and taming of high quality
food plants fi'om the tdf. 89

Figure 4.6. Varietal distinction and phenotypic diversity based on the color of the fiuit
pulp in Stenocereus stellatus. 90

Figtn'e 4.7 . Tinbiriche plant. An Example of wild species present in the households of
the Los Amates Comrmmity because of its rmrltipla features 94

Figure 4. 8. The gathering of Pitaya from wild stand in the Mixteca Poblana Region. 103
Figure 4.9. Cactus fiuits commercialized in the Mixteca Poblana . 104

Figure 6.1. General strategy proposed to achieve the tdt' restoration and local people’s
economic development. 150

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. Comparative nutritional values of the Aguaje (Mauritia F Iexuosa). 21
Table 2.2. Mexican population growth and projections to year 2000. 43
Table 3.1. Indices ofmarginalimtion in the Mixteca Region 55

Table 4.1. Preliminary list of wild species with food value in the Mixteca Poblana region. 71

Table 4.2. Preliminary list ofwild species gathered as food by the rural cormmmities in the
Mixteca Poblana Region, ordered by local people's preferences and economic
importance. 77

Table 4.3. Preliminary list ofspecies with food value and their multiple uses viewpoint in
the cornrmmity called Los Amates 80

Table 4.4. Empirical levels to assess the degree of cultivation and domestication of some
native species in the Los Amates commrmity. 88

Table 4.5. Additional list of species used for food purposes, but not found in the wild 92
Table 4.6. Native tree species with food value formd in the housdrold's backyards 95

Table 4.7. Simplified livestock composition and utilizaltion in the Los Amates
Community. 98

Table 4.8. Staple food consumed at household level based on questionnaire responses,
at 93.2% cffraquencies 100

Table 4.9. Distrilmtion of household annual net income in the Los Amates community. 106

Table 4.10. Population structure by sex and age in the Los Amates comrnrmity estirnatad
byDecember 1997. 115

Table 6.1. Based on theoretical Arguments of Pearce and Moran (1995), and the
Methodological Approach of Kapplowitz (1997), The Total Value of the
Mixteca Poblana's tdf could be drawn as follows. 140

Table 6.2. Some of the projects to foster lasting food security and the restoration
of natural resource base. 151

xii

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. PROBLEM BACKGROUND

Despite the intense deforestation and habitat fiagmartation, Mexico still possesses 10 per cent
of all lifeforms known on Earth (Dirzo, 1990). For instance, up to 21,000 species of vascular
plants have bear identified (Rzedowski, 1978), and more than 3,000 of these species are
ardemic to its territory (Rzadowski, 1996). A significant part of this vegetal diversity is formd
in the tropical dry forest (tdl) where a number ofspacies are only used and maintained by
traditional communities (Guizar & Sanchez, 1991). To date no adequate assessment has been
made of the tdfs significance as a fragile reservoir of genetic diversity.

On the other hand, despite the fact that today 90% of both calories and proteins in the
human diet comesfiomplants, every day a srnallernumbar ofthemisbeingusad asfood, due
to the genetic rmiformity and monocropping required in high-tech agriculture (Johnston, 1995 ).
Thus, fi'om more than 300,000 species of plants known in the world (Walters & Keil, 1996),
lessthan 3000 are food crops; about 200 ofthose have bear domesticated and right now only
20 arestaplecrops(Brintnall&Comer, 1995). Thismeansthat outcrop speciesarebasedon a
small fraction of the total genetic variability in native populations

To a great axtart, modern agronomy is concemed about raising profits by improving
existing crops, and has neglected the existence of others and indirectly promoted their
disappearance (Hancock, 1992). Our narrow diets are not so much the result of choice, as of
accident, since humans rely on the plant species discovered and farmed by our neolithic

ancestors (Wilson, 1992).

Regarding plant species richness, the Mexican cormtryside offers a wealth of plant
species potentially usefirl for a wide variety of purposes Many of them, however, remain
unstudied, being ignored in some cases and even destroyed and eradicated in others. Lack of
basic research on indigenous species has prechrded their conservation and the promotion of
novel craps for sustenance. Kellert ( 1995:275) judges that “species once considered useless are
increasingly recognized as possessing great hidden potential vahra as human knowledge
expands to conserve the earth's vast genetic resource base, signifying repositories of
ardraordinary material benefit, sometimes tmimaginable even a few years before their
discovery”. The previous statement is illustrated by Dr. Wilson fi'om Harvard University
through the new wild maize species formd just before it became extinct in the 1970s This
Mexican plant named Zea diplopa-ennis is a wild relative of corn It is resistant to diseases and
mique among living forms of maize in possessing perennial growth "Its genes, if transferred
into domestic corn (Zea mayz) could boost domestic production aromrd the world by millions
ofdollars" (Wilson, 1992281). If it becomes extinct the entire world shall be irnpoverishad

On the other hand, despite the globalization of the food market, traditional
communities in remote areas of Mexico still collect and select outstanding wild species for food
utilimtion In most of these cases, these plants are known only locally. Tradition has even
indicated which fruits taste good, and it has also called for a rather well-developed selection
process through which some trees have bem completely domesticated Examples of such
traditional practices in the tdf are the fiuit trees commonly known as the tranche (Sanchez,
1985-1986). Tradition has brought up these fiuit trees with a hill range of local varieties which
can be distinguished by the fiuit's size, degree of sweetness, taste, color, shape and season of

maturity (Sanchez, 1991).

Peasant habits may also shed light on which other species have bear selected for human
consumption For example, the authentic traditional Mexican cuisine is rich in recipes involving
aromatic leaves, fiuits, seeds, roots, or fleshy parts of dozens of plants and trees that are found
in the tdl' (Sanchez, 1992).

Identifying, locating, and knowing the potential of food-yielding trees can be a
foundation for posing strategies to maintain genetic resources and to contribute to food
security in many depressed regions of the developing world The Mixteca Poblana Region is

one of these, and is the focus of this research.

1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

In mite of the tdf’s resistance, resilience and evolutionary capacity to cope with
adverse firctors, anthropogenic (human-modified) actions have led its rapid disappearance.
While deforestation is radng all Mexican ecosystems to the point of irreversible limits, the tdf
in the Alto Balsas Basin which includes the Mixteca Poblana region is dying out faster than any
other type of vegetation; there, the rates of aosion and desertification are the highest of the
country.

The deforestation rate in this type of vegetation reaches 306,000 hectares pa year
(SEMARNAP, 1996), and the soil erosion has been recorded at about 38 tons per hectare per
year (Martinez, 1987). This is caused not only by agricultural expansion, but also by
rmregulated firewood extraction, and overgraa'ng. Ifthe rate of deforestation has diminished in
racart years, it is possibly because ofinaccessibility ofthe remaining forested hilly mountains,

and also as consequence of low productivity of these eroded marginal lands

In the Mixteca region, degraded soils previously occupied by native ecosystems have
bear reduced in quality as a resource base owing to tdf fragmentation, biomass reduction,
trophic sinplification of food webs, and genetic variability losses caused by bottlenecks
experienced by many plant populations Ifthe trend continues, up to 25% of flora mecies could
be extinct by the year 2020 (Schemske, et. a1, 1995).

On the other hand, the tdt' destruction is a result of a complex web of unforttmate
circumstances, originating in historical, institutional, legal, natural, cultural, economic and
demographic transformations. The synergistic efi‘act of these have contributed to tdf
armihilation. Population growth, structural adjustments in the economy, selfish interests,
ignorance or the simple fight for survival could be included in this web of causalities. By now
thisecosystemisdistributedin dimerse andmarginalpatches, where lessthan0.5 % ofwhat
remains shows primary natural features (Sanchez, 1988).

In order to facilitate discussion this section is broken down in three strongly linked
parts: a) the role of human population growth mated in the cycle of poverty and high fertility
rates, b) the impact that this firctor has had on the tdf as an open access resource, and c) the

rapid disappearance of potentially usefirl local wild germplasm for food utilimtion.

a) Population growth, poverty and food insecurity

Explosive human population has led to natural resources degradation in many parts of
Latin America (Goodstein, 1995). At this point, the poverty-fertility cycle could be cited as the
primary cause of the tdt‘s depletion; as population grows, impacts have increased At present

Mixteca Region records one of the highest fertility rates of Mexico: 5.6 children per firmily

(World Bank, 1992). This phenomenon is rooted in a complex web of socio-economic factors
(For further explanation see Goodstein, 1995:452).

According to the CONAPO (1990) report, by 1996 the rural Mexican population
represartad 25% of the total Moreover, INEGI (1995) indicates that people under 14 years
old constitute 44% of the rural population, and their rate of growth is 2.4% per annum The
sources quoted above agree that rural people have lower incomes than the net minimnnn wage
of the cormtry. As a consequence, in the Mexican countryside 8.8 million of people live in
extreme poverty (those lacking enough food to avoid mahrutrition), and 10 million are in
moderate poverty (when people meet their basic needs for food but are tumble to satisfy other
requirements such as appropriate housing, health care, education, clothing and so on). The
average number of school years for the rural population is 3.3 years, compared with the
national average of 7 (SEMARNAP, 1996).

On the other hand, as the human population increased, accessibility to food supplies
amonglowincomefirmiliesbegantobeanismeinmanyruralregionsofMexico (UN, 1995;
IFPRI, 1996). For example, when in the 19705 the first signs of population erplosion started to
be a social concem, the Mexican government implemented a policy to amplify the agriculture
frontier by converting forest into fallow lands through a well-known program named
"Programa Nacional de Desrncntes" (National Program of Deforestationl), which lasted mail
the late 19805 (Ewell & Poleman, 1980).

Along with cropland increases at the expense of forest clearance, many irrigation
megaprojects were implemarted, and the government addressed its agricultmal policy towards
the “green revolution” promotion, subsidizing aha-cal fertilizers and harmful agro-toxics, as

well as other practices which may damage the environment.

However, after 1980, the annual growth of the agricultural sector fell to a rate of 2.5
percent compared to 4 percart in the former two decades. Since then, Mexico began to be a
net agricultural products importer (SEMARNAP, 1996). By 1997, water scarcity , as well as
erosion, pollution, genetic stocks reduction, and global warming effects became increasing
concems as potential constraints to food production.

In the particular case of the Mixteca region, the intensification of commerdal
agriculture, carried out in the few available fertile valleys under modern systems (dependart on
high amormts of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation), caused higher social costs by
environmental degradation An example is the case of the grormdwater table, which is
descarding at a rate of 50 centimeters per year (Data from 6 waterwells after 11 years of
observation by the author (1986- 1997).

NAFTA, for its part, has affected the process of aaple foods production even in these
rernotevillages ofthe Mixteca Poblana. It canbe saenthroughtheruralfirrmers’ inabilityto
compete with American and Canadian producers of maize, wheat and other products arch as
genetic-argineered crops Ironically, these many contrast with potential value of crop modes
hidden in the wild, or the maintenance of diversified local landraces that were formerly
crowd

In the rural areas of Mexico, traditional farmers induced to produce for export not
only do not improve their economic situation in real terms, but also traditional knowledge on
landrace cultivation and wild modes use is being lost. Moreover, the ofilfirrm negative
extemalities generated by commerdal orierrtad agriculture (arch as grand water pollution,
topsoil eroa'on, and salinimtion) are an additional threat to the auvival of valuable genetic

stocks Because of these economic hardships, the dwellers of rural Mixteca communities have

decreasing possibilities of acquiring vegetables and fiuits from outside. When rainfall is

insufiident, local famine forces them to emigrate.

b) The free access to a communally owned Tropical Dry Forest

One htmdred percent of the tdf lands are commonly owned resources. This so-called
social property regimen is under control of ejidw1 located near to forested areas During the
Agrarian Reform of the 19405, march attention was focused on allocating property rights on
high quality valley farmlands, leaving it to land reform benefidaries mrder communal
ownership. They also had free access to neighboring tdf-covered mormtains for grazing areas
or as land reserve.

Some decades later, fireled by sodoaconomic fitctors, the population multiplied, and a
desperately impoverished landless grorp appeared accelerating both land-use changes and
pressures on the communal forests Since then, complete upstream ecosystems have become
cultivated lands for the sake ofgrowing rain-fad aaple foods such as maize and beams (the
milpa system). From that moment a rampant idiosyncrasy stated: "the land is for whoever
slashes it"(Sanchez, 1992). Annual crops in hilly lands remlt in leaching of nutrients, dirrrinution
of yields, and eventually food-cropping sites are abandoned Afterwards, livestock grazing is
introduced, leading ultimately to erosion and desertification

Those factors, along with the hardship caused by the economic structural adjustments '

of the last decade to fosta a free-market oriented economy, created an imperative for

 

‘ Ej‘idarario is a small farmer (peasant) organized in a community based group, called an ejido. Originally
ejidatarios could own Ejidal lands collectively.They could cultivate their plots collectively or individually,
but not sell nor alienate them. In 1991, a constitutional amendment allowed ejidatarios to transfer their
land ownership from collective tenure to individual privately owned land for sale.

7

increasing consumption and the struggle for greater material possessions (Pinstrop & Pandya,
1996).

Under a raductionist-productionist premise, transforming ecosystems into cash as
quickly as possible made sense within the competitive logic of the western welfare perspective:
"more consumption is better"(Pearce, at al. 1995; George, 1992). Thus, manufactured goods
that a decade ago were hrxurios for tdf people, became urgent needs at the exparse of the free
access forest. This vision also changed traditional diets, arbsistence economy, and cultural
values of nature, in the direction of consumerism, materialism, and higher self-interest (Black,
1991).

In anmnary, in this cash-poor, germplasm-rich region, the rates of deforestation and
land use conversion for cash crops are a paradoxical example of current economic
contradictions (Moffe & Carroll, 1994, and Vandermeer & Perfecto, 1995). The clearance of
the tdf is simply another regrettable example of the "tragedy of the commons" generated by
sodoaconomric inequity. It rearlts in food insocruity of a growing population in this place

where resotn'co degradation imposes a serious threat to a large number of poor people.

c) Germplasm stocks: tiny islands of wealth in a sea of poverty

Demite the tremendous disturbance and genetic erosion ofthe tdf, it is considered that
scattered successional groves may still maintain modes which have the potential to restore the -
moiled lands to some extent through cultivation of the most economically valuable, aggressive,
and hardy modes

The tdf relics may still offer a reliable richness of modes potentially usefirl for a wide

variety of pmposes For example, some fast-growing trees used locally as firelwood have

recorded some of the highest rates of calorific power (up to 5000 calories per gram) (Sanchez,
1990, and 1997; Flores and Sanchez, 1986). Other multipurpose tree modes have palatable
leaves and protein levels similar to corn stubble and close to alfirlfir (F arfan, Sanchez &
Moreno, 1991). Dozens of modes are used in traditional modicirre, which comprise about 90%
ofthe local ethnopharmacopeia (Guizar & Sanchez, 1991). The sheer beauty of others modes

is valued for omamental uses (Sanchez, 1992b).

1.3. ASSUMPTIONS OF THE RESEARCH

The initiative to investigate the relationship between The Mixteca Poblana region
peasarm and the tdt‘ originated from an intuitive belief that the low-income Mixtacos have
developed intricate nature-culture linkages where native plants play the main role. It was also
assumed that local people still possess a great deal of knowledge about the useful indigenous
modes on which their livelihood rests This belief is apportad by a former study on firewood
consumption that the author carried out some years ago in a community close to the present
area of study. Based on the review of ofiidal reports, literature review, interviews with oficials
of different govemmental and indepardont agendas, and the author's observations, this
research relies on the following assumptions:

1) Traditional knowledge about use ofnative plants is being lost by the introduction ofnew
economic relationships of production, arch as larger amormts of firewood extraction for
cashto satisfy a growing market distant fromthe Mixteca Region. The presames exerted
by an increasing need to obtain higher material possessions pushes the monetization of
native diversity, transforming traditional forest products into marketable commodities, a

fact that ignores indirect vahros of ecosystem fimction

2)

3)

4)

5)

The introduction and greater accessibility to processed foods (packed bread, canned meats,
chips and intensive monocroppod products imported as grains or nationally prodrrcad by
transnational companies), as well as the greater access to information about the western
lifestyle are causing the substitution of local products for foreign ones, and changing diets,
traditional farming systems and cultural values. All of these economic changes toward a
free market-oriented economy are impacting the organizational, aconomric, sodal and
ecological conditions of local commrmities.

The rmcertainty of land tenure as well as the open access to communal tdf areas is
encouraging exhaustion of the local natural resource base. Indiscriminato falling of trees for
firahavood, combined with irrcreasod grazing presarros, are irrcroasing soil erosion, reduction
of rmdargrormd water rochargaz, destroying biological diversity, reducing atmomhoric
carbon sequestration, and wasting potartial life-apport resources, which if they were
correctly used, might have generated higher income for local residents

Many native modes could be cultivated under organic and sustainable ways without
requiring pest control, chemical fertilizers or irrigation. Moreover, this type of "wild crop”
can resist fire, droughts, poor soil conditions, and even browsing. There is enough evidence
fiom other parts of the world to support the asarmption that genetic resources with food
value deserve to be studied and moaarrod since their conservation is urgent.

Unless govemment provides the policy incentives, the market opportlmities, and the
wherewithal for peasants to protect the forest and to irnprovo their standards of living,

inadequate stewardship of land may be expected.

 

2 According to the UN report (1996), water availability per capita has declined in Latin America from 105
to 28.3 thousands of cubic meters by the year 2000. Arable land is also declining in this region.

10

1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Therefore, in the fiamework of these assumptions, the objectives of this research were:

1) To identify the most important wild species that local commnmitios in the Mixteca region
gather fi'om the tdf to be used as food, and that to analyze their sodo-oconomic, cultural
and ecological meaning and vahre to local people.

2) To determine the frequency of these modes in the natural areas where they typically grow,
and their secondary vahros and fimctions

3) To describe the processes of selection and cultivation of the most important modes which
have been cropped in recent years ill incipiart Emily orchards utilizing traditional
knowledge.

4) To idartify the most promising wild modes with higher food vahre and resistance to harsh
conditions, to be used as non-convartional crops in marginal lands

5) To find out the main forces and Ectors influencing the tropical dodduous foroa
destruction, in locations where potentially useful modes grow.

6) Based on this information, to propose some viable altematives for improvemart of
conservation of the W relics from the permoctivo of ecosystem managemmt, ocoforestry
and agrosilvopastoral systems, and for restoring degraded soils in hilly areas by using native

germplasm and local knowledge.

1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Biological and sodoaconomic variables related to the importance of wild modes have
been set up according to the research objectives, and from these the following list of research

questions was developed for this study.

11

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

3)

Which are the main aboriginal food plants that Mixtecan villagers gather as sources of food
fiom the remaining tdf'? What are the economic, cultural, and ecological meaning of these
plant modes for the dwellers of these rural commlmities?

What is the degree of selection, protection, or cultivation of these aboriginal modes?

What is the fiequarcy of those modes under different Ectors of human disturbance, and
what are the altemativo uses by local peasants?

How do local people handle, manage and exploit these modes, and what is their currart
condition in areas of natural distribution? What do peasants know about food trees and the
managemart of those genetic resources?

From whae are these modes gathered, how, how much, and whar?
Whichspodoscouldbe selected aspotorrtial cropsforirnprovinglocaldietsandtholocal
economy by cultivating thorn in marginal lands?

What is the attitude of local people toward more intensive cropping of the mrost promising
modes as a more arstainable way of harvesting?

What kind of policy initiatives, technical measures, and economic strategies are needed to
harmonize individual peasant interests with sodotal interest to maintain (in situ

conservation) gene pools of food modes?

12

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Recognizing that the ths genetic resources used for food cannot be comprehended in
a single discipline, since they cross over difi‘erent fields of study, this chapter inchrdes the
following eleven topics: 1) The Mexican tropical dry forea, 2) Food germplasm: culture and
tradition, 3) Food from the forest and assodatod services fiom traditional ecosystem
management, 4) Genetic resources from the tropical dry forest, 5) Conservation at genetic
levels: In situ vaars ex situ, 6) The patent system and wild germplasm stocks, 7)
Domestication process, 8) Traditional ecological knovvlodgo, 9) Ethnobotany studies, 10)
Poverty, population and production, and 11) Fostering local food production These arbtopics
contain a review and literature analysis related to the all as a gene pool of food resources, as
well as some examples of similar studies made in other countries and successful projects on
cultivation and protection of native modes The main forces jeopardizing native ecosystems

andlocaloconomriesarealsodiscussod

2.1. The Mexican Tropical Dry Forest

Mexico has great vegetal diversity, and its existence has been closely related to its
cultural legacy. A significant part of Mexican flora is contained in the tropical dry forest,
referred to as tdt'. This ecosystem was originally named in this manner by Trochain (1957)
according to Rzodowski (1978), but it is also known as tropical deciduous forest (Leopold,
1950), deciduous seasonal forest (Board, 1955) semi-evergreen or monsoon forest (Gerhardt
& Hyttebom, 1992) or low deciduous jungle. The tdf is the driest of all tropical forests around

the world (Miranda, 1963; Rzodowski, 1978 and 1979), and has been a kind of transitional-

l3

bufl‘er boundary or ecotone between tropical rain forests, and temperate zones or savanna
conditions (Guizar & Sanchez, 1991).

Where the tdf still exists, the most distinctive characteristic of this biome is its
contrasting physiognomy (physical appearance in the landscape), marked by a climatic pattern
of intense green canopies during the short wet season, and grey tones during the prolonged dry
season (Miranda, 1941). During the autumn, before the trees lose their leaves, they turn into a
multicolored pattern; from intense red, yellow and orange tones, rmtil they reach the
characteristic gray of the fall. Although there are some evergreen species (i. e. Ficus petiolaries,
a tdf keystone species of wild fig), from November to May, the landscape has an arid look
which does not correspond with its tropical climatic type Awo (the driest of all tropical
clinnrtes). characterized as warm-wet with rains in the summer (Sanchez, 1983).

In the tdf the canopies of dominant species are convex and flat, and sometimes wider
than the height of the tree (the typical umbrella shape). There are typically three canopy layers.
However, when the forest has not been altered, only two dominant strata are present, one
conposed of high-sized trees, and a second layer of smaller trees and shrubs In many taxa
(mecies, genera or families), leaves and flowers are never present at the same time (Rzedowski,
1978)

While the tdf recovery from drastic human disturbance is possible, it is a lengthy
process (Murphy & Lugo, 1986; Sabogal, 1992). Tree composition of mccessional stands is
extremely different. Secondary forests become chiefly dominated by legume shrubs (Guimr,
1995), and other opportunistic species from drier habitats that colonize the empty niches make
it a low-stature forest, distinct from the original (Sanchez, 1991). It is described in the figure

2.1.

14

 

 

PRIMARY TROPICAL

DRY FOREST 8‘“
‘I-‘irowood
extraction
‘Grnzing
ALTERED FOREST ‘G-thorins
[ 4* m...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NATURAL
ranrunaarrou DISTURBANCE
FOREST CLEARANCE ‘ “'“n”
FOR ANNUAL errors '
Prolonged
““5”" SECONDARY ”'12:“ f“:
SUCCESSIONAL FOREST \ $ "' 4
¢ Thicket of Erosion
SPINE & CACTI Acacia app. '
maroruuu. *
Forestry- ,
9 Beautification
. proocceea

 

 

 

 

 

 

3
PA [ TROPICAL nay roars r ]
(SAVANNA-LIKE
cormmorrs) 3m ROCK

Figure 2.1. A theoretical response of the tdl' to natural and human disturbances, based
on observations of the Mixteca Poblana region (Sanchez, 1998) and hypothetical

approaches of Murphy and Lugo (1986).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tdfs trees grow more slowly than those of the tropical rain forest. Furthermore,
they are generally small and branch out in the first meters of height. Thus, they are not good for
the timber industry, which is known for intensively exploiting and extracting big volumes of
trees to make the greatest profits (Rzedowski, 197 8).

On the other hand, the tdf is perhaps the most resilient of all tropical forests It is
adapted to survive five to eight months of dry season, as well as severe cyclic droughts, and
devastating natural forest fires, but sensitive to human encroachment (Sanchez, 1988). The
mean temperature is 23 °C with an average of 750 to 1200 mm of rainfall fitlling chiefly during
the mmmer (from June to September). Nmety percent of that precipitation is characterized by
being of short-duration and high-intensity. Frost conditions may sormtimes occur during the

winter, and day and night temperatures can fluctuate fiom -2 to 30 °C (Sanchez, 1983 ).

15

Tree defoliation during the dry period represents the most evident adaptative strategy,
as it saves water from transpiration. The tree leaves are predominately pinnate composed with
small pinnas In addition to this, most trees have short leaves Several species have evolved
outstanding structures for resisting the long dry season, such as deep root systems to reach the
water table, or for creating huge tmdergrormd deposits of water (Miranda, 1941). The Ceiba
aesculrjfolia exemplifies the latter case, presenting edible roots containing plenty of water
(Sanchez, 1988). Some trees have photosynthetic bark and separable paper-like cuticles to
avoid dryness (Miranda, 1947).

The tdf trees have been called facultative hestenol‘ydric species (Gerhardt &
Hyttebom, 1992). Experiments carried out in Mexico and Colombia have shown that if the
water arpply is continuous, some species suffer only brief defoliation periods, and soon
recover their leaves (Walter, 1987; Guizar & Sanchez, 1991). They can even generate flower
structures and produce fiuits earlier (Miranda, 1942a). This is the case with Byrsonima
aussg’folia, a wild species which is being grown in small orchards along the Mexican Pacific
coast With irrigation, this species is able to produce its delicate fiuits two or three times a year,
rather than once as it does in its natural habitat (Sanchez, 1990).

By contrast the dry season does not remit in a complete repose for these trees In this
harsherrvironment, thedryseasonisan active season for some species, since many ofthem
begin to bloom immediately afier the fill], and seed production of some trees can occur during
the winter time (Miranda, 1942a, 1942b). During the spring, even though trees still do not have
leaves, many trees begin to bloom, which shows a bizarre contrast between the bare canopies

and the crowned colorfirl nectarimns of the tops The flower petals have almost no stomas,

l6

possessing a cuticular respiration; thus, the loss of water during the blooming period is lessened
(Walter, 1977).

Another of the less understood issues of the Mexican tdf is the speed and seasonality of
the biomass growth (Sabogal, 1992). Mexican’s tdf, apparently does not depend entirely on
the precipitation, but rather relies on the trees’ own physiology. Many trees resume their
growth period before the rainy season arrives, when the environmental conditions are not yet
favorable (Miranda, 1947, Rzedowski, 1979). Therefore, scholars have asked ‘from where do
the trees obtain the needed chemical substances and water to form tissues?’ (Miranda, 1947).
This is one of the challenges in need of explanation, and important applications could result
which might help cope with water stress in cultivated plants (Sanchez, 1992a). With regard to
organicmaterials, it seemsthat alltheparenchyma ofthe morerecentlyformed stems servesas
a enormous storage of reserve substances Water is probably taken from noctumal steam
currents (Miranda, 1943 ).

Thetdfalsodifl‘ersfiomthetropicalrainforestinthatagreatnumbaoftrees
regenerate by sprouting, which gives a higher resilience and a firster recovery capacity than
other forests in the firce of perturbations such as droughts or natural forest fires Although
sexual reproduction is not rare, several trees show a five-year cycle of seed production, since
seedproductionislimited mostyears, or seeds showaverylowviability. Thisisapparerrtly

associated with insect outbreaks, droughts, and herbivory (Sanchez, 1991b).

2.2. Food Germplasm: Culture and Tradition
While some anthropologists have named the ancient dwellers of Mexico "the Men of

Maize" or "The Culture of Maize”(Pazcka, 1992), the truth is that when the Spaniards arrived

17

in Central Mexico, they could see that beyond the com there was a huge diversity of plants and
animals that native cultures wisely used as food, medicine, omaments, rituals, mergy, and
construction materials (Harlan, 1992, Cruces, 1986; Estrada & Aguirre, 1992). An example of
the cultural richness involving Mesoamerican flora, as written in the ‘Popol Vuh’, the sacred
book of the Mayan’s culture, is given by Harlan (1992:34), who translated and quoted the
following: “In this manner they were filled with pleasure because they had discovered a lovely
land firll ofdelights, abundant in yellow cars and white ears (ofmaize) and also abundant in
(two kinds of) cacao and innumerable fiuits of mamey (Lucuma mammosa), chirimoya
(Annona chirr'molia), Jocote (Spondias pwpurea), tranche (Byrsom'ma crassifolr’a), white
npote (Casimr'roa edrdis), and honey”. The statement continues telling that foods of Paid] and
Cayala (the worshipped deities) were abundant and delicious Incidentally, the fiuit trees
mentionedarestillformdinnaturalareasinthe studysiteor cultivatedtraditionally.

Although maize, beans, peppers, and tomatoes (among other well-domesticated crops)
were the base of Mexican indigenous food mpply, their every-day diets were complemented
substantially by other plants and animals taken fiom the wild, since they were part-time
gatherers and hrmters as local residents of the Mixteca Poblana region still are (Sanchez, 1990).
According to archaeological evidence, the prehispanic food systems in Mexico might have
inchrded more than 200 species and thousands of their varieties, fi'om at least 2000 species that
they knew and handled appropriately, as is documented in many codices (scripture), art traces
and tombs (Dr. Desiderio Xochitiotzi,. pers Comm. ). Thus, Mexico is recognized as one of the
most prolific centers of origin and domestication of food plants and “Scientists are
increasingly discovering that what they had thought were wild resources and areas are

actually the products of coevolutionary relationships between humans and nature.

18

Ethnobotanical studies of plant use have revealed management practices for many of the
species that have been planted and transplanted. Ethnoecological studies have shown how
fire, soil modification, selected cutting, and planting have actually modified landscapes”

(Posey, l996:7).These aspects that will be discussed in firrther detail in the section 2.7.

2.3. Wild Foods and associated services from traditional ecosystem management

“The most fimdamental benefit we derive from the other species with whom we share
the planet is in our food. In subsistence econonries, the range of food harveaed fi'om the wild
is much wider” (Kunin and Lawton, 19961285). “In many Afiican countries, wild food is an
important part of diet, especially for the poor. In Ghana, for example, three-quarters of the

population depends largely on wild foods such as fish, caterpillars, maggots, and snails In

Zaire, three-quarters of the animal protein that people eat comes fiom wild sources In
developed cormtries the vahre of wild food may be tiny compared with the vahre of the
industries that grow up around hrmting and fishing” (Cairncross, 1992249). “Even in the
‘developed’ world, where most of the foods we eat come from domesticated species, our food
supplies are critically dependent on wild populations" For instance, in the apparmtly maize
dominated agricultural systems of Bungomo in Kenya, people consume at least 100 difl‘erent
species of wild fruits and vegetables in 70 genera and 35 families (Kunin and Lawton,
1996:285).

‘Torests are a source of food, fire], and firrniture for the world’s 500 million of forest
dwellers ‘Tecalpeoplemayusewildnatureasaninmortant source offoodthatmaywellpass
through no market and so not appear in national accormts Without wild protein, firewood,

medicines, and building materials, though, people would be poorer; and it is possible to

19

calculate with some precision just how rmrch poorer they would be” (Cairncross, 1992:49).
For example, one study by the New York Botanical Garden of the net present value of firm,
latex, and timber from a patch of Amazon rain forest looked at the price of these products in
local markets “Using these vahres, it reckoned that a hectare of forest was worth $9,000 (but
only $3,000 if destroyed and used for cow pasture). The timber alone was worth only 10% of
the total, and if cutting down a tree for timber killed latex or fiuit trees, the gain from logging
was wiped out” (Cairncross, 1992:49).

Producers, geneticists and researchers have increased interest in even the gathering of
tropical wild fiuits The case of Brazil nut (Betholletia excel”) is an outstanding example.
This40 meterhigh tree fromtheAmazonRegionproducesup to 1000 pormds ofnuts eachper
year (Earthscan, 1985). The fi'uit contains 17% protein, 7% carbohydrates, 66% oil and a
significant amormt of vitamin B (FAO,1988).

Thesamesituationisseenina couple ofwildpalms, Elaer'sguineensis andSabal
madman, which produce edible parts, and which are sources of vegetable oils used in new
food industries for getting hrbricants and margarine (Sanchez, 1997). The residues fiom the
harvest of these are rich fodder for cattle and organic fertilizers The leaves of a plant named
Stevia. are another remarkable case. They have been used by rmtold generations of Paraguayan
natives for sweetener, and recently Japanese researchers have found that its chemical
constituents do not have calories It is not dangerous for humans, but it is 300 times sweeter
than sugar (Earthscan, 1985). Recent research has demonstrated that protein taken out of the
leaves ofplants not conventionally utilized as food or even better than that obtained from fidr

(Wilson, 1992). It can be incorporated in human diets or for feeding domestic animals.

20

Examples like these are formd in thousands of species, now only used by local
comnnmities or under risk of disappearing They represent a possibility for protecting this
planet from firture starvation and environmental degradation (FAO, 1989). One of the most
amazing exanrples of the potential of wild species is the Peruvian Aguaje (Maufitiaflmaosa),
a tree whose nutritious vahre is presented in Table 2.1.

According to Ruiz (1991), the economic vahre of the Aguaje is tremardously
significant in Peru. Hrmdreds of people depend on this fruit by selling it in the local market
(income and jobs) and by consumption of it. In addition, the species supports another source of
food for humans: the "srni", a coleopteran larvae that develops in the filler or dead tnrnk,
whichisenjoyedbylocaldwellers TheAguaje, alongwithotherwildfiuittrees,playsan
important role in the ecological web of the tropical rain forest (Keatin, 1982). Traditional
ecosystem management (also called ‘cultural landscapes’ by UNESCO since 1992), exchrdes

timber extraction (commercial), except for building materials and firel

Table 2.1. Comparative nutritional values of the Aguaje (Maufitiaflauosa).

 

 

Nutriem Aguaje Average of 10 most
lOOgrofedible part consumedfi'uits

Calories (Kcal) 283.00 59.00
Water (%) 54.00 85.00
Proteins (gr) 8.20 0.7
Lipids (oilngr) 31.0 0.00
Carbohydrates(gr) 18.70 12.78
Mineral salts

Calcium(mg) 74.00 14.00

Phosphorous(mg) 27.00 25.00

Irm(mg) 0.70 0.50
Vitamins in grams

A (carotene) 4.58 0.15

Bl (Thiamin) 0.12 0.04

B2 (Riboflavin) 0.17 0.06

BS (Niacin) 0.30 0.22

C (ascorbic acid) 0.00 2.00

 

Source: Ruiz, (1991:12).

21

Of course wild food species protected and managed traditionally also have an
enormous vahre in making possible other kinds of economic benefits from their ecosystem
fimctions that are diflicult to quantify. For instance, tree roots systems stabilize soils, recycle
nutrients and deaderr nm-ofl from rainfall Moreover, “Wild trees may pollinate domestic ones;
wild birds may keep down pests. Ifeither go, the cost will be lost crops or money spent on
developing man-made alternatives” (Cairncross, 1992:50). Coming back to the Brazil nut
examle, the tree needs a particular type of bee (euglossine) to pollinate it, which also
pollinates epiphytic orchids living in the canopies of this tree (Ortiz, 1995 ). Moreover, a forest-
dwelling rodent called the agouti opens the hard nutshell and thereby allows the tree seed to
germinate. “As the bee needs pollen from a forest orchid to mate, and the orchids need insects
or hummingbirds to pollinate them in turn, the continued production of brazil nuts needs
enough forest to accommodate bees, insects, hummingbirds, orchids, and agoutis”(Caimcross,
1992:50).

In summary, as Cairncross, (1992:51) asserts: “Mon of the uses for wild nature accrue
locally. A price can be put on them without too much ingenuity. But there are other, less
quantifiable ways in which natural resources may have considerable vahre to the human race as
awhole,butwhereitisdifliculttotmnthatvalueinto eamingsforthecormtrythathasto

presave species”.

2.4. Genetic resources of the tropical dry forest
For local comrrnmities with a subsistarce economy such as those in the Mixteca
Regimthetdfhasforcentmiesbeenthebestandtheonlysource ofenergy, medicinal

resources, construction materials, pasture, and of course, food (Sanchez, 1983). Local dwellers

22

have learned through traditional knowledge to recognize and identify the morphological,
seasonal and productive traits of many species used for livelihood Moreover, although several
species from the Mexican cormtryside were domesticated by ancestor cultures, many rural
residarts such as the Mixtecos have continued to be part-time gatherers and hrmters, and the
range offoods they harvest from the tdfmay be wider than only a few as a last resort during
stress times (Sanchez, 1998). Thus, in the scope of this study, it is assmned that the concept of
genetic resourca is a cultural approach regarding the direct, indirect, optional and intrinsic
vahres andusesthatpeople conferonthe tdffoodstufl‘s or “biological capital" as it is called by
Goodstein (1995), and Pearce & Moran (1995).

By the same token, this dissertation assumes that the tdf possesses valuable genetic
resources, and that those genetic resources may consist of a variety of shapes, behavioral,
physiological, and biochemical components in those food species, since as Mallet (1996:3)
asserts: “Underiying the pherrotypic diversity is a diversity of genetic bhreprints, nucleic acids,
that specify phenotypes and direct their development”.

To clarifyhowthe tdf‘sgareticresourcesapplytothisresearch, it might beusefirlto
define some concepts such as that of resource. A resource is something valuable as it is now, or
by its firture potentialities as a raw material or through transformation (Randall, 1987). At any
instance, a resource is something to which one turns for assistance in difliculty, in the absence
of a usual means or source of supply (Oxford Dictionary). By applying Peach and Constantin ‘s
(1972) definition ofthe word resource, it can be said that it does not refer exclusively to a
thing (e. g. a tree or edible fiuit), or a substance (e. g. DNA, or riboflavin in Yucca tree flowers),
but to a fimctr‘on; the role that a matter, substance or biological unity may perform, or operate

to guide specific instructions to generate, create or evolve living things

23

On the other hand, the concept of genetic implies genetic materials, which refers to
genetic information contained in the different levels of biological diversity. But what does
biological diversity and genetic information mean? In order to understand how these concepts
fit this dissertation , fiuther details will be given. First of all, biological diversity or biodiversity
can be defined as “the variety of organisms considered at all levels, fi'om genetic variants
belonging to the same species through arrays of species of garera, firmilies and still higher
taxonomic levels; inchrdes the variety of ecosystems, which conrprise both the comnrrmities of
organisms within particular habitats and the physical conditions rmder which they live” (Wilson,
1992:393)

Other authors like Sande et al.(1992) add that biological diversity embraces the
structural and fimctional variety (i.e. processes such as energy and nutrient cycling), of life
forms at genetic, population, species, comrmmity, and ecosystem levels Nos (1990), goes
finther and says that biodiversity has three interconnected properties: 1) composition level
which inplies the variety of elements (i.e. number of different tree species and their
frequencies), 2) functional level which represents processes and roles that each living
conponent plays through their biochemical and evolutionary adaptations, and 3) structural
level which refers to the patterns of elements in a spatial and temporal scale.

Gaston (1996), putting together the arguments of several scientists, conchrdes that
biodiversity (or biological diversity) may recognize three fimdamental divisions: 1) the genetic
diversity (the molecular gene level), 2) the species diversity organized taxonomically, and 3) the
ecosystem diversity. The same author, quoting Soule (1991), indicates that for conservation

purposes five hierarchies are clearly established: 1) Genes, 2) Populations, 3) Species, 4)

24

Comrrnmities (assemblages of species), and 5) Ecosystems; in other words fiom local
landscapes to the whole biosphere.

In terms of garetic diversity (the first level cited in the previous paragraph), Mallet
(1996: 13), asserts that, “the diversity of life is fimdammtally genetic, rather than matter of
species accounts”. Therefore, what is really important to measue is the diversity of bhreprints,
rather than their arrangement into taxonomic units And according to him, genetic diversity1 is
the most significant level when genetic resources are the core of study. Moreover, in genetic
diversity several hierarchies apply from molecular structures to genesz, which dictate the
variety of morpholog'cal, behavioral, physiological and biochemical ways of living of organisms
(Halfler and Ezeurra, 1996).

Genetic diversity is a measure ofthe genetic structure within a given population as a
fimction of the number and fiequency of alleles per gene in a certain gene pool (all the genes in
a population at a particular time which flow through that population). Thus, genetic diversity
can be usedto reflect the integration of diversity at individual loci into nnrltilocus genotypes, a
process mediated primarily by the mode of reproduction (Rieger, et al. 1991209). However,

accord'mg to Mallet (1996:25), three basic components surmnarize genetic diversity.

 

‘Neverthehss,asMallet(l996)explains,thereisafimctional hierarchywithingerreticdiversitxaclassifieation
dclmmmghmmmfifismmgeneficmndsmm.Thwemgens(mdmenfifiemm
number of alleles and frequencies), chrornosorues, cells, organisms, local population, races, species, and higher
taxa Altlnrghinpractice,“thegeneistheonly‘mremritofselection’andthespeciesistheonlyrsal
taxon”(Mallet, 1996:14), mostlyconservation biologyspecialistsacceptthatall levels d‘ taxonomic classifismion
areimponantinevolutionarytenns.

2 Amneisageneticinstruction ltiscontaincdintheDNA(seldominRNA).TheDNAisasingleMruses,
then it is ribonucleic acid) «double-stranded (deoxynbonucleic acid) in higher organisms. Genes specify
proteins andproteinsformthebasisof physiology, development, appearance andbehavior of anorganisrn
(Riegeretal, 1991). Therefore, “genetic material mustfulfill atleastt‘wfimctions: l)toserveasatemp|atefor
itsownrquicatioMautowalyticfimction),and2)toprovideatemplateforthesynthesisd‘otherclassesd
macromolecules(specificallyproteins),i.e. supplythestructuralandregrlatoryinformationitcontainsinthe
protein-symhesizingmachinery ofthe cells (heteroeatalytic firnction)”(Riegeretal. 1991: 213).

25

l) “the number (richness), of alleles,
2) their relative abrmdance (evenness), and
3) their distinctivertess”.

Each biological species, tntder natural conditions, keeps a balance among these three
components through population dynamics (Wright, 1980). Grumbine (1994) asserts that the
population, not the species, is the hierarchy level at which conservation efforts have to be
addressed, since genetic diversity as an informative parameter of the genetic structure within
populations, and is a fimction of the nmnber and frequency alleles per gerte in a certain gerte
pool (Hancock, 1992).

And finally, what does the species mean? Nowadays it is a debatable subject,
particulariy for geneticists and conservation biology experts Ridley (1993) has difl‘erentiated
five types of species The biological species (a set of organisns that can interbreed among each
other), the cladistic species ( seert as a lineage of populations betweert two phylogenetic branch
points or speciation events), the ecological species (a set of organisns adapted to a particular,
discrete set of resources or niches iii the environment), the phenetic species ( a set of organisms
that are phonetically similar to one another), and the recognition species (a set organisns that
recognize one another as potential mates; they have a shared mate recognition system).
However, as he explains, “the biological species concept is the most widely used and applied
definition, refmred to by a Linnaean binomial” (Ridley, 19932641), such as Pileus mexr'cwms
thatidentifiesto thefiuitplant commonly lmown as ‘wildpapaya’ inthe studysite, and
therefore the biological species concept is used throughout this research

In addition, species are in fact composed of multiple individuals comprising

populations A “Local Population” (or demo), is a group of individuals of the same biological

26

species able to interbreed at random, and every member is equally likely to mate with any other
member of such group, regardless of location This is an often utilized but idealistic concept
given the difficulty to delimit it under such terms. For that reason the term metapopulation is
preferred, and this is considered as a network of populations that have some degree of
intermittertt or regular gene flow among geographically separated tmits (Mefl‘e & Carrel,

1994).

2.5. In situ versus ex situ conservation: genetic and biology levels

During the last 25 years greater efforts have beert made to preserve native plant
germplasn irt repositories (ex situ) rather than in natural populations (irt situ). Private breeders
and centralized gave-mt agencies (e. g. Intemationai Board for Plant Gertetic Resources,
with headquarters irt Rome, and the National Germplasn System with headquarters in
Bettsville, Maryland), have invested irt task forces to collect germplasn of wild relatives of our
common commercial crops (USDA-NPGS, 1996). Those living collections are stored in
Centers of Gatetic Conservation, where seeds, cells, or contplete plants are systematically
preserved. However, since many fiuit, nut and landscape varieties lose their varietal iderttity
whentheyare soredasseedthisgermplasnnnrstbepreservedaslivingplantsntclonal
germplasn repositories, where under tissue culture methods a disease-free whole plartt is
developed flour a snail plant part (U SDA-NPGS, 1996).

As has best seen, biodiversity is a complex phertomerta and it is not possible to
circurnscribe it ittto a rigid definition Furthermore, genes, species and ecosystem diversity have
economic, optional and intrinsic values which, due to difl‘erent causes, result irt resource

conflicts For that reason, many authors call biodiversity conservation a crisis discipline (Mefl‘e

27

and Carroll, 1994), since the scope of genetic resource loss is so huge that changes caused in
the composition, structure, and fimction in ecosystems may be irreversible. The negative
repercussions may collapse economic systems and disrupt human development to such
extremes of serioustess as is being recorded in Indonesia and aggravated by climatic
phenomenon of E1 N'mo (Barber, 1998). In the context of a discussion about strategies to
protect, preserve and restore living assets, a tremendous debate exists not only about
nomenclatrn'al definitions but also about the most suitable ways of conserving genetic and
biological resources: in situ vs ex situ conservation

In developing strategies of conservation, Goodman (1990) divides genetic resources
into two groups, genetic stock and gennplasm stocks His arguments are quite appropriate to
this stage of discussion, and can eniighterr differences between conservation genetics and
conservation biology, and how in situ and ex situ conservation strategies are aimed “Genetic
stocks consist of various emerimental marker stocks, translocation and inversion stocks,
linkage stocks, and nurtations lines used in experimental work, oflen of a very basic nature. In
contrast, germplasm stocks usually consist offarmer varieties, land races accessions, and wild
and woody of feral relatives of economically important or potentially important plartt and
animaimecies Germplasnstocksmaybeusedntbasicresearch,brntheymostfiequenflyare
used for applied research involving, at least conceptually, improved plant and animal lines,
breeds, varieties, or hybrids Gatetic stocks e. g. Drosophr’la or the jimson weed Datum, are
mrchmorecostlyanddifliculttomaintainthanaregermplasnstocks Manygaretic stocks
also require more expertise and patience to maintain, however, germplasn stocks require more

mace for cultivation and storage” (Goodman, 1990:11-12). This way, genetic stocks are more

28

likely to be stored in genebanks (ex situ conservation), while germplasn stocks in ecological
reserves or through peasants’ care who have traditionally cultivated them (irt situ).

On the other hand, the .concept of germplasn, chiefly focused on plant mecies and
food crops, has been defined as "the genetic material which forms the physical basis of inherited
qualities and is transrtitted from generation to generation by the germ ce " (Rieger, et a1
1991:232). Germ cells or gametes are any of the reproductive (generative pollen ovules, and
seeds irt flowering plants) cells in a rtnrlticelluiar organisn, as distinct fi'om somatic cells
However, as is well known, somatic cells are also able to regenerate new complete individuals
(cloning) with similar genetic constitution Besides germplasn may be used as a synonym for
genetic resources, just as plant diversity is compared with species richness (Gaston, 1996).
However, as was discrimd, the mecies level is not clearly defined in diversity either of
bhreprints or phenotypes (Ridley, 1993).

To visualize the importance that corporations and govemmerttai agatcies have given to
ex situ conservation, the case ofthe rice serves as an example. As the Cattro Intemacional para
el Mejoramiento del Maiz y del Trigo (CIMMYT) in Mexico, or the International Crops
Research Irtstitute for the Semi-arid and Tropics (ICRISAT) woridwide, the Intemationai Rice
Research Institute (IRRI), has been working on the rescue and preservation of rice germplasn
Thousands of rice germplasn samples have beat collected by the Intemationai Rice
Genebank(IRG). This geneka was planned to be part of the Intemationai Network of ex-situ
collections, through the Material Transfer Agreement (MT A), organized to protect germplasn
exchange among rice scientists throughout the world, and above all, to avoid an inappropriate
use by commercial firms (Hettel, 1996). The Intemationai Network for Genetic Evahration of

Rice (INGER) promotes global exchange and assessnent of the more than 40,000 breeding

29

lines and varieties since its formdation irt 1975. Until 1995, national breeding programs in many
comrtries have used those breeding lines and varieties to improve local rice production “Four
hmch‘ed and thirteen entries have been released as 591 varieties in 64 cormtries” with a vahre of
$2.5 million each (Hettel, 1996:60).

However, ex situ collections are not enough to protect the complete germplasn
contained in the wild population About 85 to 90% of the traditional varieties in the landlocked
Lao PDR are sticky rices, preferred for their eating quality (IRRI, 1996).Those are rapidly
being rephrced by new high-yielding varieties For that reason hmried efforts are rmdertaken to
collect local varieties for firture use in rice improvement Rice researchers have collected over
2000 samples of traditionally cultivated rice (land races) in that comttry, and 72 sanples of wild
rice consisting of Oryza rufigon, 0. oflicinalrs, and 0. granulata to be preserved irt low-
temperate seed storage (IRRI, 1996). A geneticist of the IRRI Genetic Resource Certter
claimed to have also formd intermecific hybrids derived from the montaneous crossing of wild
and cultivated mecies (Hettel, 1996). This last example suggests what wild stocks are also
important to preserve in their natural areas of distribution (in situ conservation). Moreover,
many problems arise irt these so-called ex-situ conservation strategies (Hancock, 1992; FAO,
1996) because:

1) Only a limited number ofcrop plantshasbeen collected and recognized
2) Most plartts are being stored at only a few locations

3) Onlyalimitednumber ofaccessionscanbeheld

4) Only a narrow amount of related mecies can be stored.

5) The collected germplasn represents only a fraction of the gene pool

30

6) and the most problematic: there is no opportunity for firrther evolution The germplasm
traits are fixed in a static mold

Therefore, the major effort and the more effective way to maintain germplasn is
through the maintarance of complete gerte pools by in-situ conservation (FAO, 1989). That
might guarantee to cover all populations But since that is expensive in repositories and
germplasm banks, the preservation of at least some repressrtative population of wild stocks
my be a crucial alternative to protection of current crop progenitors across their ecological
range (Hancock, 1997). And these arguments support the idea of preserving the tdfs wild
gernrplasn stocks Fmthermore, since each biological mecies is a closed gene pool, an
assemblage of organisms that does not exchange genes within other mecies, to keep this
arsenalofinstructions ofthewayinwhich diverseforms oflifetmfold, canbemairttairted
through in-situ conservation of real gettetic populations (Grumbine, 1994).

Why and how do we need to maintain gene pools of wild mecies within native
ecosystsnssrchaspreseminthetdflTherearemanyreasonsbutthefirstoneisthatlow
levels of garetic diversity are problematic for two basic reasons (Hancock, 1997).

1) Uniformity (reduced diversity) increases each crop’s wheatbe to biotic and abiotic
perturbations Thiswasdemonstrated bythe Potato leafblightinlrelandin 1847, thegreat
BengalRicefamineinIndiain 1943, Wheat stemmstinthe USin 1953-54, Comleaf
blight in the US in 1970, and Pahn Sadness in the Pacific Islands itt 1980s These are
exarrples of the risk what places depertd on only a limited number of susceptible varieties

(US-NPGS, 1996).

31

2) Continued yields and quafity irrrprovements depend on the acquisition of new genes. Some
of the most dramatic examples are the numerous traits which have best acquired fiom wild
relatives of tormto, cotton, coffee, banana, cacao, and srgar cane.

Other examples from poim 2, are: a) A gene fiom a wild hop plartt gave a delightfirl
bitterness to Engiislr beer that brought $15 million to the industry in 1981; b) A trait was
captured fiom wild strawberries that made the commercial varieties everbearing, c) A wild rice
(0020 nivara) gave resstance to grassy stunt virus irt rice, d) The wild potato Solarium
demisswn gave resistance to potato blight (Hancock, 1992). Known only locally, these
varieties of potato growing irt poor soils in the Andean mountains were fotmd to be high-
protein, andnowrepreserrtapotentiaiforfitrmersinotherpartsoftheworldwherepotato
consmrption is a staple food (FAO, 1996). Furthermore, ‘Vvild mecies also play an esserttial
role in restoring or replacing domesticated ones The tiny group of domesticated mecies that
accormt for most foods on supermarket shelves nwd to be able to draw on the gene pool of
their wild relatives to maintain or increase yields Ever since 1845 when potato blight wiped
out the Irish potato crop, people have beert aware that the genetic uniformity of cultivated
plantsmakesthemhighly susceptible to disease and pests Stripe rust inAmerican wheatwas
defeated irt the 1960s with germplasm flour a wild wheat formd in Turkey” (Caimcross,
1992:52). Thus, in-situ conservation through an ecosystem approach such as the tdl' food
germplasn is significant according to Hancock, (1997), since:

1) Evohrtionary processes are maintained

2) Wildrelativesofom'currentcropscanbeavailable

3) New crops can be developed or genes be transfened

4) Cultural knowledge on mecies management can continue

32

5) Environmental services at local and biomhere scales are supported

Therefore, important achievements of economic and social transcetrdence may be
reached if the diversity of food mecies and land races along with their wild relatives are
maintained in situ to guard against failure of any food crops This may provide new ways of
coping with sensitivity in domesticated cultivars, and by this way also protecting snail-holder’s
livelihood (FAO, 1996).

In situ germplasn conservation presertts many socioeconomic advantages
Unfortmrately, climatic change and rmcertainty in land tarure can put the ecosystem-based
strategy in peril Therefore, ex situ conservation might be mixed with in situ approaches to
maintain genetic diversity, particularly for those md crops on which more people’s
nourishmart relies However, it is erqrensive to establish a seed bank, and since the public has
fiee access to these collections, the private sector has little incentive to invest in this option (St

Pierre, et a1 1997).

2.6. The Patent system and wild germplasm stocks
Ex situ conservation poses other more pervasive problems, which arise as a result of
the contenrporary phenomenon of globalimtion and food cormnodification It is related to the
patent system of crop innovations as one form of intellectual property. The patent system is
supposedly crucial to stinruiate creativity and to give inventors economic royalties for their
creations as a monopoly until the diflirsion of this new technology reaches a certain period of
time (Sagofl; 1998). Unfortunately, in recent years patents on varieties of crops which for ages

havebestseleaednmednumnedandcaredforuadifionalfirmershavebecome

33

controversial This is due to the legal, ethical and socioeconomic ramifications of scientists
freely taking native germplasm from developing nations to patsrt for profit3.

The Intemationai Plant Gene Resource Institute (IPGRI) however, stated at the United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, that free access to
genetic diversity pools of traditional cultivars and lands races as well as their wild relatives, for
new patents continues exclusively firvorittg agribusiness“, particulariy from the U. S. which so

fitr has refirsed to sign the totality of the Convention principles (Posey, 1996).

 

3TheQrdnoacropisadr‘amaticillustrationofthesnagsinthepatentsystentTheerinoa(Chenopoa'iwn
quinoa)isanunempMndmeChenopodimfamflmeisplmtdmngmhspeerplmmhkeflw
Amararttharecalledtalsecereals). Qtunoahasasmuchasdoubletheamountofproteincontainedincomand
rice. Since prehispanic times, indigenous people have developed several varieties of quinoa suitable to a wide
rangeofhostile environments. AccordingtoGRAl(1998), the annual vahre ofquinoaisaboutSl millionin
Boliviaaione. In l994,tworesearchersfromtheU.S.patentedavarietyonuinoaknownintheAndesas
Apelawa'l’heyadmittedhavingonlytakenthemale sterilevarietyfrornanativepopulationofthisplarrtlartthe
researchers “ciaimedthat they were the first to identify, anduse reliable system of cytoplasmic male sterility in
Qrinoafor the production of hybrids” (GRAI, 199824). Furthermore, the US. patent system gave them rights not
onlytothissinglevarietylarttoanyQuinoahybndthatisderivedfl'omtheapelawamaiesterilecytoplasnt
Accordingto GRAI (1998) article, the patent also gives the researchers amonopolyon 36 other traditional
varieties ofthisplant. The interestinpatentingQuinoavarietiesisduetoitspotentialtoincreaseyieldstowarda
broadermarket;ifthisQuinoahybridisintensivelycroppedintheU.S.,itmrldleavethousanchofBohvian
quinoaproducersornofbusinessartdunabletocompetemndennirung theirioml economy. Moreover, ifthe
Anrhanpeopleadcptthishigh-yieldinginnovativevarietyforexport,indirectly,aproeessofgeneticerosionmay
beunchainedtoloealquinoageneticdiversityCFAO, 1987). Andthisisanissreofmultinationai scope.

" IntheothersideofthisdebateisbiotechnologandthereleaseofGenetieallyModifiedOrganisms Although,
thepotentiaiofBiotechnologyinagriculmmjmesnyandenvironmemisnnmensefitehnpactsdbiodiversity
canbedisastrousifappropriatemeasurearenaimplementedmkeroyd, 1998).Theuseofthesenew
sophisticated techniques to manipulate genes, to let geneticists create faster-growing plants, fish and cattle, rise
notrivialconcems. Hitisnmflmmmghfissueadmmmienfisshavemcmsedprommmymdlpalmand
bootedfastgrowthinEumlyptusplantedinartificialforests,alsoitistruethatthoseadvanoeshaveawakednew
worriesinbothdevelopedandpoorcountries. Inrich societies, mil-educatedconsumersareconcemedaboutthe
‘side efl‘ects’ of non-organieally produced transgenic vegetables and fruits in human health. While in developing
nadms,genefimleWcrommsfihwimdsbsMcammplamnmumlmwmndssmhmmflhnmbs
orcoconmoflarethefearfmfarmerswhodependmthesecropsmsuwiveaimwood 1995 pers. comm).
Besides, biotechnologicallygeneratedcropscouidesmpeintothenative popriationsandthroughintrogession
mflmewfldmlafivsimmcfingnegafiwlymemnmmifimmumammncfimdmysem$mchen
1997).

34

2.8.Domestication Process

“Plant breeding is one of the fundamental skills of civilization For millennia people
have introduced desired characters into and enhanced the genetic variation of crops by
intuition, by taking skillfirl advantages of plant sexual reproduction, and in recertt decades by
the manipulation of plant ce ” (Akeroyd, 1998227). Since through selection and tarltivation of
some wild mecies or protection of them many plants have merged from the tdf as food crops,
it is worth examining the processes of domestication

But what does domestication really mean? Does it make sense now when genetic
manipulation can create irt a single day what artificial selection may take decades or natural
selection centuries to develop? A preliminary remonse might be yes To numipulate genes, first
such genes are needed Gerreticists cannot create those. Therefore what we have now is in
reality the result of 4500 million years of organic and biological evolution, and at least 10,000
years of human cultural development Througlt trial and error, and a great common sense, what
we are and what we eat today is the result of a long path of food crops leaming (Sanchez,
1992a).

According to Ford (1985:6) “Domestication represents the final stage of plant food
production Cultural selection for useful pherrotypic characters resulted in new plants
dependent upon humans for their existence. Domesticated plants are cultrual artifircts They do
not exist naturally iii the wild; they cannot normally survive without human assistance. Because
the genetic changes leading to true domestication are crunulative, it is diflicult to identify an
absohrte distinction between wild and domesticated plants". However, it is impossible to ignore
the vital role that traditional fitrmers have played to mold favorable plant traits to fit diverse

agroecological niches.

35

From this perspective, the cultivation (or gene manipulation) of plants does not imply
that they have domesticated them, but it does mean that humans have disrupted a life cycle for
the benefit of some plant or plant population (Hancock, 1992, Ford, 1985; Harian, 1971,1975
and, 1992). The ultimate goal of this activity is for humans to obtain a particular plant product
with greater ease or in large quantity. “To induce that, there many ways to cultivate plants:
tarding, weeding, prrming, tranmlanting, sowing” (Ford, l985:4). And ultimately by the
introduction of “short DNA segments directly into the gertetic constitution of a plant or
anirnai, oflen via the agency of bacterial or virus vectors” (Akeroyd, 1998127).

Plant breeding may be viewed as a cultural attempt to replace a domesticated plant by
creatingvarietiesttmedtodifl‘erentenvironmmtalcircmnstances andtoirtcreaseyieldas
insurance against crop losses (Ford, l985:7). At this point, ecosystems like the tdf may be an
incomparable laboratory for explaining the many forms of plant food production that will
enlighten our knowledge of the processes of agricultural evolution throughout the world that

Harlan (1992) and Hoyt (1988) envisioned

4.9.Traditional Ecological Knowledge

‘Regarding traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), it is known that “some primitive
fiu'mers recognize the importance of genetic diversity for agriculture by planting several
varieties ofa cropirrthe samefield Modemfitrmingusesplantbreedingforthe same effect.
Most domesticated plants and animals come fiom cormtries other than those in which they are
most used In America (US), for example, at least nine out often commercially grown mecies
are not native. They rely on wild relatives growing in other countries for periodic

reinforcement” (Caimcross, 1992252). The World Bank (199626), despite its market-orierted

36

vision, has recognized that "subsistence firmers living in hrmdreds of ecological zones have
acquired invahrable knowledge of genetic stocks, cultivating techniques, and natural resources
management that can contribute to developing sustainable firming systems of the firture. But
little of this heritage of learning and insight is ever record ".

Shortcuts of ethnobotanical screening have permitted plant mecialists to compile
vahrable information fiom traditions, customs and habits crurently practiced by the remaining
traditional mrai populations For example, the peasants' tradition of locally selecting the best
tasting fi'uits fi'om htmdreds of plants living ill the surrormding forest was well-known For
instance, typically an rmexpected gues is honored with a wine produced from a wild grape, or
if the weather is hot and dry, she is given a glass of "tranche" fresh water, and so on (Sanchez,
1987). This, along with other cultural traits constitutes a legacy associated to food plant known
as Indigenous Knowledge.

“Indigenous Knowledge is knowledge generated, and transmitted, over time, by
those who reside in a particular location to cope with their agroecological and
sociocultural environments. Passed down from generation to generation, its maintenance
and preservation is essential, not only to the culture that developed it, but to scientists and
planners who and it extremely useful in solving health, agricultural, educational, and
environmental problems. Because the world’s indigenous knowledge base is at risk of
disappearing as indigenous cultures succumb to contemporary populations, there is a need
to examine critically its place in various disciplines” (Penn State University, 1996:
www.cde.psu.edu/C&I/Indigenous.html).

According to Barsh (1997), TEK is focused on the intricate network of

interactions among humans, animals, plants, natural forces, mirit deities, and the adjacart

37

landscape. TEK is local and regionally applied and may not be applicable to other settings.
Moreover, TEK localization is conceived as a web of relationships between a particular
group of people and other mecies sharirtg a specific territory.

Traditional knowledge inchrdes such phstomara as recipes for preparation of many
disires fiom wild fiuits, leaves, seeds, nuts, roots, flowers, and insects that grow ill the forest,
and they may also be cultivated and be nutritionally rich (Sanchez, 1987, and 1998). Professor
RusselL Barsh saysthatT'EKisempiricai, experimental and systematic, andthereforeitis
scientific although different from Western science. He asserts that TEK represents the
cormtless relationships between nature (flora, fiuna and mineral kingdom) and culture (Barsh,
1997). Unfortunately, due to “the fict that law is designed to protect information resulting
fi'om a specific individual act of discovery” (Posey, 1996:37), dificulties rise when
property rights on biodiversity is attempts to place monetary vahre on traditional
comnnrnally-shared mecies. Indigenous knowledge is transgenerational and communaily
shared. It may come from ancestor mirits, vision quests, or linkage groups that
transmitted it orally but not necessarily fiom a mecific individual act of discovery” (Posey,
1996:37). Once Imowledge is in the public domain, it becomes impossible to establish the
quality of uniqueness required for a patent application” (Posey, 1996237). For that reason,
TEK has to be discussed on a case-by-case basis and where complete participation of TEK

holders are represented and legally and intellectually protected.

2.9. Ethnobotany and ethnoecology studies.
Many researchers have invested significant effort examining the so-cailed

indigenous, traditional or local knowledge in various parts of the world and studying

38

different ecosystems. Moreover, in recent years many conferences and symposia have
taken place to raise awareness of the role of nature-culture dichotomy. Examples are the
“Ethnobotany in the Neotropics Symposium”( 1993) monsored by the Society for
Economy Botany, and more recently the “Indigenous Knowledge Conference” which took
place in 1995 under the monsorship of the Pennsylvania State University. In addition,
several books have recently provided information on the relationships among plants,
people and culture. For example, see Balick (1996), Evans and Von Reis (1995), and
Cotton (1996).

Several authors have worked in arid zones where native plants such as the saguaro
in the Arizona Desert, offer local people outstanding opportrmities for their survival
(Fontana, 1980). Felger (1985) analyzed the use that Seri Indians made of terrestrial and
coastal biodiversity in the Desert of Sonora (Mexico). In Felger’s studies, ‘The
ethnobotany of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona’ is examined. Del
Castillo and Trujillo (1991) report on the ethnobotany of two cactus mecies of the
semiarid central plateau of Mexico, F erocactus histrix, and Echinocactus platyacanthus.
Perhaps one of the most integrative works on ethnoecology exploration and TEK value is
a book named “Los Agaves de Mexico” (Agaves are plants of the genus Agave and
produce diverse products like mescal, tequila, fibers, etc.) by Granados (1993). The wild
plants of the Agave genus are used by different groups for many purposes in the diverse
arid zones of Mexico.

However, ethnobotany has been studied most intensively in those formerly remote
and insulated tropical regions, where the last remains of aboriginal cultures subsist

exclusively fi'om natural resources and their knowledge of them Examples of this are

39

Boom (1987), whose contributions focused on the ethnobotany of the Chacobo Indians in
Bolivia, while Balee (1994), in his study called “Ka’apor Ethnobotany” conducted in the
Amazon Basin, which described the utilization of native flora by indigenous people.
Regarding the particular case of the Mexican tropics, Alcom (1984), wrote about “the
Huastecan Mayan Ethnobotany”, and Toledo et. a1 (1995) about the “Quantitative

Ethnobotany of the Indigenous groups of the Hunrid Tropics of Mexico”.

2.10. Poverty, Population and Production.

The historic traditional Mexican livelihood was highly nomishing based on locally
produced nutritious foods However, the Aztec greatness in food diversity has diminished to
become monotonous, poor, and scarce, and today’s current descendants of ancient Mexican
cultures suffer from mahrutrition and hmrger (Toledo, et a1. 1991). Many rural people, not only
ill the impoverished Mixteca Poblana region, but throughout the world, are currently suffering
vitarm'n and mineral deficiencies, while the sources of those diversified supplies are being
shrunk under the market-oriented forces (Godrej, 1995). In rural Mexico alone, more than 8.8
million people are living below the poverty line in rural areas alone (SEMARNAP, 1996).
Black (1991) explains that in many regions ofAsia, people accustomed to eat fiesh fi'uits, root
crops, and wild honey fiom locally-based sources are now consuming canned meat, packing-
brand breed and granulated srgar. These changing pattems of life-styles have triggered heart
diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other health problems caused by the worsaring of
environmental conditions in local villages

Why, if regions such as the Mixteca Poblana possess such richness of biological

resources, are they categorized as economically depressed, environmentally degraded, and

40

above all food-insecure? "We can not tmderstand the cause of food insecurity and poverty
without examining closely the social and political structures responsible for the
inequity”(Scialabba, 1995243). The root causes of poverty and hrmger are variable and
complex. Rosset, et al (1994) argue that the uprooting of people from land-based livelihoods
has had an overwhelming impact. Besides, they say that the pattern of too many people in
ecologically fragile and erosion-prone areas is due to colonial plundering made by political elite
who took the fertile valleys with irrigation systems leaving out of competition marginal land
producers.

Nowadays poverty is significantly worsening the degradation of the natural resource
base of the rural communities Rural-poverty and degradation of the environment are rmtuality
reinforcing Thus, the same people who traditionally protected their resources by a balancing
value extraction, resource conservation and regeneration, today in order to survive under the
new economical situation they are forced to reduce fallow periods without letting soil replenish
its fertility, to cut vital forests in their search for a more arable lands or fire], and to overstock
fragile rangelands (Jamiry, et al 1992).

Although there are scant empirical studies to demonstrate that the connection betwear
economic crisis (caused by debt-structural adjustment) and losses of native species is
significant, (Pearce, et a]. 1995), it is possible that the need for economic growth to reach
higherlevels ofcousrmrptioninhighlypopulated areas causes atype ofsynergistic effectwhich
broke out from hardship in the rural comnnmities and a higher contrasts between rich and poor
(Durbin, 1995, and Kaplowitz, 1997). Therefore, the imposition of a new economic order is a

major force pushing genetic erosion and food security.

4]

This disruption also results in migration to urban areas Then, considerable numbers of
old-time plant varieties disappear, because elderly peasants no longer have descendants
interested in agriculture and in maintaining these living heiriooms (Ashworth, 1991).
Traditional knowledge passes away along with wise behavior and cultural values that formerly
atpported the means to survive and the groups’ identity. For that reason, Scialabba (1995243)
says that “it is not coincidence that poverty exists where institutional and socio-political
structures have been swept away”. Thus, “depletion of cultural and moral capital (the sort of
beliefs, vahres, traditional rules, kinship, sense of solidarity and identity) may be as costly as
depletion of biological capital Daly and Cobb (1989251) assert that “the market does not
accrunulate moral capital; it depletes it. Consequently, the market depends on the community
to regenerate moral capital, just as it depends on the biosphere to regenerate natural cap' ”.
The moral values and cognitive beliefs of a culture play a crucial role it how well human
societies adapt to the natural environment and what kind of political and economic
relationships they maintain Unfortunately, “Ethics cannot exorcise evil fi'om reahns of political
power sinrply by preaching noble id ” (Engel and Engel 199026), since even “Conservation
biologists want to value snakes, bats, and worms as the causal products of evolutionary forces,
not as unsolved moral problems of human life. Animals need to be vahred intrinsically for what
they are, and instrumentally for the roles they play in ecosystems” (Rolston, 1990267).

"The distinctive values of ‘modem’ or ‘developed’ societies have become materialistic,
governed by economies. Other more qualitative vahres (such as culture) seem no longer to
command any allegiance. But it isunlikelythatmaterialistic values canbe ofhelp in effectively
dealing with problems of inequity, hmrger, poverty or loss of biological diversity (Scialabba,

1995:44). ‘Materialistic values introduced by market forces and privatimtion have led to fierce

42

competition; and this has weakened traditional institutions and small enterprises, and made
cultural values seem hollow. The dominant economic theory of neo-liberalism reflects the
values of industrialized countries: the concept of private property, the role of the market, a
reduced scope for the government, private sector dominance and economic growth.
Transferred to developing countries, this theory takes no heed of cultural vahres, the social
‘ significance of property, deeply rooted traditions, the spiritual value attributed to certain cites,
or socio-political forces that govern the distribution of productive goods (natural resources,
education, housing, etc.) in traditional societies” (Scialabba, 1995245).

Another evident firctor of natural resources depletion is the explosion of human
populations The World Summit on Population held in Cairo in Septerrflrer 1994 estimated that
95% of population growth in the coming years will occur in developing cormtries Mexico,
despite local efi‘ort and international aid on population strategies, has one the highea rates of
fertility in Latin America. These trends, along with the economic crisis, may push toward major

natural resources depletion (Miller, 1992). Table 2.2. shows the Mexican population trend for

 

 

the second halfof the 20th century.

Table 2.2. Mexican population growth and projections to year 2000
1950 1970 1980 1990 2000

TOTAL 27,376 51,176 69,393 89,012 109,180

URBAN I 1,677 30,206 46,044 64,604 84,492

RURAL 15,699 20,971 23,340 24,404 24,688

AGRICULTURAL 17,531 22,573 25,352 26,703 26,263

 

SOURCE: United Nations; Pcpulation division (19902172 ).

Morepeoplemeansnotonlymoreneedforfoodbmdsohigherconsrmpfion and
waste disposal and more impact on the natural resources, if this trend continues (Brown &

Mitchell, 1998). Therefore, government and civil efforts must be focused on birth control, food

43

production and education (ZPG, 1998, and NPG, 1998), and those three things are linked by a

knowledge of our natural resource base, to which this dissertation is designed to contribute.

2.11. Fostering local food production.

“Agricultural development efforts of the 19505 placed heavy emphasis on the direct
transfer of agricultural technology from high-income cormtries to the Third World and the
promotion of the American model of Agricultural Extension”( Staatz and Eicher, 199027).
Agricultural commodity projects were usually sited on prime agricultural land in order to
maximize the yields needed to support the investment. In the end, “ this impaired
indigenous food production, and pushed many small-holders to more marginal land as a
result. Indigenous food production on marginal land devegetated watersheds and slopes
that are better lefl intact in forest or other protective cover”(Goodland, 19932250).

Nowadays the strategy to foster developmart has changed, and one feature of the
globalizationmodelistheheavyrelianceoninfirsions ofprivate capitalfromtransnationalfirms
to transitional or emerging markets arch as NAFTA's Mexican customers (Chamovitz, 1995).
This new approach poses new challenges to balance economic growth with natural capital
conservation. Furthermore, since the relationship between resource depletion and economic
growth promotion is a multiiirctorial phenomena. authors such as French (1998), has presented
a revealing analysis of the effects of foreign capital flows to emerging cormtries arch as
Mexico. He says, ”though the booming econorrries of the developing world raised national
incomes, they lefi ecological devastation in their wake. As investors search the globe for the
highest return, they are often drawn to places ardowed with bourrtifirl natural resources btrt

handicapped by weak or ineffective environmartal laws"(Frerrch 199826). "Foreign investment-

fed growth also promotes westem-style conaunerisrn, pushing car ownership, a paper use and,
Bic Mac conarmption rates towards the untenable levels found in the USA, with grave
potential consequences for the health of the natural world, the stability of the earth's climate,
and security of food arpplies"(French, 199827).

To firce these problems, some scientists think that one real alternative is to promote
local production, traditional knowledge, and native genetic resources rather than transgenic
crops and to reduce food dependency. From an environmental point of view, export cr0p
promotion (rmless it is unusually well-managed) appears to be a less desirable or riskier
strategy than local food production (Jazairy, et al 1992). Hawken (1993) idartifies, in his
book "The Ecology of Connnerce", the need of developing comrtries to encourage the
replacement of imported foods and other items with products created locally, since those do
not require exotic resources of capital in order to develop and grow. He asserts “each region
could have better-yielding and inexpensive foods” (Hawkerr, 199327), but also it may add and
rebuild a local capacity for researching, instead of being simple recipients of foreign projects
thatdonotletestablishbequestnorfosterkinship. Thisisa stats-ntthatfitsappropriately
with the Mixteca Poblana conditions Werrdal (19872150), reflecting on the conversion of food
arbsisterrce systems into cash cropping agribusiness, where advertising, pacln'ng and
transporting are part of food prices, says: "We don‘t need any nrore million-dollar solutions to
thousand dollar problem, or rrmltimillion-dollar sohrtions where there was never a problem at
all".

Applying the previous statement, it could be asserted that vahrable wild plants arch as
those present in the tdl' represent a true possibility for food self-arficiarcy, since they do not

need genetic engineering for improvement. Neither do they need conventional expensive inputs

45

arch as chemical fertilizers and pesticides or irrigation Nature and discrete human landscaping
formation through centuries has given them marvelous characteristics arch as a good taste,
easy reproduction, drought and fire resistance. Besides, many of them can also fix nitrogen,
serve as feed and, shade for wildlife, and maintain environmental services arch as erosion
control and water storage (Sanchez, 1991b). Moreover, we can not forget that: 1) agricultural
scientists are more than ever in search of drought-resistant food crops that will flourish with
low inputs even in marginal land, 2) that local firrmers possess vahrable experience in rain-fed
agricultm'e, animal power, agroforestry, nutrient cycling, and integrated pest management, and
3) that their systems emphasize crop diversification and acknowledge the relevant role of
women (FAO, 1996, website: http://www.iiro.org).

Perhaps for that reason, Wendal (19872272) wrote that “If we do not have an
economy capable of vahring in particular terms the durable good of localities and
communities, then we are not going to be able to preserve anything” (Wendal, 19872143).
“Culture, therefore, not econonrics, technology, or politics, is the primordial dimension in
development” (Goudlet, 19712272). Then, development nrust persist in stimulating
indigenous cultural values, while economic forces are counterbalanced. Wendal says
“Common sense arggests that it is not possible to make a good thing out of a bad thing.
We can see that we cannot prepare a good meal from poor food, produce good food from
poor soil, maintain good soil without good farming, or have good farming without a good
culture, a culture that places a proper value on the proper maintenance of the natural
sources, so that the needed supplies are constantly available. Thus, food is a product both
natural and cultural, and good cooking must be said to begin with good farming”(Wendal,

19872134).

46

“In the recovery of culture and nature is the knowledge of how to farm well, how
to preserve, harvest, and replenish the forest, how to make, build, and use, return and
restore. In this double recovery, which is the recovery of our humanity, is the hope that
the domestic and wild can erdst together in lasting harmony. Harmony is one phase, the
good phase, of the inescapable dialogue between culture and nature” (W code], 19872143).
Otherwise, as Leopold (19492259) forecasted: “let the market decide is the lodestone
toward disaster”.

Kant wrote “there are things that have price are things that can be replaced by
other as equivalent. But some things are ‘beyond all price’ and have no equivalent. These
are things that have dignity” (Kant, 1959253). And Kunin and Lawton wrote “as time and
technology progress, practically any organism with a novel arsenal of chemical defenses or
weapons could become a genetic h’brary of potential great agriculture value” (Krmin and
Lawton, 19962287). Therefore, people need to assign dignity, not only to the precious
living resources that still remain in ecosystems such as the tdf, but also to the ancient
cultures that have emerged from these sites. This dissertation attempts to demonstrate

these phenomena by assessing the wild foodstufl‘s of the tdf.

47

3. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY SITE AND RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter is divided into two parts: a description of the study site, in the Mixteca
Poblana Region, and the methods applied to gather information. The second part presents how,
where and when the strategies to collect data were implemented and then addresses the

limitations of the approaches used in this study.

3.1. STUDY SITE

This section presents the most relevant biophysical aspects of the study site and is
broken down into three parts: the Mixteca Region as the setting for the research, its natural and
socioeconomic features, and the selection of one represartative village where the methods of

study were tested.

3.1.1. The Mixteca Poblana Region as a Subject of Study

Despite the fact that the Mixteca's tdf is one of the richest ecosystems in terms of food-
germplasrn, and plant endernisrns (those of restricted distribution), it is also one of the less
known and least appreciated forests among conservationists and govemmental agencies in
Mexico. In the Mexican National System of Protected Areas this ecosystem is poorly
represented (Sanchez, 1987), and no protected natural areas exist in the Mixteca region. Even
the local representatives of oflicial institutions and extarsion workers (for instance, those from

the Rim] Development District) show little knowledge about this ecosystem from a technical

perspective.

48

There has been a lack of research on the Mixteca's tdf, primarily, because this
ecosystem does not present industrial timber possibilities to the intensive high-profit-oriented
enterprises. Existing scarce fimds for research projects have traditionally been devoted to the
more economically vahrable coniferous forest and charismatic tropical rain forests, upon which
public attention has been concentrated. In some instances, a few researchers have focused their
efforts on the tdf, but we do not know how many species, varieties, or traits may have already
disappeared, or the fitness of the residual tree individuals A syaematic scientific assessment
would be usefirl in order to place strategies to save them fiom extinction.

In Mexico, the tdf originally occupied more than 8% of the country’s arrfirce
(Rzedowski, 1978), and over 50% of the State of Puebla (DGIF, 1980), but by the card of the
1990s, finding primary forests may be a difficult business That is because all suitable areas of
its orig'nal distribution were devegetated mainly for firrming, grazing and firewood extraction,
degrading it to marginal rocky soils Yet, a few well-conserved successional relics (about
0 .05% of the original) remain in scattered patches of the pacific slopes, as well as in the High
Balsas Basin region of Mexico (Guizar & Sanchez, 1991).

However, it has been observed druing the developmem of this study that native
Mixteca's ecosystems contain arch a great number of potentially usefirl species that it would be
economically rmfeasible to study them all immediately. Instead, a rational and well-planned
screwing was chosen as the basis for selection of the most promising species, which could then

be firrther investigated and eventually considered for nnrltiple use plantations

49

3.1.2. Biophysical and Socioeconomic Traits of the Study Site

Biophysical features. The Mixteca region embraces two states of Mexico; the
Northern part of the State of Oaxaca, and the Southwest comer of the State of Puebla. For the
purposes of this study only the Puebla side was considered (Figure 3.1). The tropical dry forest
is the dominant type of vegetation in this area, which represents the main point of interest
according to the objectives established for this research (see chapter 1). Hydrologically the
region is inside the High Balsas Watershed, which is the second largest watershed of Mexico
and the most continuous distribution of the tdf.

The area of study is located betwear the following geographic coordinates: from 91 to
99 degrees of West longitude, and fiom 18 to 19 degrees of North latitude. The altitude
averages about 1350 meters above sea level The average terrrperature is 23 ° C, and the
predominant climatic type is Awo. This factor separates the Mixteca Poblana from the Mixteca
Oaxaquerra, which is drier and its climatic type corresponds to a BS (less precipitation and
higher evapotrnnspiration). The difference between p/t (precipitation and evapotranspiration) is
less than 423.2 mm. The following climatic data fiom Los Amates, located in the core of the

Mixteca region, may give a more accurate idea about the environmartal conditions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ll JAN FEB MAR ABR MAY JUN JUL AUG sap ocr Nov Drc MEAN l
| r°c 20.0 22.3 24.8 26.7 27.2 26.1 25.5 25.1 24.6 24.1 22.4 21.1 24.2 I
| PM 6.6 2.2 1.7 24.9 61.6 154.9 125.9 140.7 142.1 52.2 11.!2 2.3 726.3 |

 

 

Uarally the tdf is diaributed in the Awo climate, which is the driest of the tropical
ecosystems in Mexico. It has two well defined seasons; the prolonged dry season and the short
wet season during the armmer with about 726.3 millimeters of precipitation (Garcia, 1973).
Droughts occur fi'equently and the limiting factor in developing a more productive agricultme

iswater. Eventhough srnalldamshavebeerrbuiltirr afewvalleys, most ofthepeople get water

50

 

f
I‘. “
i -’ r we...“ a.
\. I ‘\_ "
[P (:3 errors I:
/’ /" I
.I' 1 ‘
.J I
I—d’ .
' - ’ .~\
\ij \l" _) \‘
~‘ I \

MIMI Enough nacrnoous gofias (I, ’25

   

Maroml "retire v be _/ .I'
mic-l adueitulio rumicronal \ .I
i I
Pumas do palm- DVD“
* 1m duhid I! {I
i. 1
\ o
\.
\.- ./\.
_ \._
.\._
I‘m,“ [00. DE
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4I Mll—
IIIIL:III”J. ‘10,” , NT. IIixl'I IIIi
I‘I'II ”fill.” 11 II Ill;ll II, I'III\R d& Is- I
... n - I wII II -
u ‘ «I [4W .Iluu IL" I ° c‘
. I
1,.” 4"”
Figure 3.1. The Mixteca Poblana Region, the tdf distribution and the location of the

study-site.

51

from modest springs and waterwells dug along stream courses which are not enough for
irrigation.

The Mixteca is a very hilly region. It is composed of ranges of irregular altitude and
abrupt topography (Fig.3 2). For example in the Los Amates area, the average altitude is 1472
meters above sea level Although the land is steep, rocky and difficult to plow and to use
animal traction, important areas of the original vegetation (tdf) have been converted into

fallowlands

 

Figure 3.2. A digitalized image of Los Amates sub-watershed where the study efforts
were located. The model is an approach based on altitudinal features, to
underscore the steep relief conditions, where there is a mix of perturbed
forest, eroded spots and croplands.

According to the FAO classification system, the soil orders most frequently found are

litosol and rendzina. The texture goes from franco sand, to fianco limoso, the pH varies from

52

6.5. to 7; and the rockiness fluctuates fiom 35 to 70%. These soils are generally shallow,
nutrient poor, and prone to erosion and desertification. limestone rock is the dominant
geological arbstrata, which in many places is already exposed Over 25% of Mirdeca's soils
have wflered irreversible processes of desertification, and 85% of the rest of the arrfirce
presents from moderate to severe erosion problems The water table is descending about 50
centimeters per year according to records of the author of this research.

The tdf in the region was the most widely distributed type of ecosystem, however, its
current location is being reduced to very craggy and steep sites Only deep canyons and abrupt
ravines keep relics of original conditions

Socioeconomic features . The Mixteca is a part of Mexico where three interesting
phenomena occru”. l) The region is one of the most darsely populated in the rural countryside,
2) most of the economically poor communities have been dependent on the native ecosystems
for their main arsterrance since long ago, and 3) the region records the highest rates of
desertification and erosion of the country due to forest depletion.

PoveflymdfoodinseanityhrtheMbdecaareaccompaniedbydeficierflpubhc
services While services arch as electricity were provided ten years ago, the drinking water
arpply is still lacking in many remote villages For exarrrple while this study took place water
pipelines were being installed in the Los Amates cormnunity for the first time.

Intestinal parasites and infectious diseases ofien wreak havoc among the infirm
population. ThePublicHealthCarehrstinrtionshaverecenflyhraaflednnalclinicshr ahnost all
villages, where there uarally is a single medicine practitioner who offers basic health services
and birth control cormseling and assistance. In firct, the govemnrent efforts for family size

planning are very mild, due to cultural and religious factors Besides, since the level of literacy

53

is considerably low, the programs used to be rejected for economic reasons Nevertheless,
these moderate meaarres for birth control have started to show some positive signs, and it is
predicted that the Mixteca's poprilation growth will be stabilized by about the year 2020.

The Mixteca has been the focus of many political speeches, but it remains economically
isolated and arstainable development looks to be distant. A sign of this situation is the fact that
inthelast 10yearsthe regionhasregistered a deficit of57%irr staplefoodsproduction.

In the Mixteca, the infrastructure is limited, and economic opportrmities are lacking.
Access to education beyond the primary school is extremely dificult, because only larger
villages have secondary schools, and these are from 25 to 30 kilometers away. Transportation
costs may be prohibitive to most rural dwellers, arch as the Los Amates commrmity. Thus,
before students finish the elementary school, or when it is corrrpleted, they are immediately
incorporated into firming activities, labor wages, or they escape to urban concentrations

Illiteracy in the population older than 15 years of age is 29.24%. This percentage is
high when .conpared to 12% for the comrtry. Over 75% of the houses are composed of one or
two rooms (INEGI, 1997). There is no sewage system, and unhealthy conditions are normal
Water polhrtion is a concern. Nhrety percent of the households use firelwood as the only or
arpplemartary source of energy. It is uarally bumed in sites with inappropriate ventilation
which causes reariratory diseases

IntheentireMbdecaregion,themortahtyratehasdecreasedtolessthan1%, whilethe
fertility rate remains high at 4%. Population growth ofthe region is higr when corrrpared with
the average of the country (INEGI, 1997). Despite this fact, the net populan'on growth records

amediumincrement duetothehighratesofmigrationto citiesinsearchforbetterecononric

54

opportrurities Migration is another impressive phenomena; 3 out of 10 Mixtecan people
abandon the region every year (Flores, 1997 personal comnnmication)..

The impact of globalization, in connection with the NAFTA, rearlted in a rapid
contamination of the Mixteca culture and the transition of an economy based on arhsistence
firming to one based on the market which caused about a more depressed economic situation
(Granados, 1997). Violence records are double if compared with the national average. These
social indicators show the seriouaress of the social inarstainability. In armmary, the Mixteca
exhibits one of the greatest levels of underdevelopmerrt in Latin America (See table 3.1). In a
scale fi'om zero to one, these indices show that the smaller the number, the marginalimtion
level is lower, and that the problem is being alleviated. For example, the drinking water (.724)
is a bigger concern than electrification (.441). The economic marginalization, on the other
hand, matches with the rmarstainable exploitation of natural resoru'ces.

Table 3.1. Indices of marginalization in the Mixteca Region.

 

Factor Indices additional explanation

Illiteracy .520 29.24% of people older than 15 years
Elemartary School .612 abserrteeian, and scarce resources

Sewer services .685 Most of the mountain villages lack it
Electricity .441 Moa of the region has hear electrified
Drinking water .724 Pipelines are in process of improvement
Houses hare grorurd .817 Most of the houses have hare gromrd inside
Overcrowded .565 The houses composed of one room

Income .626 The net Income below the poverty line

 

Sources: CONAPO indices(l 990), and estimates of Flores(1998).

3.1.3. The Los Amates as a Community type.
The selection of the Los Amates as a research site was decided after traveling through
the Mixteca Poblana villages since 1995. Using aerial photographs and thematic maps, nine

candidate villages (El Pitayo, Mexquitepec, Las Piletas, Los Tehuixtles, Las Casitas, El

55

Tepenerre, San Francisco de Asis, San Isidro and Los Amates) were identified as potential sites

for the study. These were visited, several people interviewed and gareral observations were

made. The Los Amates was chosen for the following reasons:

1)

2)

3)

4)

It is highly representativel not only in its social, economic, and cultural characteristics but
also in its natural conditions. The Tropical Deciduous Forest is the most common
ecosystem there.

Almost the entire population maintains an economy of arbsisterrce, dependent on rainfed
agriculture. This area shows the highest dependency on and highest knowledge of
indigenous plants Livelihoods are strongly arpplemerrted by wild foods, firewood, fodder,
medicines, fibers, and construction materials provided by the neighboring tropical dry
forests, which are being threatened by non-arstainable exploitation.

Its geographic location relates it to other villages and towards the larger center of
population where products are exchanged, or where they get services not provided in their
own villages In short, it looks to be in the core of the Poblana Mixteca, where the tdf
exists

The Los Amates people were receptive, fiiendly and showed a strong willingness to
participate in the research focus and the researchers approaches

Furthermore, the Los Amates is one of the most economically marginalized villages in

the region Its agriculture is 100% rainfed, and most of the croplands were acquired by forest

clearance. Sirrceeachfimilyhasonlyasrnallarea offlatlands, andwateristhemainconstraint,

their livelihood relies heavily on fuelvvood, cattle, and collection of wild fiuits and medicinal

 

' The Los Amates community was selected because it represents the traditional original usage ofthe
native plant diversity of the Mixteca Poblana region.

56

plants for self-conarmption and for sale in the local and regional markets The comrmmity is

composed of 77 households.

3.2. DATA COLLECTION STRATEGIES

In order to achieve the objectives of this study, and answer the research questions
presented in Chapter 1, this section describes the data collection strategies, the sampling
strategies, the field guide-informants and research assistants, the research hypotheses, the key
variables and the data analysis strategy of this study. Initially, three basic approaches were used
to acquire the evidence needed to answer these questions These were implemented in an array

of sequential phases in different locations.

3.2.1. Direct Observation

The first method of information gathering started irr 1995, when the researcher visited
the Mixteca region and heard about everyday peasant life as well as native tree food arecies
The research topic began to be delineated incorporating the relevant aspects of local
knowledge arrrormding native plants Some fiuits were tasted by the researcher, and he learned
how people ate or cooked them Regional markets were visited to observe the sales of several
wild fiuits during different times.

Topographic maps and thematic charts were acquired, and general and specific
information about the region was reviewed. Aerial photographs were used to roughly delimit
the areas of distribution of the tropical dry forest, and the location of potential target
comnnmities to study. Many comnnmities were visited based on the maps Nine villages
(mentioned earlier in this chapter) were considered as representative in terms of tdf cover,
physiographic location, and socieconomic conditions These connrnmities are: 1)E1Pitayo, 2)

57

Mexquitepec, 3) Las Piletas, 4) Los Tehuixtles, 5) Las Casitas, 6) El Teperere, 7) San

Francisco de Asis, 8) San Isidro, and 9) Los Amates.

3.2.2. Preliminary Survey

Based on the strategy described above, the second method involved the development
of a more rigorous approach based on a preliminary arrvey questionnaire. It was composed of
a single sheet of questions administered fice-to-fice to 27 villagers of nine comnnmities
selected inside of the Mixteca Poblana Region This "preliminary test", was administered to
three local knowledgeable people of each one of these nine villages These locally recognized
plant experts helped build a preliminary list of species that people use for food, which are taker
from the tdf rermants Besides, it also provided a criteria for selection of the one village where
a more formal questionnaire would be administered to assess the economic meaning of these
wild plants (figure 3.3). This phase was performed during Decenrher 1995 through January of

1996, and repeated the following year at the same time.

3.2.3. Survey questionnaire at household level

In December of 1997 through February of 1998, gatherers of wild food were
interviewed in the Los Amates cormrurnity, the site choser as the core of the study. A detailed
but comprehersive auvey questionnaire was designed (See questionnaire in apperdix 1). This
inarumert is broker down in two parts One about the technical aspects of the wild food

species is called: "Opinion Poll About Wild Fruits at the Household Level". It is divided into

58

 

 

I vrsrrs TO THE MIXTECA REOICEI

 

 

I DELIMITATION OF MIXTECA POBLANA REGION I

I

I LOCATION OF MAPS OF THE T‘DF DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNITIES I

I

I OBSERVATION AND INFORMAL INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL PEOPLE I

I

[mummy SURVEY DESIGN I

I

ADMINISTRATION OF PRELIMINARY SURVEY TO
C1C2C3€4C5 C6C7C8C9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I PRELIMINARY LIST OF wnr) specrrfl

 

 

I EXTENDED SURVEY DESIGN AND PRE-TEST I

 

 

IELECITON OF C9 (LOS AMATES COMMUNITY) I

 

 

I CONTRACT AND TRAINING OF RESEARCH ASSISTANTS AND FIELD-INFORMANTS I

 

 

 

l FULL QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTRATIO( REID TRIPS AND TRANSECT S IMPLEMENTATION I

[DATA GENERATION I

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.3. The general strategy followed in the data collection of this research is
outlined in the above summarized diagram. Communities code: C1=FJ Pitayo, C2=
Mexquitepec, C3= Las Piletas, C4= Los Tehuixtles, C5= Las casitas, C6= El Tepenene,
C7= San Fi’ancisco de Asis, C8= San Isidro, and C9= Los Amates.
three parts: 1) Wild fruit gathering and in-situ protection of food trees, 2) Food tree species in
the household, and 3) people's interest in planting food trees in their marginal lands.

The other part of the questionnaire is named: "Socio-economic variables at the

housdrold leve ". It embraces cultural and economic characteristics of the peasants and their

fimilies It is divided in five parts: 1) Cropland features of the households, 2) Livestock

composition, 3) Food arpplies at household level, 4) Family size and fimily planning, and 5)

59

Family income. In this second part, the objective was to find links between the economic value
of the natural resource base and its depletion.

The questionnaire design did seek an interactive, pleasant and comfortable relationship
betweaI the interviewers and the respondents Moreover, the interviewers had the goal of
providing any help to respondents in a joint effort to remember and to narrate relevant
information. Of course, the most sensitive part included questions related to income and
production rates, where peasants are reluctant to talk

The questionnaire included three types of questions: open-ended questions, closed-
ended questions, and tabular questions In the closed-ended questions, a list of possible answers
wasprovided, andonlyonehadtobe selected Therewereafewopen-ended questionswhich
inquired "why". Some were followed by a closed-ended question. Many tables were designed

to gather data rapidly on peasants’ opinions and farming activities

3.2.4. field work

Transects. Along with the approaches mentioned above, a series of field trips were
carried out Imder the guidance of local informants, to assess the insilu conditions of plant
populations used for food. Those remaining spots of natural forest where the dwellers of the
region gather edibles in different times were located on aerial photographs Visits to these wild
areas were performed during well idmtified periods of production. Samples of plants were
picked up and packed for identification and analysis of their basic ecological and cultural
features. These visits also followed interactive talks with local people, and were performed in
three phases: December 1995 to January of 1996, December of 1996 to January of 1997, and

December of 1997 through January of 1998.

60

At the same time, the sites where foodstuffs used to grow were identified on maps, and
transects were performd with the help of three local guide-informants. In this phase of the
research, the goal was to identify all those species referred to in the preliminary questionnaire
and previous interviews as vahrable wild foods in their habitats These species were located,
and described according to 1) their level of frequency, and 2) their alternative usefiihress

The field transects were performed in 16 sites, within Los Amates communal forest
lands, in such a way that the degree of importance of the most relevant species could be
measm'ed in terms of their fiequency as aboriginal components of the tropical dry forest. Three
categories have been proposedzz rare (those species whose population is low or very difficult
to find in the transects, and which peasants describe as “odd;” less than one mature individual
per hectare), scarce (those species which, although not highly present in the transects, peasants
recognize can be formd in some specific habitats and seasons; more than three individuals but
less than five per hectare), and abundant (those with remarkable frequency; over five
individuals per hectare).

Inventory of semidomesticated plant orchards. This inventory inchrdes information
about which species local people have selected, when seeds or propagules (vegetative parts)
are collected, how these are prepared and how they are cultivated It conaitutes critical
infornmion Family and commercial orchards of semidomesticated species were evaluated and

inventoried in terms of production and economic income in comparison with traditional crops

 

2 The abundance and distribution of species is studied through population dyamics. The mechanisms
regulating the number of individuals per unit of area are numerous. For some species, although abundant,
their geographic distribution is limited to a region or an ecological zone. Others, can have wider
distribution and be present in different regions, but localized only in specific niches. Several other species
are endemic due to paleoecological, evolutionary and adaptative reasons, which generate restrictive
distribution. However, in this study the designation of abundant, scarce or rare was based on artificial
criteria in order to operationalize our measurements.

61

or cash crops cultivated by conventional technology (use of pesticides, mechanization,
irrigation and chemical fertilization).

Laboratory work. In the laboratory of Botany of the Division de Ciencias Forestales
in the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo (home institution of the author) samples of these
species recognized in the field were examined (basic botanical traits and habitats description),
that colleaed and later on identified, and scientific names determined These samples were
later deposited in the Herbarium of this institution for their use in teaching. Drawings of the

most relevant species are presented in the findings chapter.

3.2.5. SAMPLING PROCEDURES

The preliminary survey questionnaire was administered in nine villages: E1 Pitayo,
Mexquitepec, Las Piletas, Los Tehuixtles, Las Casitas, E1 Tepenene, San Francisco de Asis,
San Isidro, and, Los Amates. In each of these conmnmities, with the assistance of one Rural
Development District representative, the Municipal Inqiectors (village mayors or chiefs) were
visited and asked to nominate the three persons (27 in total) considered most knowledgeable
on tropical dry forest wild fi'uit issues These people were visited at their homes, and
interviewed about the indigenous food plants that they gather, protect, cultivate, consume or
commercialize. Several of these interviewed persons walked with us through their fields and
forest Twenty seven answer sheetswererapidlyanalyzed, andaprelirninarylist ofwild species
ranked and organized

BasedonthesereaihstheconnmmitycalledLosAmateswasselected asthemost
representative of the region as described in section 3.1. of this chapter, above. Then, the formal

and extended survey questionnaire was administered to 77 households (See appendix 1).

62

3.2.6. RESEARCH GUIDE-INFORMANTS AND RESEARCH ASSISTANT S

The data collection was conducted with the cooperation of two professionals: an
emulsion worker from the Delegacion de Ecologia, and one high school teacher from the
Inrcar de Matamaros, Pue. Both persons had worked before with the principal investigator,
and they know the zone well The project was carefully presented to them A short contract
was signed The principal investigator explained to the assistants the seriousness required to
succeed in the study, and their duty to show respect and tolerance to local people. Then,
technical training on how to perform the interviews was given However, during the every-day
household interviews, the principal researcher was close to them, supervising the work Their
help was mainly used during the Los Amates data collection, which was performed from
Decerrflrer 12, 1997, though January 28, 1998.

With regard to the guide-informants, these were idartified fi'om three different local
villages One of them was fi'om Los Amates comnnmity, and the others two from difl‘ermt
villages They were involved in all phases of the field trips transects They were gradually
introduced into the research processes, and the rigor needed in data collection was explained to
them They brought us to the fields, showing us where the plants were located, some within the
scattered secondary forest, others in more perturbed habitats, etc. Their guidance was
excellent, since other questions were addressed while the transects took place. Moreover, since
they lmew many other local peasants who were encormtered during the field trips, we were

introduced to them to corroborate data obtained and checked during the previous night.

3.2.7. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES, KEY VARIABLES, AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

To operationalize a concept means, according to Hoover and Donovan (1995252), “put
it in a form that permits some kind of measurement of variation". Therefore, the key variables

63

were operationalized as defined below, after hypothesis statements3. The following hypotheses

have bear constructed based on the research objectives and the research questions.

Hypothesis No. 1.Campesinos in the Mixteca Poblana Region have developed
Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Wild Food Species
Operational Definitions:

In this study, Traditional Ecological Knowledge was measured by campesinos’
responses to questions about their techniques of using wild food species. Among these
techniques, were: 1) the naming of food species, 2) the recognition of specific habitats
where these species flourish, 3) the ways in which they plant, replant, transplant, prune,
select, protect and harvest such food species, 4) the ways peasants distinguish varietal
diversity within species based on morphological (shape and size of the fi'uits) and physical
traits (color and flavor of the edible parts), and 5) the ways in which those edible parts are
cooked

Wild food species are considered to be all those foodstufl‘s gathered or foraged
from wild stands or protected and selected individual plants in campesino’s fields or
backyards. Those may include edible seeds, his roots, flowers or leaves, and embrace

diverse life forms such as trees, shrubs, palm-like, vines, herbs.

Hypothesis No. 2. The Tropical Dry Forest in the Mixteca Poblana Region

contains a large number of wild food species.

 

3Mmymlmvmiablesbeymdflnwoped‘mismnynmthesmneinflmmmeomnplexiwd
mlaimshimmnmndmmdwdmmcxdfidesmmehfimhblmmgim Forexample
are: the "NAFTA effect", the Mexican Economic Policy, andthe Amendments onMeximn Constitution Laws
Homver,thesewerenotconsideredinthisresearclr

64

Operational Definition:

For this hypothesis, a large number is defined as over twenty species mentioned by
at least 50% of respondents who show acceptance in eating those wild food species. A
basic assumption of this dissertation is that any wild food species (as defined above) is
worth being considered and selected as a new potential cultivated crop, or should be

inchrded in the arsenal of genetic resources for food utilization.

Hypothesis No. 3. Most of the wild food species have alternative non-food uses,
which also contribute to household livelihoods.
Operational Definition:

The extent of alternative non-food uses was measured by peasants’ responses to
questions about the secondary, tertiary, or multiple uses that several wild food species may
have due to the presence of nutritious foliage for the cattle, medicinal properties for
humans, ornamental features in urban settings, etc. Each species classified as a wild food
species, was assessed for eleven alternative non-food uses: 1) firewood, 2) forage,
3)medicinal, 4) ornamental, 5) nitrogen fixer, 6) poles and construction materials, 7)
fibers, 8) crops sticks, 9) alcoholic or vinegar production, 10) living fence, and 11) resins

and tannins.

Hypothesis No. 4. The harvest of wild food species is as econonrically important

as the harvest of other conventional marketable products obtained from the tropical dry

forest.

65

Operational Definition of Variables:

The harvest of wild food species was measured according to the amount of cash
earned from the sales of the edible parts of wild food species, as well as the estimated
value of home consumption. Within this variable were included all the in situ protected
stands of wild food species, and their semidomesticated cultivars managed and maintained
within the households ( family gardens) which are harvested not only for family
consumption but above all for commercialization in regional markets.

The harvest of other conventional marketable products obtained from the tdf
refers in this study to the reporting by respondents of the monetary value of firewood
sales, and grazing animals which traditionally have been recognized as the main income
generators. The contribution to local people’s economy of wild food species was
determined by comparison of income obtained from sales of wild food species with the

total annual income per household

Hypothesis No. 5. Land tenure uncertainty along with population growth are directly
related to the tropical dry forest shrinkage.
Operational definitions:

Land tenure uncertainty was operationalized in this study by summary of
respondents’ statements about: 1) those pieces of land where peasants grow the nrilpa
systems and, 2) those lands where they used to collect wild food species, to exploit

firewood or to stock animals.

66

Population growth was estimated by asking the family parents (father and mother)
about the size of their correspondent previous generations, and the size of the current
families of their married sons or daughters through interviews.

The tdf shrinkage was estimated by comparing aerial photographs of forest cover
on two different dates (1978 and 1994), oficial data on deforestation and personal

observations.

3.2.8. DATA ANALYSIS STRATEGY
The quantitative data were analyzed and presented in tables, with frequency
distribution tests and measures of central tendency to recognize the variability. Dominant

species used as food were grouped by importance, range, and percent.

67

4. FINDINGS

4.1. INTRODUCTION

The information in this chapter is presented in the same order that it was obtained from
the survey instruments and field work The data comes from three main sources: 1) A
preliminary survey administered to nine commrmities within the Mirdeca Poblana Region, 2) A
more detailed sm'vey questionnaire applied to the Los Amates comnnmity, and 3) Sirdeen field
transects performed in specific areas of distribution of the species identified as wild food
sources The data is broken into two parts The first part deals with the biological and cultural
aspects of the foodstufis found, and it inchrdes:
l) The wild fiuits gathered from the tdf,
2) The cultural significance of these food sources,
3) the degree of fiequency as components of the tdf,
4) the level of cultivation and domestication of some selected foods,
5) the species formd in the backyards of households,
6) the interest of people in planting wild trees.

The second part is about the socioeconomic variables affecting the relationships
between the native genrrplasm and the peasants, and it is organized as follows:
1) the features ofthe land where the wild food species were gathered,
2) thefirrming systemsassociatedwiththe tdf,
3) the livestock conrposition and its links with the tdf,
4) the accesa'bility of food at the household level,
5) the size of the firmilies and adoption of birth control methods

68

6) the analysis of the sources and distribution of income.
The findings are a summary of responses to the questions posed in the research, both in
the questionnaires administered, and in the field transects The questionnaire asked:
1) Which are the wild species gathered for food, and how tastefirl, desirable, and palatable are
these species according to people’s preferences?
2) Where are the species found (perturbed or well-conserved forest) and how do local people
vahre (for self-consumption; for sale), handle and maintain them?
3) Are the species locally abundant, scarce, or rare and why?
4) Are the species broker into distinct populations or varieties according to zonal ecotypes?
5) Wher are the seeds or propagules available, and how viable are they?

6) What is the economic meaning and opportunity cost of their consumption or sale?

4.1.1. Remarks on Data Collection Strategies.

In the preliminary envey three qualified people from nine comnnmities (twerty sever
persons in total) were asked about the species that are gathered fiom the tdf for food
utilimtion, either being those only for self-consmnption or/and for connnercialimtion.
Afterwards, one fiom these nine comnnmities was selected to respond to a more complete
questionnaire to find out the econonric and cultural meanings of food trees and the forces
contributing to their reduction. This survey included a total of 77 peasant households in the Los
Amates community. They responded about the wild species collected year-round, either for

self-consumption and/or for sale. Thus, a preliminary list of wild food species was gererated

69

4.1.2. Features of the people interviewed.

Local dwellers of this region belong to the Mixtecos ethnic group. Although most of
them show more mestizo traits than indigerous ones, their predominant way of living has been
marked by strong traditions and firmily links Their subsisterce agiculture is still balanced with
their part-time gathering and himter styles, which makes them highly deperdert on the tdf as
the primary and some times sole source of livelihood and cash to complemert diets It is worth
reiterating that the "Los Amates" comnnmity was selected due to its represertativeress of the

natural, cultural and socioeconomic features of the Mixteca Region of the Puebla state.

4.2. THE PRELIMINARY LIST OF WILD SPECIES US- AS FOOD.

Knowledgeable peasants interviewed in nine comnnmities referred to over 30
indigerous species by their local name as sources of food These outcomes were corroborated
first by the responses of the household survey questionnaires administered to the Los Amates
comnnmity. Ther after analyzing the information on the preliminary list, the species were
defined with the help of informant-guides Ther, these plants were located in transects
performed in the comnnmal forest of the Los Amates where they grow.

Afierwards, plant parts Were sampled in order to identify them by their sciertific names
in the Botany Lab of the Division de Ciercias Forestales (DICIFO), in the Universidad
Autonoma Chapirrgo. The main species used as food located and idertified both in the field and
in the lab are preserted in table 4.1, ordered according to local people's preferences All these
species are conponerts of difl‘erert settings and succession stages of the tropical dry force.
The life forms inchtdes many categories (shrubs, trees, pahn-like, vines) as well as different
strata within of the tdf composition and structure. Besides, most of the them are perernial
plants

70

Table 4.1. Preliminary list of wild species with food value in the Mixteca Poblana

Region ranked according to people preferences.

 

 

Local name Scientific name Biological form Degree of frequency
l)Pitaya de temporal Stenocereus stellatus Arborescent cacti abundant
2)Pitaya de Octubre Stenocereus griseus Arborescent cacti abundant
3)Cuatomate Solarium cfjazminoides liana-like scarce
4)Ciruelas Spondias spp. Arboreal abundant
5)Nanche rojo Malphigia mexicana Arboreal scarce
6)Guaje blanco Leucaena leucocephala Arboreal abundant
7)Guaje rojo Leucaena esculenta Arboreal abundant
8)Cooo de cerro Cyrtocarpa procera Arboreal abundant
9)Nanche amarillo Byrsonima crassifolia Arboreal scarce
10)Jiotilla Escontria chiotilla Arborescent cacti scarce
11)Guamuchil Pithecellobium dulce Arboreal abundant
l2)Pitajaya Hylocereus undatus climbing plant scarce
l3)Chico Stenocereus weberi Arborescent-eacti abundant
14)Uva cimarrona" Ampelocissus acapulsensis Vine-like rare
15)Cuahuayote Pileus mexicanus Arboreal rare
16)Mora Coccoloba acapulsensis Long thick stock scarce
17)Pepino Mathelea trachyantha Shurb-like abundant
18)Flor de izote Yucca periculosa Palm-like abundant
l9)Biznaga Ferocactus sp. globose cacti scarce
20)Caeaya Agave sp. rosetofile abundant
21)Camote de cerro“ Dioscorea sp. liana-like rare
22)Jicama de pochote Ceiba parvifolia Arboreal abundant
23)Tempexquintle Bumelia sp. Arboreal rare
24)Cachanca* Marsdenia edulis liana scarce
25 )Capire Sideroxylon capiri Arboreal abundant
26)Cuayotomate Vitex mollis Arboreal smrce
27)Encino roble Quercus eastanea Arboreal scarce
28)Mezquite Prosopis juliflora Arboreal abundant
29)Pancolole" Marsdenia sp. vine-like scarce

 

Code: *armual, ** biannual, no sign =peremial
These data emphasize food utilimtion and a multiple-use viewpoint of native plants
Although the list is not exhaustive, since many others may have beer ignored due to either to
weakness of the data or, because of the difliculty in finding them in the forest. On the other

hand, peasants mentioned other herbs for nourishmert, but specirners were not found‘.

 

' The informant-guides mentiorredforirrstarrceedrble herbs such asthe locallyealledwildpipichm
(Porophyllum calcicola?), papalos (Porophyllum ruderale?), tlapanches (7), wild mushrooms, and other ruderal
annual plants such 8 verdolaga (Portulaca oleracea), which used to grow 3 weeds in the mountain croplands.
However, sincesamplesofthemwerenot identifiedandcharacterizedtheyarenotpresentedinthelist.

71

4.3. THE RANKING OF FOOD SPECIES.

It was clear that not all edible species have the same level of acceptance. Some species
although wild, are highly appreciated due to their palatability and sweetness, while others are
less appetizing and people show less interest, but none gained people's indifl‘ererce. It was
difficult to order them Imder these very subjective criteria, since in some instances, although
people declared higher preference for some, these are only available during specific seasons,
and therefore, their irrrportance as diet components is reduced. In other cases, the plants have
became so rare that now their production is limited and their consumption is only by chance.
All those factors built the ranking within the species list. In a few cases the opinions were
divided, however, the ranking of them was made according to the greater fiequercy of people's
responses in terms of their prefererces.

On the other hand, the species used as food and listed in table 4.1, could be grouped
also into three types: 1) those species extremely acceptable, and whose production is almost as
important as staple foods (the most palatable, meetest, accessible, and highly productive) and
whose commercialimtion is fimdamertal to the villagers' domestic economy (fiom 1 to 9 in the
list); 2) those qrecies which are palatable and appreciated but are scarce and whose fiuits are
small or less easy to find, and whose production is limited (10-21), and, 3) those probably
considered famine foods, since although people eat them, their taste is not conrparable to the
former ones, and they are only eater as occasional snacks (21-29).

At the first glance, to a lay-person these food plants would men to have no prime
importance in feeding people. However, during the developmert of the research, we realized
that in critical times, all those species used to be major sources of calories, mineral nutrierts,

vitamins and some proteins, but above all they are the only break in the tediurn oftheir currert

72

narrow diets, which are based on tortilla, beans and peppers. Moreover, these species
presented an array of alternative uses, which were described by informant- guides The food
species lined are also sources of traditional medicine, fiber, construction materials, fuels,
omamertal and providers of marketable and non-marketable benefits, which will be discussed

later.

4.4. WILD FOOD SPECIES AS COMPONENTS OF THE TDF.

4.4.1. Field transects.

Sixteer sites were selected to assess the relative importance of the wild food producers
as natural componerts of the tdf. The sites were located on topographic maps and aerial
photos However, these were only logistic refererces, since our field trips relied more on the
critical knowledge of the peasants hired as informant-guides They know the zone well, and
showed us all the corners of the tdf forest patches Imder different successions] stages, as well
as the precise habitat residerces of each qrecies used for food

The transect routes to evahrate food plant richness were based on convertional
techniques of botanical explorations and prospecting for promising plants The procedure was
as follows: The slopes choser were scanned by walking through them Throughout the
transects the food species were cormted according to their degree of fiequercy (dersity.
number of mature elemerts per hectare). Once food trees were formd and idertified the area
was artificially defined and sampling methods applied Figure 4.1 and 4.2 ilhrstrate the settings
where the assessrnert was practiced and the kind of plants formd

The dynanrics of a plant population over time are due to various firctors In order to
operationalize this concept a unit ofmeasure was set up, assuming that the major firctor of

distmbance is human intervention. In this fiishion, a species was considered ame wher 5

73

individuals or more per hectare were found in its most typical habitat. They were considered
scarce when the number was less than 5, but more than 2, and rare when less than one were

found.

 

Figure 4.1. The assessment of food tree richness through the transects let us place them among the
tropical dry forest. In this example (site 7), the following fruit species can be seen:
Stenacereus weberi(64), Coccaloba acapulcensis(13), Cyrtocarpa procera(36), Sideroxylon
capire(47), Yucca periculosa(10), Marsdenia edulis(8), and Ceiba parvifolia(40). The other
trees are regular components of the tdf.

4.4.2. The degree of frequency.

Such a measure was somewhat artificial since for many species, their frequency may be
determined by multiple factors. Some of these have be. discussed before and have to be seen
within the species habitat's requirements. Since while one plant is scarce in a successional forest
stand, the same can be more abundant in places where the degree of disturbance was higher or
vice versa. For that reason, the assessment was made on the basis of the their most fiequent
habitat. For example, it was difficult to find the camote de cerro (wild sweet potato, Dioscorea

74

 

 

Solarium q'jwnirwida. Plant belonging to the Solaname family. Biannual shrubby, with vine-like habit. Plant with
paired prldtles in the nodes lflre stipules. leaves simple, alternate, exstipulated: line of spines In the adaxlil-leaflet
blade. Dloeicious plant. Inflorescence determinate, cymose. Flowers actinomorphlc, hypognous, showy, with 5-
merous perlanth: sympetalous; 5 eplpetalous stamens; ynoeclum of l pistil; 2—csrpellate ovary with axile
pbcentadomAmundberryastireh'ulttypewithiitoIiS centimeters long.Theh'uitlssumunded byathick
transparent cuticle. Anatomical features: intraxylary (internal) phloem in the petiole and stem as typical in
Sole-scene; unitegrnlc and tenuinumllate ovules. In the Solarium genus flowers have no nectar, but they are
pollinated by Insects that collect pollen(Symon 1970; Bulmann, 1986), quoted by Zomlefer (1994). The fruits are
harvested from July through September and sold in the regional marlcts of the Mixteca Poblana in very reduced
scale. However, due to its flavor are highly appreciated for those who know them. The genus Solarium is well
represented in MesoAmerica where it has its greatest diversity (Walters and Rail, 1994). It includes herbs, shrubs,
and woody vines. Solanum is one of the three most important food genera, since it is related to major cups sudr as
the tomatoes, potatoes and peppers.

 

Figure 4.2. Once found in its natural habitat, a plant was described as is shown above

and samples of its parts packed to identify its correspondent scientific name and
drawings made.

75

sp.) in all forests next to the Los Amates. However, 30 miles away, in a better conserved tdf of
the Tepexco community, the creeper was more prominent, and there, this plant could be
considered scarce but not rare. Nevertheless, it was an isolated case, since most of the species
studied show the same pattern of distribution and abundance in this region Therefore, our
assessment of abtmdant, scarce and rare was standardized to the Los Amates area of influence.

Another very interesting point is that to a great extent, it was observed that for most of
the foodstuffs their abtmdance and location are associated with different degrees of
disturbances, and several are fomd in perturbed habitats, or even exchisively in spots where
hurmn hands have modified the landscapes. Several species, for instance, are typically formd
close to ephemeral water courses or in the edges between the tdf and clearances opened for
cropping

In other cases, species such as the cacti elements, although they can be inserted within
typical trees of the tdf, most commonly are fomd in those areas where the original ecosystems
have been brought to a degree of deterioration where only those species adapted to dry and
sallow soils can live. It means that the process of succession can be interpreted as a radical
change in the forest composition, from a diverse structured one, to one more simplified, where
the tdf no longer exists Finally, it is important to reiterate that although many species were
found easily throughout the transects, the relative importance was given according to the

frequency in which they were counted in the forest.

4.5. CULTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OF FOOD SPECIES

4.5.1. Cultural traits of the species identified.
It is diflicult to separate the biological aspect of wild food plants from their social and

cultural settings For example, local people have developed a complicated combination of

76

elements to make the wild fruits more desirable when they have to be cooked This way,

vegetables which can taste astringent or flavorless when flesh, are transformed into delicacies

through traditional recipes The culturalzfeatures of food species were studied in terms of

whichpartsareused, andhowtheyareconsumed. Thisissummarizedinthetable4.2.

TABLE 4.2. Preliminary list of wild species gathered as food by the rural communities in the
Mixteca Poblana, ordered by local people’s preferences and economic importance.

 

 

 

 

Edible parts How they are eaten?—

Local name Scientific name f s r i l fre ba boi fri bv
1)Pitaya de temporal Stenocereus stellatus x x x
2)Pitaya de Octubre Stenocereus griseus x x x
3)Cuatomate Solanum cf jazminoides x x
4)Ciruelas Spondias spp. x x x x
5)Nanche rojo Malphigia mexicana x x
6)Guaje blanco Leucaena leucocephala x x x
7)Guaje rojo Leucaena esculenta x x x
8)Coco de cerro C yrtocarpa procera x x x
9)Nanche amarillo Byrsonima crassrfolia x x x
10)Jiotilla Escontria chiotilla x x x
ll)Guamuchil Pithecellobium dulce x x
12)Pitajaya Hylocereus undatus x x x
13)Chico Stenocereus weberi x x
14)Uva cimarrona" Ampelocissus acapulcensis x x
15)Cuahuayote Pileus mexicanus x x x x
16)Mora Coccoloba acapulsensis x x x
17)Pepino Mathelea trachyantha x x
18)Flor de izote Yucca pen'culosa x x
l9)Biznaga F erocactus sp. x x
20)Cacaya Agave sp. x x
21)Camote de cerro" Dioscorea sp. x x
22)Jicama de pochote Ceiba parvifolia x x
23)Tempexquintle Bumelia sp. x x
24)Cachanca* Marsdenia edulis x x
25)Capire Sideroxylon capiri x x
26)Cuayotomate Vitex mollis x x
27)Encino roble Quercus castanea x x
28)Mezquite Prosopisjuliflora x x x
29)Pancolole"‘ Marsdenia sp. x x
CGDE: fdible parts Way of consuming

f= fruits f re= fresh

s== seeds ba= baked

r= roots boi= boiled

fl= flowers f ri= fried

l= leaves bv= in beverages

 

2 In this case culture is referred as "human culture". Such a concept includes local people’s beliefs,
language patterns, and the way people name, use, manage, keep and maintain plants for different

purposes.

77

Fruits as food. As can be seen fiom table 4.2, most of the edible parts are fiuits, but in
some cases flowers, seeds or roots are used Most of fruits are consumed fi'esh. However,
some are cooked in a variety of ways, and many more are vital ingredients in traditional dishes
or prepared in beverages.

Flowers as food. From at least three species, the flowers are the part consumed. These
are the Izote (Yucca periculosa), Maguey (Agave qr.) whose flowers are locally named
‘cacayas’, and the ‘Pipis flowers’ (Erythn'm sp). The flowers of these three species are cooked
with eggs and potatoes, and sometimes these are brought to the markets by poor people to
earn some cash The most remarkable example of this cultural richness associated with local
biodiversity is the izote flowers During the driest season, (from February to April), hrmdreds
of bell-shaped, creamy-ivory flowers of izote crown this pahn-like plant Its delicate flowers
blossom in panicles, boldly stationing themselves right in the center of the plant, as an erect
bouquet. These are harvested and traditional dishes prepared Chemical analyses indicated that
the Izote flowers are rich in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, thiamin, phosphorus
and riboflavin

Root foods. The tuber of camote de cerro (wild sweet potato or momrtain potato;
Dioscorea sp). and the tuber-like roots of Ceiba aesculr'folia are regionally consumed as food
The mountain sweet potato (Diascorea sp) is a climber plant which grows supported by tdf
trees. Givenitswide distribution, fromJanuarytoMarchnot onlyinthe Mixteca but also in
other regions of the tdf the roots are harvested The tubers have to be extracted from the
gromd using appropriate digging tools These foodstufl‘s are boiled and prepared with sugar or
honey. In the case of the Ceiba aesculifolia, its roots serve as water storage for the prolonged

dry seasons The tmderground edible organs are extracted and eaten fresh It tastes as good as

78

the Jicama (Paclnzrhizus seras'us), another cropped plant native to Mexico and domesticated by
ancient cultures

Seed foods. It is particularly interesting that only three species of this list are consumed
as seeds The most important are the seeds of ‘guajes’ (white and red) Leucaena leucocephala
and L esculenta, which are one of the most traditional food plants of the Mixteca's tdf. Many
dishesarebased onthe wedsofthe guaje plant. Rich invitamins, the legumes are sold inthe
local markets and are one of the most promising plants in agrosilvopastoral systems initiatives.
Other seeds are those of a Papaya like plant (Pileus mexicmw), which are cooked with salt
and eaten as an companion to the daily diets Although the sweet flesh is the most appreciated
The acorns of the encino roble (Quercus castanea) are eaten flesh, but only incidentally when
the production is abrmdant. However, these seeds are exploited more by goats and cattle as a
forage when mature. Unfortrmately, this species has practically been eradicated flom the

Mixteca Poblana Region due to its preferential use as charcoal wood

4.5.2. Functional features: Alternative uses of native food species.

Through generations Mixtecan peasants have developed an extensive rmderstanding of native
flora. Experience gained over time and later transmitted orally to youngsters has built a
lmowiedge of management, protection and exploitation of native plant species For instance, an
empiricalciassification oftreesbasedontheir difl‘erentuseswasrecordedinthis study. This
functional hierarchy of alternative uses referred to by the informant-guides is used here to
classify secondary, tertiary, etc. uses of wild food mecies, and it is featured in table 4.3 and

illustrated in figure 4.3, and discussed below.

79

Firewood. There are an array of conditions to meet for considering a woody plant as
desirable firewood in the Mixteca homes. Several species, in addition to their edible fiuits,
garerate outstanding amounts of calories per 1mit of biomass Moreover, since the region is
facing a scarcity of the most energy-producing trees, the food trees are being cut despite their
lower wood quality. In firct, it is the most important alternative use of too many food trees
since 100% of the rural households of this region have firewood as their only source of energy,
and also for supplementary income.

TABLE 4.3. Preliminary list of species with food value and their multiple uses
viewpoint, in the community called "Los Amates", a subsistence Community

in the Southwest of Puebla, Mexico.
“scientific name Other local uses
FuFoDmC/ELFFiP/BNiT/EStiOr
I)Stenocereus stellatus x x x x
2)Stenocereus griseus x x x x x
3)Solanum cfjazminoides
4)Spondias spp.
SWaIphigia mexicana
6)Leucaena leucocephala
7)Leucaena esculenta
8)Cyrtocarpa procera
9)Byrsonima cramfoh'a
10)Escontria chiotilla
l 1)Pr'thecellobium dulce
i2)Honcereus undatus x
l3)Stenocereus weberi x
l4)A mpelocr'ssus acapulcensis
15)Pileus mexicanus
l6)CoccoIoba acapulsensis x
l7)MatheIea trachyantha
18)Yucca periculasa x x x x
19)Ferocactus sp.
20)Agave sp. x x x
21)Dioscorea sp.
22)Ceiba parvifolia x x x x
23)Bumelia sp.
24Warsdenia edulis
25)S‘r'deroxylon capiri
26) Vitex mollis
27)Quercus castanea
28)Prosopr'sjuliflora
29)Marsdenia sp. x

 

 

X

X X
X

XXXXXXXX
XXXX

X
X
X

XXXXXXXX
X
X
X

X
XXXX X
X
X
X X

XXXX
XX
XX
XX
X
X

X

 

CODE
Fl'w ”BMW-mes“ Fs-Ferage Matting-fixation
Dr-Ihflnm-fact-hg T/E- Tie-sates C/E-c-ative/sthd. St-. Stlclss(crep support)
LF-thgfences 0r=.On-ent Flflllben
80

Forage. The absence of pastures and high-quality grasses raise the importance of tree
foliage. Particularly these perennial food trees species (e. g. Pithecellobium dulce), used to be a
prime source of forage during the dry season. Many fluits or seeds edible by humans are also a
rich food for the cattle. For example, it is estimated that 90% of the Cyrtocarpa procera fluits,
and 95% of the nuts flom Quercus castanea are consumed by goats and cattle, since only a
minimal amomrt is collected for human consumption. Moreover, this aspect is important since
cattle contribute with manure and cycling of nutrients

Medicinal. According to previous studies (Sanchez, 1988, and 1991), dozens of tdf
plants are used in traditional medicine, which still comprises about 90% of the local
ethnopharmacopeia. Among species here classified primarily as food producers, there are many
with medicinal applications (e. g. leaves of Bymonima crassrfolia for digestive ailments).

Ornamental. The shape, the colorfirl leaves and flowers as well as their magnificent
resistance to dryness and compact soils, add importance to many food species For example,
the Yucca periculasa, and Agave sp., along with other species are locally appreciated as luxmy
decorative elements

Living fences. Armed with defensive strong spines, dense hard foliage, or due to their
facility to reproduce sprouts (coppice), many food plants are also used as efl‘ective barriers
between neighboring houses, or to discornage animals flom the fallow lands In this respect, all
the cactus taxa excel, the Pithecellobium dulce, the Bromelia karatas, and of course the
Erythrim sp., which is the most well known and used for this, even outside this region are

suitable living fences

81

 

 

Scientific name: Pitecellobium dulce. Common name: Guamuchll. Family Legumlnosae: subfamily
mlmosoideae. Tree up to 20 meters of height, and a diameter of 60 centimeters, perennial. Well-buflt
pyramidal canopy, and straight trunk with ascendant branches. Bark even and smooth, color grey-green with
whitish stains and abundant lenticels brown-red grouped on longitudinal lines, 3 mm wide. Bark presents also
transversal pleats with central holes and spines in both sides. Wood with yellow-clear sapwood, and brown-
red heartwood. The heavy and hard wood possesses a characteristic odor, a fine texture, and straight grain.
The annual rings of growth are inconspicuous porous with parenchyma paratrachial. Moreover, the wood
presents attractive grain with contrast color differences between heartwood and sapwood. Leaves: arranged
on spiral crowded, bipinnately, from 2 to 7 centimeters long with the petiole included. Leaves: are composed
of a couple of secondary sessile pinnas from 10x6 to 40x22 mm, asymmetric ovate or elliptic with entire
margin, apices rounded symmetrical base rounded or truncated. The adaxial leaf's surface is green-opaque
and yellow; the abaxial surface with scarce pubescence. A concave gland is found between the primary pinnes
and other between the secondary. Young branches with a couple of spines up to 7 mm long, from the petiole of
the leaves. Flowers: perfect, on axillar inflorescence head buds from 5 to 30 cm long, panicles pendular
tomentosas. Each head on a branch from 2 to 5 mm, with 1.5 mm of diameter. Flowers are slightly perfumed,
actinomorphlcs. Insect pollinated. Fruits: dehlscing legumes about 20 cm long, green, spiraled with narrowed
waist between seed and seed. The seeds are surround covered by an edible fleshy arll. Seeds with a flat
embryo sided by fleshy cotyledons. Roots are associated to rhizobium aerial bacteria that live as saprophytes
in the soil until penetrating the root hair cells. The tree grows on little alluvial soil in deep valleys within the
tdf. More frequent in the edges or ephemeral currents. The wood is highly workable and durable. Locally its
poles are used in rural construction, and also as firewood. Tannin obtained from this species is applied in
tanning of leather.

 

Figure 4.3. An example of food species with multipurpose features found and
described from samples collected in the transects.

82

Poles and building materials. Home buildings and homestead installations demand
long poles to support roofs, huts, shacks, and walls The remarkable durability of some woods
is known by people who take advantage oftnmks of the guamuchil (Pithecellobium dulce) and
the hard "bones" of the candelabra cacti (which embraces many species of the genus
Stenecereus), which constitute appropriate materials for flames of houses and animal shelters

Nitrogen Fixation. Legmninosae species (chiefly flom Mimosoideae subihmily) arch
as Pitecellobium dulce, Leucaena spp., Prasopis laevr'gata, incorporate atmospheric nitrogen
into soils through bacterial symbiosis Moreover, it has been demonstrated that Byrsanima
crassr‘folia (another important foodstuff belonging to Malpighiaceae family), holds bacterial
nodules to enrich the soil

Tannins. Tannins are substances used in tanning leather. This gran-like chemical may
be obtained flom Pitecellobium dulce, Prosopis laevigata, Leucaena spp., and Byrsonima
crmsg'folia.

Sticks. In the neighboring state of Morelos, the tormto is the prime cash crop and
requires stakes to support the stems. The sticks are gathered flom several hard-wood food
trees of the tdf.

Drink manufacturing. Although this category is associated with food production, at
this point a distinction is made to produce alcoholic beverages which are wine-like flom
Amphelocissus accaprdcerzsrls, and mescal (tequila-like) flom Agave sp., as well as a high-
quality vinegar made by Bromelia karatas. All are the base for small scale cottage distilleries in

thisregion

83

Fibers. At least two food species also produce high quality fibers to make cords. These
are Agave sp. and Yucca pen'culasa, although Ceiba aesculifolia also produces a fine cotton-
like fibers.

Afier determining the alternative uses of wood trees, a series of complementary
informal-opportrmistic interviews were held to corroborate the reliability of the secondary,
tertiary, etc. uses mentioned by the inforrmmt guides The cross check list responses not only
confirmed the previous data, but also enriched the information by showing concrete examples

and complete consistency.

4.6. LEVELS OF CULTIVATION, T‘AMING AND DOMFSTICATION

Althoughmost ofthe species are only collectedflomthe wild, a degree ofcultivation,
taming and domestication can be seen ill several others According to Hancock (1992),
domestication processes imply the modification of genetic makeup to increase reproductive
efl‘orts, to allarge seed and fiuit sizes, to accelerate and increase germination, to avoid fiuits
and seeds blasting open, to tend toward self-pollination (miformity), to synchronize ripening,
to increase palatability, to change color, and remarkably, the loss of defensive structures as well
as a higher adaptation to improve yields in these agroecological niches where the plain was
originally selected

Thus, in the Mixteca the cultivation of "wild species", can be defined as the simple filct
of altering their location ( by protecting, sowing, or transplanting) or grth habit (pnming) in
some way to make plants more usefill and productive to human interests As simple as Blench
(1997), sketches it: the new cultivated plants continue having interaction within the wild

population. At this point, the wild cultigals lmder cropping may not be considered

84

domesticated at all, since such cultivars do not yet depend on humans to smvive and evolve.
They have not lost their ferocious and defensive traits, and they do not require fervent care. In
this respect the classic concept of domestication where a plant sufl‘ers deleterious modifications
to its survival has not taken place at all, since humans only have adopted and adapted their
genetic rmkeups to suitable niches and modifying landscape to their needs (See figure 4.4.).

The cacti species which are the most notable examples of cultivation in the Mixteca
have not lost their ferocious cushion spines, or other defensive traits Moreover, these wild
cultigens do not require specific care to ensure the next harvest, nmch less watering,
fertilization or pest control to complete their life cycle. Based on these arguments, we could say
that some selected native varieties of food plants flom this region have a degree of taming, but
they have not been domesticated to the degree conventional crop plants are.

What does taming mean and how does it apply within this discussion? Blench (l997z2),
states that "taming implies temporarily adapting a wild species to human requirements without
altering its galetic make up". This kind of process has been a prehrde to fixture domestication in
many animals and plants

Despite the filct that cultivating wild plants flom the Mixteca ecosystems is not new,
this old way of selecting the most suitable cultivars continues and was recorded dining this
study. This sequaltial process of selection-cultivation-taming-domestication was observed in
ourvisitstoihrmfieldsintheregion, audit canbeilhlstratedinfigure 4.5 and described as
follows:

i) The idaltification by peasants in the wild of the outstanding fluit producing plants,

according to size, sweetness, seasonality, location and adverse factors resistance.

85

 

 

\'
\
lV
\
N
.\ s‘
V .

Jacaratr'a mexicaaa A. DC. (Synonym species: Piles: merit-anus). Common names in the Mixteca Poblana,
"Bonete", "cuahuayote", and "wild papaya". It is a deciduous tree belonging to the family Caricaceae. With a
conic trunk slniiiar to papaya species, it can reach 10 meters of height soft-stemmed. A terminal cluster of
leaves in tin manner of palms Stems with a ring of narrow, radially elongated vascular bundles separated by
bread, parenchymatous medullary rays. leaves alternate, commonly hrge and long-petiolated, mostly palmately 3-
16-veined. Flowers in cymose, axillary inflorescences, regular, hypognous, pentamernus, unkexnal (dioecious);
perfect; sepab 5, small; petals 5, connated to form an elongate, slender corolla tube. Stamens 10, in two cycles.
Gynoeclum of 5 carpels united to form a compound; embryo straight, spatulate, with 2 broad, flat cotyledons,
embedded in the endosperm. The latex of this species is the source of the enzymatic meat-tenderlser papain.
Regionally, the tree is highly appreciated by people due to its esteemed large, fleshy, melon-like large sweet
fruits and also its edible seeds. It has a wide distribution along the High Balsas Basin in Mexico. The bonete is
not yet systematically cultivated, but it is protected. This taxa is a tangible example of tdf treasures. By the
way, who owns it? IJke this papaya-like plant, many useful species have been protected and selected through
untold number of peasant generations. Subsequently, these species were nurtured and, reflned as food crops,
and latter as cash crops. The fact that local people receive no recognition by transnational ventures, who used
to take native germplasm as raw materials, constitutes an act of biopiracy whose effects can range from
accelerated depletion of the valuable species, to hunger related to disruption of socioeconomic and cultural
networks. Assessing the wealth and economic value of the tdf genetic resources is an arduous and complex
task, not only due to the tremendous amount of products and services generated, but also because of the
cultural display inherent to traditional communities, whose plants, ideology, religion, and food systems, used
to go together, which contradicts totally our Western culture.

 

Figure 4.4. A protected wild species of food. An example of potential food crops
found in the edges, between open fallow lands and the tdf patches of the
Mixteca Poblana.

86

l) The subsequent protection of these individuals with desirable features wher clearance of
the forest or the harvest of firewood is done,

2) The rudimertary propagation by seed or cuttings of individuals displaying these highly
appreciated features.

At this point is easy to detect the knowledge that local residents of the Mixteca region
have managed to acquire in term of specific traits of some species. For instance, in the case of
the ciruela (Spondias spp), at least sever varieties were found This empirical varietal
classification is based on the size of the fiuits, color, flavor (sweet and bitter types), shape of
the fruit and seasonal fruit production. The number of varieties and the levels of cultivation and
domestication of these species idertified as food are preserted in table 4.4.

Based on the preceding discussion, we could assert that most of the species remain
wild, although that some degree of cultivation and domestication can be detected Some
authors (Cruz, 1995 among others) refer to Stenocereus stellams, Stenocereus griseus,
Hylocereus undatus and Leucaena leucocephala as species domesticated and found only in
firmiliar garders or under incipiert commercial orchards This is true only in part, since at least
in this side of the Mixteca Poblana Region, all those species were found in the wild without
specific practices except the gathering and protection processes described here. Stenocereus
stellams and S. gnlseus merit special attention, since their geretic var'mbility is evident. The
species are broker down into several landraces of cropped cultivars, and into many
metapopulations in their natural areas of distribution Although the geretic diversity has not
beer assessed at all, morphological, and qualitative traits in fiuit such as size, color of the flesh,
and seasonality indicate a great deal of intraspecific variation For example based on color of

the fruit pulp, four varieties of pitaya(Stenocereus stellatus) were distinguished in the Los

87

Table 4.4. Empirical levels to assess the degree of cultivation and domestication of

some native species in the Los Amates community

Scr'entrfr'c name Varieties level of domestication
(Morphology) For-cut Inc-cut Pro-wild No
x
x" x

 

l)Stenocereus stellatus
2)Stenocereus griseus
3)Solanum cf jazminor‘des
4)Spondias spp.
SWaIphigia mexicana
6)Leucaena leucocephala
7)Leucaena esculenta
8)Cyrtocarpa procera
9)Byrsonima crmfolia
10)Escontrz'a chiotilla
11)Pithecellobium dulce
12)Hylocereus undatus
13)Stenocereus weberi
l4)A mpelocimrs acapulcensis
15)Pileus mexicanus
16)Coccoloba acapulsensis
l7)MatheIea trachyantha
18)Yucca periculosa
19)Ferocactus sp.
20)Agave sp.
21)Dioscorea sp.
22)Ceiba parvifolia
23)Bumelr‘a sp.
24)Marsdenia edulis
25)Sideroxylon capiri

26) Vitex mollis
27)Quercus castanea
28)Prasopis j uliflara
29)Marsdenia s7).

XXXXXX

(i) X.’

XXXX XXXX

XXXXXXXX

X

h—ns—nr—su—r—I—sr—np—nu—r—sr—n—r—sr—nu—r-a—NMr—nNu—u—s—s—q—shu
X
X

 

CODE: Fo-cult= Formal cultivation
lnc-cult= Incipient cropping
Pro- protected
No = only gathered

Amates communityasis shown in figure 4.6.Therc is stillalot ofdebate aboutthe realnunber
of cultivars of all those foodstuffs of the Mixteca region However, ervironmental fitctors as
well as the eviderce of morphological differerces may have produced a lot of changes in firvor
of rmltialelic gene pools over time. For instance, most of the species of the gems Stenacereus
have a chromosome number of 2n=22 and polyploidy and hybridimtion are not very common

in these taxon (Granados, 1997 pers comm).

88

 

“Never do people gather grapes from
thorns or figs fi’om thistles, do they?
Likewise every good tree produces ine
fruit, but every rotten tree produces
worthless fruit, neither can a rotten
produce fine fruit. Every tree not
producingfine fi'uit gets cut down and
thrown into the fire. Really, then, by
their fruits you will recogrize them”
(Matthew 7: 15-20).

 

 

 

4 3M c327,.—

a
a .\
_ --- ._._ -. .-.
fig” 31"“: —~+
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y. -

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9‘ i ”mm: mgr.

(flag
‘1) q 7?}: A,
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i.

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e.

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ix:— 3W

 

 

When a parcel of forest is cleared for the establishment of a milpa systems, and a "good tree" is
present, the peasant generally decides to keep it, and it does not matter if by keeping this, the
surface of arable land is reduced. Through years, the merit of that tree is tested. If the tree shows
features such as bitterness, small fruits, poor production, or susceptibility to insects it is cut.

Otherwise, the tree is kept and protected, serving also as a tiny island of shade. In this manner a
rudimentary process of artificial selection is unchained.

Figure 4.5. The process of selection, protection, cultivation and taming of high quality
food plants from the tdf .

 

figure 4.6. Varietal distinction and phenotypic diversity based on the color of the fruit
pulp in Stenocereus stellatus.

0n the other hand these species have been protected, cultivated and managed since
6500 to 4500 year B.C. (Sanchez-Mejorada, et a]. 1982) by the ancient Mixtecan cultures.
Even though in Los Amates, the pitayas are only collected fiom the wild, or from plants which
at the same time are living fences in the villages. However, in other comnnmities, their
cultivation is made in small-sized orchards. It is seen with Stenocereus griseus (pitaya de mayo)
in many comnnmities of the Mixteca Poblana (Tehuitzingo, Acatlan, Epatlan) and also in the
Mixteca Oaxaquena. In a nutshell, the Mixteca region is perhaps the only place on earth where
more knowledge on edible pitayas fiuits has been generated through an untold number of

Mixtecos generations

90

4.7. FOOD PLANT SPECIES CULTIVATED AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

The questionnaire administered addressed questions to households about themselves
and about the plants living around them Questions such as how long they have planted food
species, where they got the seeds, or seedlings, how frequertly they change or renew a tree and
the estimated yield obtained from those preferred varieties in both good or bad rainy seasons
were responded.

What was forurd is a complex mixture of plants that used to be part of the backyard's
biological diversity. The edible plants present in the backyards are varied and firnctionally
organimd Small omamertals aurormd the shacks, and the shade-trees protect the place where
dishes or clothes are cleaned There were other shade-tree species, mostly non-indigerous,
which were brought by govemmeital programs such as Eucabphrs sp., Fraximls sp. and
Jacaranda sp. The backyards, locally named solares, sitias or patios, have an average size of
1500 square meters3, and the plants growing there can be divided into two groups, the

domesticated non-native species, and the wild plants

4.7.1. Domesticated non-native species

The difi‘erentiation discussed before betweer domesticated and cultivated species is
important to distinguish from the plants found in the housegarders and backyards and those
which found also there but remaining wild, on which residerts complemert their diets

However, these are only grown near people's settlemerts, sheltered by fences and directly

 

3 However, these are being reduced, since when a son gets married, usually the father splits the sitio in
smaller fractions, which if the family is big and men dominate, it means that the land is not enough and
the youngest have to look for suitable neighboring places to settle.

91

protected by people. These can be considered as more domesticated plant and are preserted in
table 4.5.
Table 4.5. Additional list of species used for food purposes, but not found in the

wild. Some of them may be categorized as feral or under a more formal
cultivation and advanced domestication.

 

 

Local name Scientific name Biological form Degree of Frequency
30)Cuajilote Parmentiera edulis Arboreal Scarce
31)Anona Annona diversifolia Arboreal Rare
32)Nopal manso Opuntiaficus-indica Bush-cacti Scarce
33)Zapote blanco Casimiroa edulis Arboreal Rare
34)Guayaba Piscidium guajava Arboreal Rare

3 5)cucaracho Manihot sp. Arboreal Scarce
36)Timbiriche Bromelia karatas Rosetofile Abundant

 

Species in table 4.5 are also native to Mexico, although some come from mostly humid
and some from the driest habitats, and are found only occasionally in the tropical dry forest
settings, since they are corrrpletely tied to protected areas

In some areas guayavas (guavas) and anonas may be considered as ferals, since these
are aheady domesticated plants and connnercially cropped However, some specimens were
found without any specific managemert, residing along edges of riverbank habitats, close to
ephemeral or intermittent currents, where the water table can be reached by deep root systems
during the long dry season, or where an eventual pass of water is possible. These domestic
species were formd in the wild, and they are harvested and appreciated along with the other
completely wild plants. Furthermore, it is possible too that these individuals formd in the wild
can be predecessors of the cultivated varieties or rermants of wild species. However, they are
found more commonly in family garders

The case of the timbiriche plant (Bromelia karatas) is also interesting. The bittersweet

and astringent firm is eater and enjoyed, but the plant is more recognized for vinegar making

92

and as a living fence (see figure 4.7.) The plant does not grow in wild areas, and it is
exchrsively formd in households, but its traits make it look like a wild taxon

The Nopales, a paddy-stem plant belonging to the genus Opuntia (number 32 in the
list), is well represented in this zone at least for two species. However, none of them are
considered important as food. Their fruits, named Ttmas, are small and tasteless and not
comparable with the real ‘tunas’ from the Species Opuntia flats-indict: which grows in the
High Plateau and North of Mexico, away from the Mixteca region In The High Plateau of
Mexico, the Ttma fruit is as esteemed as the Pitaya fruit is in the Mixteca. However, there, the
species Oprmtiaficus-indica has been subject to artificial selection techniques, and brought to a
more advanced process of domestication by selecting cultivars with fewer clodids (spines), etc
than wild species. This domesticated form is being spread into other ecoregions of Mexico,
including the Mixteca where the Opuntia sp. and 0. fim-indica is beginning to be cultivated
not for fruits but for their stems consumed as vegetables Programs of major cultivation of
Opum‘ia are being promoted as alternative crops in other comnnmities within this region,

without consideration ofits potertial effect on native species.

4.7.2. Wild species found in the backyards.

Despite the deliberate reduction of the size of solares due to the increase in family size,
and the acquisition of new ways of living, many native species were formd in the backyards.
The following list preserts the species most fiequertly formd and idertified in the Mixtecan
backyards Household members were asked about the origin of the food plants presert. In
most of the cases they were grown through seeds obtained from well idertified trees of the

forested areas. However, in the case of the Cacti, the cuttings were cut from highly productive

93

a)...

W71» . .
‘,‘H.,.

C
.
’a

 

Bronselr’akm.Commonname: TimbhicheAphntbelongingtotheBromeliaceaefamily.Peennialrosetaflle
bush of a meter height. Dioeicious plant with stems absent with scapose appearance. leaves up to a meter long,

entire, shnple, spinose-serrate in both sides, alternately emerflng from the center of the plant axis in spiral. The
leavesareconcavewithlntensegreencolorturnedinsomeareasintoredintenseTheleavesareparallel-veined,
sessile, strap-shaped. Inflorescence indeterminated, spicate, racernose, paniculate, or capitate, terminal. Flown-s

actlnomorphic, perfect subtended by bracts, in the axile of a brightly colored bract. Calyx of 3 sepals. Androecium of
6 stamens, biseriate. Gynoecium of 1 pistil. 3-carpellate; ovary inferior. Fruit an enlarged berry 10 centimeters long,

antalning millimeter shed seeds color blads aligned into the fruit endosperm. Roots are adventitious. Th8 specie is
adapted to trap water in their leaves and even dissolve organic compounds. The leaves have a water-storhg
parendryma (water storage tissue) between the assimilating mesophyll and epidermis on the adaxial side. A thick
cuticle helps reduce water loss. According to Berning (1980) quoted by Zomlefet (1994), these plants present the
specialized variant of Photosynthetic C4 pathway of the CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) followed by many
xernphytictaanlowersarepollinated bylnsectsandhummingbirdswhichseeknectarsecretedbytheseptal
“Inmalnmesanhvmgfenmvmegarpmducdonandh'uitcomumpdon
Figure 4.7. The timbiriche plant. An example of wild species present in the households of
the Los Amates community because of its multipurpose features.

94

mother’ plants obtained fiom those growing in the commonly owned lands where fiuits are
foraged and gathered Moreover, womer care for household plants and also water and protect
them. Table 4.6. sunnnarizes the findings on this respect.

Finally, although the objective of having trees in the backyards is diverse, in all cases
food is the prime reason of planting them ever though the same food tree may gererate other

berefits (ig living fences, shade, etc. ).

Table 4.6. Native tree species with food value found in households backyards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific name How they were planted Brought Who Treatments
care

seeds cuttings replant from where
l)Stenocereus stellatus x NF F None
2)Stenocereus griseus x NF F
3)Byrsom'ma crassrfolia x x NF F watering
4)Bromelia karatas x x NH F NONE
5)Spondias prapureas x x NF-NH F NONE
6)Hylocereus undatus x x a—NH F NONE
7)Leucaena Ieucophala x NF-NH F Watering
8)Agave s7) x x NF F NONE
9)Pr'teceIIobium dulce x x NF F Watering
10)Prasopisjuliflora Non-information
llWaIphigia mexicana x x NF F Watering
12)0prmtia ficus-r'ndr'ca x OS F Watering
3)Parmenteira edulis Non-information
l4)En'trina sp. x NH NONE
15)Casimiroa edulis Non-information
Code: (n = 77 households)

NH=icmlfamilygardensororchards
NF=broughtfiornsmmndingforest
OS=outsidedtheregion
a=NH,NForOS

F=femaie

4.8. MEASUREMENT OF PEOPLE'S WILLINGNESS TO PLANT FOOD TREES
Restoration through reforestation programs represents an urgert need, and the
participation of local people is vital to promote more cultivation of food crops at the household

level. To extend them to degraded areas is important since according to SEMARNAP (1996),

95

the erosion and desertification in the Mixteca region is reaching alarming peaks. Reports from
the UN (1996), indicated that water availability per capita will decline in Latin American
countries, fiom 105 in 1950 to 28.3 thousands of cubic meters by the year 2000. Thus, water
scarcity is the highest concern in economically depressed regions such as the Mixteca. Personal
observations (of the researcher) recorded since 1983, indicate that the watertable in the
Mixteca region is descerding about 50 certimeters per year. The carrying capacity for the
natural resource base is being surpassed in many other instances For example, the animal load
(the number of goats or cows that a unit of land can feed without deterioration of its natural
regereration capacity), is overloaded by 1000% in some areas (Flores, 1998 pers comm. ).

For these reasons, local residerts were asked about their interest in planting trees, and
what type of food species they would prefer if a reforestation program were launched One
hundred percert of the household respondents (11 = 77) expressed erthusiasm for planting more
trees However, one aspect which impressed us was the fact that the species that people
mertioned primarily were not necessarily native ones. Eighty one percert of the responderts
placed higher interest in non-native species such a Papayas, Mangoes and Avocados Although
many also mertioned native species arch as Pitayas (Stenecereus gems), their desire for
covetable fiuits, (which they can not afford to buy regularly), had overriding preference.

In this region non-native fruit species (e. g. papaya, avocados and mangoes) are
circumstantially cultivated in small scale homegarders, or ever in small orchards for
connnercial purposes. However, in all these cases some irrigation is needed Unfortunately,
water for irrigation is not available for large-scale cropping of papayas, lemons and mangoes,
beyond two or three plants per household in comnnmities such as those included in this study.

Perhaps the prefererce for non-native species is based on the recert installation of pipe-lines for

96

drinking water in many remote villages of the Mixteca region However, since the available
volume is limited, the introduction of "thirstier" plants may gererate conflicts in water
allocation, as has beer observed in other larger villages of the region

This poses problems for planners, since if the available drinking water in the villages
were used to water a larger number of non-native food plants, competition among residents
will increase, and therefore, problems of scarcity will appear. Ther a strong program on water
conservation and appropriate use will be necessary but not erough. Therefore, what really
mattes is to educate people about the carrying capacity of their resources and promote chiefly

the use of native species adapted to those dry ervironmerts.

4.9. FARMING SYSTEMS AND FOOD SUPPLY

4.9.1. The milpa system

The complexity involved in small landholder subsisterce farming in the Mixteca relies
onrairrfedagriculture. Sincethatfarmlandislimitedtomarginalareas, theyieldsare solow and
in too many cases detrirnertal to other resources such as the forest. The average size of crop
parcels is 3.501 hectares, located in difl‘erert places and under apparertly chaotic dimibution
These plots are surrounded by forests and most of the time have a rotmd shape. Cultivators
typically need to cross over someone else's parcel to reach their own Campesino-peasants till
the mountain soils with yoke bulls or ever donkey plows No tractor can work there, neither
does one exist. Weeding, sowing, fertilization (if done), and harvesting are done manually by
the whole fanrily.

Peasants regularly cultivate "criollo" corn, associated with beans and squash (native

landraces). Although improved hybrid varieties have started to be introduced local landraces

97

continue dominating milpa areas In the case of the com, beans and squash after harvesting
operations, kernels of maize, seeds of beans and squash are selected to be sown the next rainy
season (family seed lots). Generally peasants in these comnnmities use the same local varieties
(or cultivars) which are shared among each other, and idertify them by the same names. Yields
have averaged 560 kg of com, and 216 kg of beans per hectare per annum respectively for the
lad five years, according to peasants’ responses

However, during the developmert of this research what we found was a depressing
situation Attributed pe'haps to El Nrno's efl‘ect, the rainy season in 1997 arrived too late, and
theharvestwasverylow. Wherthishappersthepressrueontheforestrises, sincethe
insufficiency of food has to be compensated for with staples imported from outside the Mixteca
region, and forgetting caslrto buythe deficits, the only alternative is cutting moretreesfor

firewood sale.

4.9.2. livestock Composition.

The tropical dry forest provides the prime source of feed for cattle, supplemerted with the
stubble of milpa The livestock basically includes goats and cattle. Each firmin in this study
possesses an average of 22 goats and 3.7 cows which feed freely in the neighboring forested

areas (see table 4.7).

0

Table 4.7. Simplified livestock composition and utilization in the Los Amates

 

 

community.
Type Average number selfconsumption for sale
Cows 3.7 71.6% 28.4%
Goats 22.0 26% 74%
Turkeys 3.0 preferable rarely
Chicker 3.7 preferable rarely

 

(n = 77 households)

98

Cows supply some milk during some weeks through the rainy season. Chickens supply
some eggs. Pigs were rare in the Los Amates village, because these demand more inputs if
compared with the other animals (ruminants) which require ahnost nothing except what they
find by themselves in the fields and household's organic waste and harvest residues.
Furthermore, each family possesses one or two donkeys which are an indispersable means of
transportation particularly of firewood Although livestock provide a very small amount of
cash, their opportunity cost is quite significant since they supply food which otherwise would

be rmatfordable to buy. However, a good part of the food comes fi'om outside the villages.

4.9.3. Food accessibility at the household level

According to the survey responses the every day diets are composed essertially of
tortilla (a high erergy product made with com flour, boiled and milled with lime as a calcirnn
somce), beans (fiequertiy cooked with herbs such as leaves of avocado for flavour; Per-sea
americana, or/and epazote (Chenopadium mnbrosor‘des) for flavor, and peppers Table 4.8.
tells more about the local people’s diets

One hundred percert of the households exclusively use firewood or in situ produced
charcoalforcookingfood Ascanbe seen,the cmrertdietispoor(monotonous), and scarce
(amormt) and over 50% of the foods have to be bought from outside. The com and beans
cropped in the peasants parcels are the core of their diet, but yields are not erough so a great

part of the food supply has to be obtained from the sales of other forest products.

99

Table 4.8. Staple foods consumed at household level based on
questionnaire responses, at 93.2 % of frequencies. .

 

 

 

 

Basic food Source Frequency
1 2 3 .daily weeky fortrrightiy monthly rarely
Tortilla x x* x
Beans x x x* x
Peppers x x
Rice x x
Eggs x x
Fruits x x@ x" x***
Vegetdales x x
Brad x
Chicken x x x* x
Milk x x* x
Pork x x
Beef x x
Fish x x
Honey ? x
‘ A (n =77 households)

Code:

1 = gotten from the household " - 53% of corn is imported

2 = bought from own village @ = native fruits

3 = from regional market(20 miles away) ** = during the season

“* =- non-native
? = criollo honeybees have been totally decimated by africanized bees and diseases.

4.10. THE ECONOMIC MEANING OF NATIVE FOODSTUFFS

4.10.1. Thejintellectual value of heirloom food varities

Wild species gathering and the “rudimentary cropping” of these westem-based
neglected cultivarshavea dgnificantcontributionnotonlyinfoodsecmityinperiodsof
nmmonflmbmdmmbiomverntycmsevafimmmesemvhmmenanydepressedmmS
oftheMixtecaPoblana Region Just afewyears ago, severalwildfiuitsstartedto be
commercially available beyond Mixteca regional markets The difference with conventional
cash crops is that these urrconvertional "income gererators", continue growing in the wild,
thanks to gererations of peasant’s care. This care has beer as simple as not cutting them during
theslashandburning oftheforestwhenhillylandsarefirnnedas showninfigure4.5. This

action tmchained a selection process in which the most desirable elemerts gradually become

100

well adapted to poor soil, resistant to local diseases and insects, and suitable for harsh habitats.
The advantage is that they have beer able to convert wild fruits into highly demanded
commodities where the only investment is labor and local knowledge. In this manner, today’s
commercial species of Pitayas (the most popular of commodities) have evolved from the same
heirloom varieties in the Mixteca region

It is believed that the commercialization of valuable local germplasm fiuit plants, which
are finding their way into foreign markets, results in their being much less prone to die out.
Ironically, if their diffusion is made inappropriately, they can be easy prey to commercial
monopolies or excessive exploitation which will lead to higher germplasm erosion, and people's
inpoverishmert. 0f the several food species that are gathered fi'om the tdf to be
commercialized, the sales of wild fiuits represerts over 20% of farmers income, and cactus
nuke the largest amomrt.

Dining the 70’s and ever in the 80’s, it was common to see people selling in the local
markets limited amormts of pitaya, ciruela, tranche amarillo, and guaje through certain days of
the season, all gathered fiom the forest. However, nowadays the cacti fiuits are leading the
commercialization of wild products In tact, a limited number of species are gererating income.
The cacti, Stenocereus stellatus, Stenocerus griseus, Esconlria chiotilla, and Stenocerus
pminasw represert 90% of the sales (See figure 4.8 and 4.9). However, the depressed
economy has pushed peasants to try others, such as the cuatomate, the nanche rojo, and coco

de cerro along with other less well known fiuits.

101

4.10.1. The cactus family.

At least 18 differert species of cacti were found in the surrounding wild lands of the
"Los Amates" village. Every one is highly appreciated for various purposes. However, six of
them are particularly associated with food utilization, and only three represent from 85% to
90% of the wild fiuits collected for commercialization In order of importance these are: the
pitaya de temporal Stenoceresus stellatus (60%), the pitaya de mayo S. griseus (40%), and
jiotilia Escontria chiotilla(10%). These fiuit plants are featured as the "stars" of the Mixteca
region. With plerty of flavor, sweetness, and nutritious properties, pitayas are considered
regionally as a kindof "God's delicacies".

Characterized by their typical habits of grow’mg as straight, cylindrical branched stems,
these living candelabrasticks can reach up to 10 meters in height and have an outstanding
production of fruits regardless of messful ervironmertal conditions Moreover, these three
fiuit species reach acceptable prices in the regional markets and a cottage industry of ice cream,
jelly, yogurt, pies, beverages and other snacks made from the pulp of these fiuits is emerging.
Studies demonstrated that palatability and nutritive vahre of pitaya are quite superior to
convertional high-input fiuit species. Seeds of Stenocereus stellatus contain approximately
22% protein (Bravo-Hollis, and Sanchez-Mejorada, 1991).

With ahnost no inputs except labor, a hectare of Stenocereus gn'seus produces 13 tons
of fiuit per annum (Granados, 1997, perscomm). Yields deperd on a nunber of factors, such
as the age of the individuals, the number of branches per individual, dersity of the population
per tmit ofarea, and the proportion ofmature plants, the quality ofthe soil and the rainy
season However, cultivated stands, followed by protection in situ seems to produce larger

fiuits and larger yields At any case the fruits are classified into large, medirun, and small. The

102

 

 
    

 

     
 

-53 vmw-Qw '.

..
(wean; "

      

- 55”

a u s:
rr «van—p1

u -*H‘V"A r1 - ~
’1‘}...

 

The gathering of cactus fnrits locally named Pitayas (prickly-like berries) for commercialization
occurs from July to August in Stenacereus stellatus, and in May in S. griseus. During production
seasons, every morning, mainly men go through the forest areas where the plants grow. The average
distance from the village is 2.2 kilometers(from 25 to 45 minutes). The fnrits are picked by using a
long stick of bamboo-like (Arunda sp.), which at the end has a device to take the fruit without
damaging it. Once on the ground the pitayas are cleaned from spines that surrounding the fnrits. It
demands skillful hands to do it rapidly. Afterwards the fnrits are put into baskets made from local
materials(clriquihures), or plastic containers. If the fruits will not be sold or consumed soon, the
fnrits are handled with spines as one way to avoid squashing during their transportation. The fruits
are sold to regional markets about 20 miles away. The fruit collection lasts about three hours, after
this, pitaya collectors continue their every day firewood search. The amount of fruits collected
depends on the season(it is good if rain was enough). Besides, it depends on the competitiveness
between collectors, since the resource is owned communaily, so who arrives first takes more.
Nevertheless, each collector makes an average of 25 pesos(at 1997 prices) per day by selling the
fruits in a good season.

 

Figure 4.8. The gathering of Pitaya from wild stands in the Mixteca Poblana Region.

103

 

50-420'1

 

Fruits and edible parts from the different species of Cacti gathered and cultivated in the Mixteca
Poblana Region. a)The paddy-like stern of Nopal (Opunn'a sp.), which is consumed fresh or cooked in
diverse regional dishes, b) fruits of Jiotilla (Escontria flotilla), c) fruits of pitajaya (Hylocereus
undatus), d) fnrit of Pitaya de temporal(Srenocereus stellatus), the most important commercial
product, e) fruit of pitaya de mayo (Stenacereus griseus), the exquisite fnrit collected from the wild
and already cropped in family orchards of the region, 0 the biznaga(Ferocacrus sp) a postrate-
globose plant whose edible fleshy stem is prepared in sweet-candies. Sketches a, d, and e are based
on drawings of Britton and Rose (1963).

 

Figure 4.9. Cactus fruits commercialized in the Mixteca Poblana region.

104

small ones are always destined for self-consrunption, and the larger two go to the markets

The propagation of cactus plants is made by a careful local technique of cloning. It
starts with locating and selecting desirable mother plants to propagate. However, at the
regional level, gathering, cropping and managemert of cactus fiuits goes beyond these three
species Fruits of the Hylocereus undatus, Stenocereus weberi, the edible paddy-leaves of the
native Opuntia m and the introduced 0. ficus-indica, as well as the pulp of F erocactus m.
(bimaga: Figure 4.9) are also erjoyed but their collection and production is still limited to self-

consurnption in the Mixteca.

4.11. THE HOUSEHOLD ANNUAL NET INCOME IN THE LOS AMATES COMMUNITY.

The corrrplexity of Mixtecan households‘ economy is perhaps well exenplified in the
diverse and complicated relationships not only betweer the peasants and the native ecosystems,
but alsobetweertime mans and mace. Demitethenatru'al and economichardship ofthelast
decade, Mixtecos have leamed to erdnre the problems and look for alternatives, inside and
outside of the region One of the most interesting findings is that at least eight difi‘erert sources
of livelihood are needed to survive. However, the gereal situation suggests an evidert poverty
stage and the most serious a deplorable erosion of the natural resource base. Table 4.9
summarizes the sources of income and each one is discussed below. As is seen, the more
important sources of income are firewood and wild fiuit sales which represert over the 60% of

the caslr income. The whole comnnmity deperds on the natural resource base for its livelihood

4.11.1. Description of the income sources
Fuewood. All the family households in this commrmity use firewood as the only source of

erergy, but 95% of the total collected is for sale. Every family consumes as nmch as 8 cubic

105

Table 4.9. Distribution of household annual net income (1997) in
"Los Amates" community.

 

 

Source Average Amount Percentage Selfconsumption %
(for 1997) from total fi'om each source

l)Agriculture 0,000 0.00 100.00

2)Firewood sale 11,899 45.82 5.00

3)Wild fi'uit sale 5,542 21.34 15.00

4)Livestcck sale 1,551 5.97 22.00

5)Ofi‘-Farm 2,204 8.48

6)Other income 902 3.47

7)USA-sending 2,018 7.77

8)PROCAMPO 1,853 7.13

TOTAL NET INCOME 25,969 pesos 100.00

 

(size of the sample N=77)

meters per annum, using the traditional oper inefficiert bonfire. However, the self-conarmption
of this erergy represerts only about 5% of the total extraction, since all families supplemert
their sustenance by selling the other 95% of firewood or charcoal made fiom woody materials
The comnnmity energy consumption is about 594 cubic anters (8 cubic meters per firmily by
77 families). Therefore, the extraction for sale is about 11,704 cubic meters in the Los Amates
alone. The firewood is fieely collected fiom comnnmal oper access forests which srurormd the
village. The onlyrule to get firewood is onthe basis ofwho finds it first, owns it. Every day the
head of the family goes to the forest and makes an efi’ort to cut down (fiom dead or alive trees)
at least a carga (a unit of firewood measure which is conrposed of about 40 sticks and reaches
a value in the market of 30 pesos, {3.5 dollars}). To get that represerts a great deal of human
and animal erergy.

After cutting down the trees, the firewood is stored in the firmily's backyard where it is
sm-dried Later, meculators come and buy it for distribution to the regional markets.
Firewood extraction represents the greatest threat to the tdf, since no tree is replanted and the
level of extraction is expected to go up. Younger trees, and now ever those used as food are

beginning to be harvested to sell for firewood, demite that some of them have low quality

106

wood Every day the lack of firewood is felt by the people and it has to be found farther and
farther away. The result is that not only more time is spelt, but also there is a greater impact on
the ecosystem which is translated into higher rates of erosion, desertification, water table
lowering, and other concomitant problems Conflicts also arise betweer neighboring
comnnmities who claim rights for firewood extraction fiom outside of their own corrmnmal
lands

Wild fruit sale. Five mecies cover 95% of the wild food mecies for sale. Those are
the pitaya de temporal (Stenocereus stellatus), the pitaya de mayo (Stenocereus gn‘seus),
Jiotilla (Escontn’a chiotilla) Cuatomate (Solanum quasminoides), and ciruelas (Spmdias spp).
The other 5% represerts evertual sale of other less lmown mecies to the regional markets.
These are coco de cero (Cyrtocarpa procera), red and yellow nanchc (Byrsom'ma crassifolia
and Malphigia mexicwra), and guamuchil (Pithecellobmm dulce).

During the hardest times, wher money is scarce, the wild fiuit gathering for sale starts
Asirrthecaseoffirewood, thewild fiuitsaregathered onthebasis of"who arrivesfirst gets
the best". Around the settlemert are located clusters of trees where people usually go. The
pitaya season lasts only two months Every family gathers about the equivalent of 25 pesos
value per day (1997). Of course, the yield deperds on many ervironmertal factors However,
in the case of the Pitaya de temporal (Stenocereus stellatus), it appears to be the most stable of
all, and also it represerts the largest amormt of money from this source of income.

Agriculture. Since all croplands are located in the hills of the area and no irrigation is
available the food system deperds completely on the rainfall. Ever if the rainy season arrives on
time, and in sufficient quantity, the yields are very low wher compared with other regions with

greater rainfall The soils are very shallow, hilly, and poor in nutrierts due to overuse and

107

erosion For that reason the scarce harvest from the milpa system (com, beans and squash) is
limited to self-consumption which, in recent years, has not beer enough so it has to be
conrplemerted with purchases fiom outside. In fact, it is well documerted that the ertire
Mixteca region is not self-sufficiert in basic grains (Gomez-Cruz and Schwertesius, 1997).

If the rainy season is good and arrives on time the yields averages about 560 kilograms
of com, and about 200 kilograms of beans per hectare of corn During the field trips made with
the villagers, all the peasants were sue that the land produces close to nothing if chemical
fertilizers are not applied. Therefore, chemical fertilizers fiom outside have to be bought Ther,
smallamourrtsare appliedbyhand on eachtufl. Ifthe rainy seasonisbad, everythirrgislost.

PROCAMPO Program. Since 1995 the Mexican Govcmmert supported an Aid
Program to staple food producers It allocates money directly to the peasant’s pockets on the
basis of plot land size. They receive 550 pesos per hectare sown Since each peasant possesses
an average of 3.5 hectares, the income fiom this source is about 1, 850 pesos (1997 prices).
The program is planned to work as an emergercy aid to meet short-rim need However, in the
opinion ofmany critics ofthe govemmert, in the long an and on a higher scale, the program
presents too many problems of bureaucracy, corruption and deperdercy. For a finther analysis
about this program see Harvey (1994).

Sendings from relatives in the USA. Since agriculture and firewood and wild fiuits
collection are daily becoming more scarce, the economic hardship is forcing particularly young
people to emigrate to the big cities of Mexico or to the United States where they work as farm
laborers Those who are living in the USA are an important source of mbsidy to the

commrmity. Allfirmilieshaveatleast 1 firmilymennrerinthe USAlegally orillegally enployed

108

mainly as migratory firm worker. The money sent to each fimily averages 287 dollars per
armum (2296 pesos at 1997 prices).

Off-farm. Facing depletion of the natural resource base mentioned above, another
closer fiontier of survival strategy is to work in those hard firm tasks where the competition is
low, due to the low wages and the tough but skillfirl work, in the vineyards 1500 miles away
from home, in Sonora. A significant portion of the Los Amates villagers are contracted to
harvest and to crop the Sonora vineyards fiom one to three months every year. The conditions
areextremelydificult andrequire some moneytotravelandtomaintainthemselvesinthe
fields However, some money is saved and it is brought home to avoid bad times They earn
about4000pesos, but sincetheyhaveto merdmoneyintravel and living expersesthe amount
saved is reduced to about 2000 pesos (50%).

livestock sale. livestock can be divided into two groups: minor and major mecies
Minor are basically chickers and turkeys Each fimily possesses fiom 5 to 10 birds which are
fed only on the household trash and foraging by themselves in the backyards The fowl are
essertially used for self-consurnption dining mecial occasions (e. g religious festivities),
although in some cases those are sold to get some mirrirnrnn cash. The major mecies are
essert'urlly goats and cattle (ruminants), fieely maintained in the forest year arormd These small
firm animals in fict demand a minimal up-front investmert. The size ofthe herd is variable but
averages 22.2 goats and 3.7 cows

People growing goats and cows explained that the animals are "cash" but they are not
willirrgto sellthemrmlessagood deal emerges Usuallytheanirnalsare sold one by one
according to market demand Cattle represent a kind of insurance coverage usable only in very

stressfirl times or wher something really serious happers. However, those assets are seer by

109

the peasants as real money, since although the prices may be low, animals are tradable at any
time. However, they may be the most risky investments, since if a prolonged drought impacts
the region, the lack of water and forage kills the livestocks or diminishes their development.
This has happened at least three times during this decade.

Although cattle are a very low source of income if compared with the other sources of
cash, their inrpact on natural resources is very expensive since in all cases the forest are heavily
overgrazed (according to Flores, 1997, pers com). This situation contrasts with the first that
few households have pigs, since these are a more expensive strategy for getting cash, because
inthelastyearsdiseaseshave decimatedmanyflocks, andalsobecausegrainsto complement
animalnutrition are expensive and veryscarceinthevillages.

Other income sources. In this region unemploymart is high The opportunities for the
few positions in services, the agroindustrial sector, transportation and construction are limited
However, somefimilymembersget somecashbyworkinginparttimejobs fortwo orthree
days,druingsomeseasonsinhouseconstrucdon,madsmaintarance,mdsooanthis

represents a very negligible amount of income.

4.11.2. The line of poverty as a comparative measure.

The so-called Poverty Line is a subjective and theoretical expression to measure the
economic condition of a target population, or social group within a cormtry or region. It is
based on comparisons and statistics in relation to other groups and how they firlfill their basic
needs to survive. For example, annually each cormtry records the average income as a function

of economic growth and people's welfire.

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In Mexico, a reference for checking the poverty line was prepared by Tellez (1994:48).
It was called: "Encuesta Nacional de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares, 1992" (National
Survey of Household Income and Expenses, 1992). According to the Tellez calculations, in
1992 the Annual Net Income per Rural Household in Mexico was 12,604 Mexican Pesos,
which is roughly equivalent to 21,049 Mexican Pesos by 1995 (Valtierra, (1996), data is
compared), and 27,836 Mexican Pesos by 1997 if the oficial inflation rate is accepted

Ifthe calculated household average income in Mixteca by 1997 was 25,969 Pesos, it
implies that the average annual income per household in the Mixteca region was less than the
National Average Income of Rural Household (27,836 pesos) estirmted by Tellez (1994). By
the same token, the line of poverty in 1995, calculated by Jarque, was 3,292.44 pesos per
person per year. That would be equivalent to 4,352.75 pesos at 1997 prices The household
poverty line was calculated by multiplying the per-person poverty line by the number of fimily
members, which for the Los Amates cormmrnities is 5.6 members And the 5.6 is nmltiplied by
the 4,352.75, then yielding 24,375 pesos, an amormt slightly smaller than that calculated as the
annual income per households in 1997. However, this representation does not take into
account the depreciation of natural capital (natural resource base reduction), nor other

environmental stress generated by poverty.

4.12. THE FORCES BRINGING GENETIC RESOURCES EROSION

There is an array of linked fictors contributing to the dramatic reduction of the tropical
deciduous forest and people's socioeconomic and environmental hardship. At this point two
mega-causes strongly associated with the incorporation to a free-market oriented economy
and inequity are posed as the origin of the Mixteca Poblana natural resources degradation and
social inpoverishment. These are the land tenure regime and the population growth related to

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the westemization process through globalimtion These aspects are analyzed in the following

paragraphs

4.12.1. hind Tenure and Property Rights

According to survey data collected in this study, in the Mixteca Poblana region three
types of land tenure are present: 1) Ejidal Comrmmal lands, 2) Ejidal individual parcels, and 3)
Privateregime. Inthe Mixteca region, asinmany otherparts ofthe cormtry, duringthe
Agrarian Reform of the 1940s, each community (then called nucleo de poblacion = population
nucleus) was legally and constitutionally endowed with a specific area ofland according to
arrtecedartshistoricalrightsqualityandtypesofland available, andsizeofthecurrent
population to become ejidatarios (those who got rights to land). In this fishion, the Ejido
systemwasbom, and ithad a dualregime: the ejidallandswere divided into: 1) comnnmal
lands whose possession and domain was lefl on the ejidatarios as a cohesive entity, and 2)
individual plots allocated among fimily heads
1) The Communal Lands. In the beginning, the Ejidal Comrmnal lands were devoted to
grazing, "land reserves", and as a common pool of resources, (basically for forest products
extraction). Those lands were generally of "low quality", unsuitable for conventional cropping,
and located in ranges oflen covered by native forest such as the case of the Los Amates Ejido.
2) The Ejidal Plot-Divided Lands were the core of the Agrarian Reform Dedicated to
annual food crop production, and situated in flat terrain sometimes with possibilities of
irrigation, these were the attention center of administrative and legislative bodies However, in
many cases for the groups of ejidatarios such as those of Los Amates ejido, the endowmatt

only provided them hilly land due to the lack of flat land appropriated historically by more

I12

influential political elite groups For that reason, in order to have land to firm, it was necessary
to deforest the ejidal comnnmal forest, and this land clearance has a reason base: "whoever
slashes and burns the forest owns the devegetated lan ".

Although all those small plots are used for milpa systems under rainfed dependency, the
cropping systems present too many physical and biological restrictions These are placed on
small plateaus in the top of the mountains, on moderate slopes, or confined to intermontane
valleys and so forth. However, the labor-intarsive firming and the lack of other altematives
hadmaintained bythe ejidatariosforalongtimeatleast at alevel ofsubsistence. Asitwas
discussed in the Los Amates the average land-size that each peasant currertly holds according
tothedatacollectedinthisstudyis3.5 hectares, oficndispersedintothreeorfourdifi‘erent
plots To reach them requires from 15 to 60 minutes, walking through steep forested areas
This way, the ejido is a mosaic ofpatches ofcomnnmal lands occupied by small milpa systems
”islands" of plot-divided lands, and forest areas owned by all the members of this comnnmity.

The real problems came when two fictors occurred in unison: the rural population
growth, and the market-oriented economy substituted the traditional subsistence economy, so
thatforestproductsfiomcomnnmallandswhere convertedinto commodities Thiscontributed
to greater forest elimination, due to: 1) the need to satisfy the demand for land of new
generations of fimily heads, and 2) the augmented market demands for firewood, charcoal,
poles, and many other marketable products

The population pressrres along with connnercial interests disintegrated the model by
bringing policies which promote an individual’s resources appropriation to an open access,
whichhasresultedinhighenvironmental andwelfire costs, not onlyforvillagersbutforthe

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The problem is that this Ejidal regime, although it protects plot-divided lands, does not
prevent access to non-owners, nor the overuse of those resources whose rights are held in
common such as the comnnmal forested lands. In this manner, comnnmal forests implies
commrmal extraction without effective rules, and when this happens with no means to protect
them, they sufi‘er from tmcontroled exploitation. Moreover, a generalized tmderstanding
perceived through talks with villagers, is that those marginal lands belong to the State (the
govemmem), who at any moment could confiscate them At the same time, for peasants the
Mexican Government is an abstract artity, which lacks authority, means and will to manage or
protect them On the other hand, since there are always neighboring comnnmities who claim
rights to the same comnnmal lands reproaching that the others do not protect these wisely,
both parties try to take the highest advantage in the shortest time by ranting down larger
amormts of firewood

The srdden transition from a subsistence-based economy of gatherers-hmters such as
these of the-Los Amates to a global market integration inevitably reduced the base of local
comnnmity livelihood, and also the benefits provided from the forest to the society as a whole.
Thus, the traditional values and ethical rules rested on ancinrt principles which now looked
obsolete and restrictive. Many authors remark that the market globalimtion and the integration
ofall traditional comnnmities in Mexico into NAFTA, have eroded respect and the vision of
nature as a non-tradable entity. Western vahres exorcised the ancient essence of "the forest
spirituality" into marketable objects subordinated to the likes, desires and preferences of human
beings according to Richards (1997).

However, in the Mixteca Poblana, the disruption of traditional ways of exchange, based

on human-nature relationships were disrupted rmder the incartives of possessing more material

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wealth by converting anything into cash. This transformation made easy prey of yomrg
generations who were absorbed by the individualistic nnrket economic vahres and who have
not hesitated in exhausting the remaining resources, or at best, to transfer, sell, rent or lease the
inherited lands and then fly away in search of better opportrmities in the cities This, of course,

also raises conflicts among groups with political and economic vested interests.

4.12.2 Demographic Behavior & Migration

Inthe Mixteca regionthe impact ofthe demographictransition hasnotyetbeen seen
The mortality rate has decreased (less than 1%), and fertility remains high (4%) according to
Flores (1997, personal communication) and the population growth is considerably higher when
compared with the rest of the comrtry. However, the net growth of population has recorded
onlya mildirrcreasebecause ofhigh rates ofmigration to the cities due to the lack ofeconomic
opportunities and depletion of natural resources The official health institutions have installed a
clinic with birth control counseling and assistance. However, it arrived too late since yormg
people predominate and the pressures on the natural resources base appears to be increasing.
Table 4.10 shows the population structure in the Los Amates comnnmities

Table 4.10. Population structure by sex and age in theLos Amates community
estimated by December, 1997.

 

Percentage by sex Percentage from the total
m Female Male Total Male % Female% Male% Female % %

 

80 or > 8 6 14 2.76 2.20 1.42 1.06 2.42
70 - 78 7 5 12 2.42 1.83 1.24 .89 2.13
60 - 69 7 8 15 2.42 2.94 1.24 1.42 2.66
50 - 59 18 16 34 6.22 5.88 3.20 2.85 6.05
40 - 49 36 35 71 12.45 12.86 6.41 6.23 12.64
30- 39 32 31 63 11.07 11.39 5.70 5.52 11.22
20 - 29 36 33 69 12.45 12.13 6.41 5.88 12.29
10 - 19 79 76 155 27.33 27.94 14.08 13.54 27.62
0 - 9 66 62 128 22.83 22.79 11.79 11.05 22.81

Total 289 272 561 100.00 100.00 51.46 48.44 100.00

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As can be seen in this table, people yormger than 20 years old constitute over the 50%
of the total The population pyramid shows that the base is going down as an indicator of
fertility reduction and birth control policy. It is also remarkable that the population between the
20 and 39 (srpposedly the most productive) is being reduced by migration. Migration is a
gradual process It starts when yormger people are hired as agricultural laborers, or migrant
agricultural laborers, who move from vineyard to vineyard for the purpose of harvesting those
crops, particularly in Sonora Mexico. Little by little the periods of absence become longer and
longer tmtil the complete fimily is moved to another place, most ofien to big cities, augmenting
the social tension in urban zones Migration is more visible in the new gareration of young
people who are landless, or what peasants lost their agricultmal produce, they are forced to
lookforanofllfirmjob. Itisalso commonforthat ofllfirmincometobeusedto subsidize on-
firminputs suchaschemicalfertilizers, whichnowadaysare strictlyneededin orderto produce
somegrains, giverrtheextremeexhaustionofthe soils, somepeople desiretoremairrlivingirra

countrym'de environment.

4.1.3. Conclusion

The findings presented show the richness of the cultural and natural resources still
strviving in the Mixteca Poblana Region The people who some decades ago, were the
caretakers of the tdf are the same people who now are reducing the fillow periods and
overstocking the carrying capacity of the resorn'ces in order to survive the present economic
situation. Thispreliminaryassessrnentonlyidentifiedthebasic details oftheplantsusedfor

food Thereissomeeviderrce aboutthe germplasmpotentialthat existsandtheurgerrtneedfor

116

more extensive research to understand, characterize, and define strategies of conservation for
these genetic resources.

The socioeconomic traits of wild food species show the vital role that they play in local
livelihoods and the regional economy. In this respect, it is worth reiterating that although the
monaary contribution of wild fiuit sales is barely 21% of the total household income, three
aspects should be noted: 1) the mininnrm impact of these non-timber activities on the
ecosystem, 2)thatinadditionto thecashreceived fiomthe sales, thereisa directbenefit
(opportunity cost) not evahrated, and represented by the fict that self-conamption of arch
foodstufls was fi'ee of cost fiom natural forest, and 3) the vahrable contribution that the
relationships between plains and peasant has existed to select, protect, nurture, create and time
the desirabletraitsnotonlyofwfldfoodspeciesbutthroughthe shaping ofappropriate
agroecological niches where these plants can develop.

Anotherrelevam aspecttothischapteristhefictthatthisvillage, asina greatpart of
the Mixteca Poblana, has, or will have limited possibilities for irrigation given the hilly
topography and the uncertainties of the already hostile climate of prolonged droughts, phrs the
fixture changes possible through Global Warming and E1 N'mo’s effect. For that reason, the
maintenance and restoration of the natural resource base is crucial not only to continue
supporting local people’s subsistence, but also to provide errvironmartal services to the whole
society, which are not anticipated

Therefore, the major efforts from a technical perspective, must focus on the cultivation
of all of the diversity of usefirl plants and the implementation of a strategy to protect the tdf
fiom an ecosyaem perspective with the participation of the local comnnmities In the following

two chaptersthisaspectwillbediscussedinfirrther detail and some strategiesdiscussed

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5. CONCLUSIONS, SUMMARY, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

This chapter compares the hypotheses with the evidence found Then conclusions are
rmde fiom the perspective of the findings Afler that, implications are arggested A armmary is

presented , and finally brief recommendations on fixture research are offered

5.1. Hypotheses Discussion

This study had five central hypotheses Based on the results presented in the previous
chapter, these hypotheses are tested by contrasting the most relevant findings with each
hypothesis

Hypothesis No. l. Campesinos in the Mixteca Poblana Region have developed
Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Wild Food Species.
Discussion. One of the most interesting rearlts in this respect was the existence of
traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) manifested in each part of the assessment
achieved through the arrvey instruments and field trips. First of all, TEK was evident since
most of the fimily members were able to recognize by local names all the species found in
their neighboring tdfs or cultivated in their backyards (see tables 4.5. and 4.6). By the
same token it was demonstrated that by forming edges and protecting desirable tree food
species when they slash the forest for tillage, campesinos shape not only appropriate
habitats for those species, but also by doing so, they tmchain a process of selection of the
most pronrising individuals. Furthermore, peasants have identified the specific
requirements and agroecological locations of each food species and they know when

physiological process take place in order to collect the fruits, or obtain the seeds or

118

cuttings to propagate in home gardens those most enjoyable species (see figures 4.5 and
4.6).

Other key points about the TEK that the peasants of the Mixteca Poblana region
hold is the understanding that they have developed the ability to recognize the irrtra-
species variation through an empirical varietal classification of the most outstanding wild
food species as are presented in table 4.4. Thanks to this knowledge we were able to
document the difl‘erent varieties present in species such as the xoconoxtle, the Pitaya de
mayo, and many others which present diverse varieties based on biophysical and
morphological traits. Even more articulate was what household members taught us about
the tremendous knowledge that they keep regarding the use of those foodstufis through
traditional cooking recipes (Table 4.2). At first glance some fi'uits or edrhle parts look
tasteless or astringent. However, after preparation by cooking them in diverse forms, these
are transformed into desirable meals. In short, Mixtecan’s TEK was an evident
phenomenon throughout of this study. Collectively this information verifies the first

hypothesis.

Hypothesis No. 2. The Tropical Dry Forest in the Mixteca Poblana Region
contains a large number of wild food species
Discussion. The existence of over 30 species used as food sources (see findings in table 4.4
and 4.5. and 4.6) formd throughout the development of this study enables us to accept this
hypothesis, and even to state that several of them are aheady "emerging crops", despite the fict
that most of them are only a kind of "tamed plant" and not domesticated at all In addition to

that,anotherkeypointrelatedtothecoresenseofthishypothesisisthatallthoseplantsare

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natural components of the tdf and capable of resisting the habitual harsh conditions prevailing
the Mixteca Poblana Region. Therefore, their potentiality relies on fixture initiatives to manage
them more systematically and arstainable.

Several wild plants identified as food species belong to fimilies and genera related to
current cash crop species. For example, Pileus mexicanus is a kind of wild relative to the
Papaya, a Caricaceae fimily cash crop. The Spondias spp. species, with its seven varieties
idartified (wild phrms), are related to my commercial varieties of domesticated phrm species
The Agave spp. are phylogenetically associated with commercially produced Tequila
beverages, and Enequen fiber species Solammjaminoidez, on the other hand, is a plant which
shares a kind of third-level gene pool (see Hancock, 1992: 108-9) with species arch as
potatoes and tomatoes More evident is the case of the Cactaceae fimily members that
embrace many genera and species closely related to several taxa and varieties which are starting
to be more intensively cultivated for cash, and also because they are more aritable crops for

adverse arvironments, and for protecting soils

Hypothesis No. 3. Most of the wild food species have alternative non-food uses,
which also contribute to household livelihoods.
Discussion. Ninety seven percent of the species have more than one use, as is illustrated in
table 4.3. In some cases it was evident that other uses, such as forage, were as important
as food production. Some trees have up to eleven applications, and are recognized
economically and biologically as keystone species. For example, Pithecellobium dulce, a
legume nitrogen-fixing tree, was featured in our list as a food species due to its tasteful

edible arils. However, many competitive and non-competitive uses were not for this tree.

120

First, because it is a perennial tree, its nutritious foliage represents an emergency forage
for livestock during the dry season. For that reason the tree is found as a living fence and
simultaneously as shade, between fillow lands or between backyards. The second reason
is its durable wood, which is used in rural constructions and for poles. Another less

conventional use of this tree is for tannin to tan leather (see figure 4.3. for details).

Hypothesis No. 4. The harvest of wild food species is as economically important

as the harvest of other conventional marketable products obtained fiom the tropical dry
forest.
Discussion. There are two key aspects of value regarding the harvest of wild food species.
First is the social relevance, due to the high opportunity cost of the foodaufls that finrilies
consumed that were obtained just through foraging. Second is the direct economic
contribution of the sale of the most popular fiuits provide to the household income (see
section 4.10.2 and 4.11 and figures 4.8 and 4.9). The harvest of wild fiuit accounts for over
21% of household’s net annual income. This is in addition to the economic vahre of home-
conamption,whichisanimportant asset since residents do nothave to pay forthemasthey
would iftheywere tobuyirrthe market. Wildfiuitshavethisdualdirect economicvalue,phrs
the cultural value that these plants have in the commrmity's identity.

As was presented in chapter four (table 4.9), six species of fiuit gathered fiom the wild
are commercialized in regional markets, although the money obtained fiom fiuit sales is not as
highasthe over 50% ofcashincomethatpeople obtain fromfirewood sales, the wild fiuit
harvesting activities have a low impact on the integrity of the tdf, when compared with

fuelwood extraction and freely grazing livestock.

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Unfortunately a good part of the alternative non-food use is for fuelwood, due to
the tmrecorded demand of this commodity to satisfy the growing agro-industrial markets
in this region. These include bakeries, barbecues, and brick fictories. Thus, some wood
from wild food species are being cut down to get cash although the species may have a
low calorific power. Then, those that formerly were recognized as food trees might be
seen primarily as firewood sources. This is because they produce cash at any moment,
while fi'uit production is only seen during a short part of the year. Data obtained on this

point led us to accept this hypothesis.

Hypothesis No. 5. Land tenure uncertainty along with population growth are
directly related to the tropical dry forest shrinkage.
Discussion. Despite the disputes and fiustration of some authors who claim that
Hardin’s( 1968) ideas about “the tragedy of the commons” fiils in distinguishing between a
complete open access to a communal tenure regime, Hardin is not mistaken at all.
Although tmder some circumstances comnnmal tenure works in protecting and managing
the resources to certain limits established by the comnnmities, at least in the Mixteca
Poblana region, rearlts indicated that de facto an individualist vision becomes dominant
and the resources held in common are inevitably overexploited. The former responsibility
for caring for the forest has virtually disappeared and an open access prevails.

The Mexican government, for its part, looking over the rampant destruction of
these resources and the pressure that migration to the cities has generated when livelihood
fides away, saw in the privatization an outlet to redefine property rights, and a means for

modernization before the inevitable change of the neoh'beral economy policies initiated

122

seven years ago. In 1991 a constitutional amendments regarding land tenure allowed
peasants to sell, to mortgage, or to subdivide their parcels for the sake of producing
commodities and a better protection of resources by setting de jure the property rights of
these resources. However, what we call here tmcertainty on land tenure exists since in
practice the property rights on comnnmal lands continue to be a diffuse issue.

Difficulties result because the new law (as the tradition has been) focuses its
attention on individual parcels where peasants grow staple foods, but limited attention is
put on the marginal lands covered by disturbed tdfs. This situation causes the uncertainty
to exist precisely on those lands where patches here and there have been opened for
cropping, but surrounded by communally owned forests.

For that reason one of the most important constraints to tdf arstainable use is the
absence of the so-called “social fencing” and the irnpracticality of the common property
regime observed during this research. The lack of specificity in regulations and
enforcement has made the tdf areas into a nobody’s land. Thus, the open access due to a
comma] ownership regime, associated with population growth, makes the former
traditional ways of control more ineficient. The most pernicious aspect is that any
initiative, -arch as reforestation of degraded areas- might also prove inefl‘ective since the
fact of planting trees do not solve the problem because to the most crucial phase is the
care of the yormg trees during their initial stages of development.

Population growth, as recorded in the cenars performed in the Los Amates
comnnmity, has been another pivotal force in pushing the tdf to a point of exhaustion. It is
to not only because more people means more need for forest products, but because this

growing mass of people has exacerbated two old problems: 1) more landless people, and

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2) an acceleration in the process of forest product extraction, accompanied by adoption of
western lifestyles. This consumer mentality invites increase in consumption levels and in
uses of goods whose production demands more energy, and whose disposal produces
higher pollution. For example, since 1988 the consumption of firewood per fimily has held
steady. Even though the number of finrilies has increased, this additional consumption is
negligible if compared with the amotmts of firewood harvested for sale as respondents
confirmed during interviews. In our respondent’s sheets we realized that fiom the total
vohrme of trees cut down only about 5% is for home-conarmption The other 95% is
commercialized This may be justified if we realize the tmderlaying need to generate cash
for food, as there is not suflicient production of basic grains in the region. Thus firelwood
sales compensates the dificit.

Fueled by an increasing demand, the existence of small monopolies and a “Mafia”
of firewood traders was evident. Thus, although land tenure uncertainty and population
growth have an important influence in the tdf shrinkage, underlying this phenomenon are
the forces of the market and the lack of regulations for firewood exploitation. Amaa'ngly
this is treated in the Forest Law apart of logging regulations (data fiom Tellez, 1994),
since it continues being viewed as an activity directed to satisfy domestic needs only, when
in fict it has become an industrial profit business in the Mixteca where few hands are

getting the larger slices of the cake. For these reasons the hypothesis number 5 may be

only partially accepted.

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5.2. General Conclusions

1)

2)

3)

4)

The Mixteca Poblana region of Mexico may be considered as the origin (carter of origin?)
of many emerging locally-based cultivated wild plants arch as the Pitayas and Cuatomate.
Its diverse biophysical conditions have been propitious for diversification of plant taxa
through evolutionary divergence, hybridization, and polyploidy, as show by the inter- and
intra-specific variability formd in the taxa studied

The native germplasm is the Mixteca's cultural and biological heritage belonging to the tdf
people. Mixtecan groups have learned to recognize acceptable features, and a respectable
amormt of food crops have originated there, and many of which are in the process of
domestication.

Food species from the tdf is a cultural heritage. Vanishing under the overwhehning
presarres of Western life styles and food uniformity, it deserves to be documented, and
intellectually protected For example, geneticists may incorporate genes from wild varieties
of agricultural crops to create strains best adapted to increasing droughts. Or they may
develop varieties resistant to certain pests or diseases (Krmin & Lawton, 1996). Ultimately,
geneticists may also use those wild crop gene pools to time-up the responsiveness of an
improved race to slight changes observed in its arvironment, while human conarmption is
not impacted (U SDA-ARS, 1996). In other cases, new crops could be released to reduce
hunger and the degradation of local genetic resources.

These nutritious species, known only by traditional comnnmities, could be an alternative
sohrtion for problems of scarcity and ecological degradation if they were conserved,
utilized in a arstainable way, and peasants received compensation for growing them It is

believed that a araainable agriculture might be designed with native plants according to

125

5)

6)

7)

3)

9)

local people’s interests, which might alleviate the pressure for imports and foster
biodiversity conservation. The Worid Bank (199621) put it this way. "To avoid the
rmthinkable Malthusian nightmare will require arstained arpport for research to develop
new plant varieties and new technologies. But more importantly it will require whole new
ways of addressing the problems".

The existence of the tdf represerts a potential source of non-timber products and other
non-convertional assets, which given the lack of appropriate techniques of management
and regulations, are being rapidly destroyed

The fimily gardens are also potential arsenals ofvaluable species, since this singular system
has contributed tremendously to the cultivation, domestication, use, variability creation,
and conservation of today’s threatened heirloom Mixtecan cultivars Moreover, some
fimily gardens have started to evolve towards small-scale organically-based orchard
systems These may play a vital role in the firture arrvival ofMixtecos by producing a
larger variety of edible products in difi’erent seasons, and significant cash contributions
could be expected if arstainable techniques are promoted

Under the current trend of deforestation the tropical dry forest could disappear in two or
three decadesasanecosysteminthisregion Thena significantnumber ofitsnative plants
would be brought to extinction, due to the endemic features of many taxa.

Currently, the firewood extraction to satisfy the urban market is the prime cause of
deforeaation. The intense and selective extraction of bioerrergetic species is followed in
importancebyovergran'nginavirtualopenaccessofcomnnmallands

Since the cost of production of firewood is based only on the labor of extracting it, the

price is very low. It does not internalize the negative extemalities (disecononries of scale)

126

and pushes toward a higher tree cuts in a short-um perspective. The resource base is itself
fragile, and the climatic conditions impose a slow growth of the trees: the soils are shallow,
nutrient-poor and prone to erosion given the hilly expoan‘es.

10) In spite of the fict that rural comnnmities have picked up ancestral forms of use of the
diverse aborig'na] species, the new economic tendencies, which have accelerated the
exploitation of the tdf by maxinrizing short-term profits without replenishmart of the
carrying capacity of the natural resource base.

11)With the high rates of emigration, important knowledge is being lost, since traditional
agriarlture and gardening practices developed through centuries are being abandoned

12) The population growth posed an urgart need for staple foods, and the reduction of
fillowlands explainsthe slash andbumprocessto provide landforthe Milpa system, asan
initial land use change. However, due to the poor fertility of the soils, these are oflar
abandoned to animal graa'ng and later on to the erosion agarts which finally rearlts in
desertification.

13)Another key point in this web ofcausalities has bear the lack ofa definition ofproperty
rightsonmarginallands occupiedbythe tdf. Until 1997 neitherpr to regulate the tdf
mining, nor policy and arforcemart of land use changes existed (author’s 1996 data). The
uncertainty of land property rights and imprecise definition of limits among communally
owned tdf range have rearlted in open access and eradication of entire forest stands

14) The trurd of an explosive population trying to increase its material well-being pushed
people to harvest as nnrch firewood as they could hour the open-access tdf. This was not
onlytofirlfilltheir ownneedsbutalsoto get cashbysellirrg arrplusesto agrowirrg

charcoal exportation industry, regional bakeries, brick manuficturing, restaurant barbecues,

127

and large-scale pottery makers among other agro-fictories In the last few years an
unrecorded market of freely-gathered medicinal plants, has also increased the destruction
of the tdf, in a kind of negative synergistic effect to loot anything (author's observation).

15) The scenario described above is quickly anpassing the tdfs carrying capacity, and it is
imposing a heavy load of environmental costs and human hardship on society. F'nst, the
whole world is impoverished by the loss of biodiversity and its potential option vahres
Second, local people who are depardent on the natural resource base must migrate away in
a kind of exodus of ecological refirgees, augmenting conflicts in the already convulsed and
troubled Mexican cities, and exacerbating political and diplomatic tensions through illegal
irrrrnigration to the USA

16)The most interesting aspect ofthisisthatthesenativefood speciesmaybe cropped without
need for irrigation, pesticides, or fertilization, in contrast to convertional crops and forages
If these potentially innovative crops were cultivated they might resist forest fires and
prolonged dry seasons Since some of them are armed with defensive spines they can avoid
browsing by themselves In addition, many are nitrogen fixers Among this pool of genetic
resources, species used for food deserve special consideration as alternatives to current
rain-fed crops located in fiagile soils that are prone to droughts, and where people are
arfl‘ering poverty and food insecurity. Thus, in-situ conservation of the tdf renlrants as
gene pools is another crucial aspect in achievenrerrt of arstainable development in the

Mixteca Poblana Region.

128

5.3. Implications.

There are several implications of these conclusions Dramatic changes have occurred in
the last five years in Mexico fiom an economic, social, structural political and environmental
perspective. The privatization of ejidal lands following the NAFI‘ A implementation, and
encouraged the social outbreak and armed movement in Chiapas in January of 1994. These
changes along with the political reallocation of power among the difl‘erart partisan forces, the
significant foreign investment flows observed, and the nauual disasters, have remolded the
entire cormtry. Thus, the most remote villages have not bear indifl‘erent to the globalimtion
process, and the Mixteca Poblana region is a good example of the scope of these
transforrmtions

Peoplefi'omthetdl’werelivinglmderaarbsistence economybasedonarainfed
agriculture complemented by a mixture of gatherers-hmters-pastoralist activities for ages, they
were not able to maintain that apart of the intemational-scale integation. The ardden
transformations in these traditional groups reshaped human behaviors, the condition of their
natural resources and the economic situation. In this reshaping, the poorest have seen their
foodaccessthreaterred, andtheironlychoicehasbeerrto cutmorefirewood sothey couldbuy
foodsfiomoutside, ashasbearpresentedinthisstudy. Inthelasttenyearsthe region asa
whole has been inarflicient in staple grains, the climatic conditions have reduced the access to
food for hundreds of people, and the new economic rules and natural disasters (droughts and
forestfires) rearlted in reduced welfire and ecosystems disruption ill poor commlmities

Data showed that despite the privatimtion policy, the traditional connmmal regime of
themarginalforestedlandswherethetdl‘existedhasinpracticehadanopen access This

situation garerates uncertainty about forest and land protection, since the comnnmal regime

129

seems to he an unstable tenure. This has been a regional-scale problem for many years.
Associated with these fictors is the population growth, a variable closely related to the
processes of deforestation, forest clearance and fragmentation of the ecosystem in general, due
to the economic marginalization and rampant poverty of most of the Mixtecan people.

In December of 1997, President Cedillo annornrced that the Mexican Economy had
grown sevm percent in that yearl. This unualal market activation is recorded from the
perspective of the (HNIP indicators However, good part of this economic progress has
doubtless hem at the expmse of natural resource deterioration and mvironmmtal damage. The
case of the increases in firewood extraction for sale from the 00me access forest in
theMixtecaPoblana Region,isanexample. htheInsAmatescommmity,itfirewood
extraction increased fourfold in ten years, accelerating the tropical dry forest depletion, under
the overwhelming economic presalres. Therefore, population growth, the opm access to tdf
lands communally owned, and the economic transformations associated with the process of
globalization came together as a synergistic effect to speed tdf destruction. All these elemmts
discussed above led us to reinforce the acceptance of the hypotheses posed and to present the

following reconrmmdations.

5.4. Recommendations.
1) Since wild and semi-domesticated species fiom the tdf have shown a number of uses
without impairing soil fertility (as uarally happens with convmtional agricultural crops)

hecausetheyaremdowedwithdeeperrootsandadaptedto severeerwironmmtalstress,

 

,' The increase in the levels of pollution, air contamination and deforestation and the uncontroled forest
fires of 1998 to a national scale, suggests that this growth is not sustainable.

130

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

they should be promoted for use as the most effective cover for the fiagile soil where the
tdf formerly predominated

The promotion of Agrosilvopastoral systems is reco-mded. This viable alternative could
reshape the forest structure and mimic the ecological diversity originally observed in native
forests In addition, these nnlltiple-use systems may be the only alternatives left for low-
irrcome rural comnnmities to develop their social economy and to discourage emigration to
Mexican megalopolises and the US.

Through govemmmtal policies, the economic vahre of the direct use of natural resources
should be appropriately connected to non-marketable physical, chemical, and biological
roles of the tdf as a part of a long-term vision of the global system Otherwise, the
exiamce vahre and bequest vahre of the tdf could not be accounted appropriately.
Balancing the opportlmity cost of the fist extraction of firewood with the value of these
species as food sources and promising new crops is the challmge.

For 90 to 95 percmt of villages located in isolated and remote hilly highlands, the only
source of mergy is filelwood Therefore, the promotion of mergetic reforestation, fire]-
saving stoves, and regulations of the volumes extraction are recommended

The original vegetation reduced to relict patches in steep and inaccessible zones should be
legally and practically protected as germplasm stock and gme hanks, before population
growth and the economic presarres rearlt ill their complete disappearance.

Short-rim policy should update regulations to redefine property rights in order to avoid
negative incmtives for tdf destruction Frank Vorhies (1997:27) put it this way. "If an
incmfivemeaaneistoworkitnnlstmakeeconomic smse, socialsmse, culturalsmse,

legal smse, mforcemmt smse, and of course, biological sense".

131

7) The current concept of rural development in Mexico should be redesigned to improve not
just income, but mvironmmtal quality of life upon which rests food self-arfliciency among
the tdf people. Human developmmt and justice with greater access to education and land
must he national priorities. The success of this could help stabilize population growth, and
a encourage cleaner technology (e. g. organic firming) for small fimily firms, which are
strongly depmderrt on the natural resource base.

Thus, economic incmtives must be a primary means, but not the end That is to say, the
human development does not mean promoting the same levels of conaunption and
squandering which characterized the developed nations On the contrary, we think that a fiugal
conarmption of Western connnodities and fossil firel energy is vital to reach self-reliance. The
goalofgettingahigher mvironmmtalqualityoflifehastohe amodelofaraainahilityto ask
cash-rich societies to drop their life-styles towards a inter and transgmerational equity.
Therefore, the real challmge is not only to get filnds to overcome economic difliculties and
implement in-situ conservation within a social, polin'cal, and cultural context, but also to hrirrg
lasting results and hmefits beyond regional fiontiers through these locally irnplemmted
strategies

Effective finrily planing programs, along with the land use policy based on an
appropriate rights-holding of the comma] lands, are promising and viable alternatives, whose
rearlts could have positive consequmces not only on the economic improvemmt of people's
livelihood and diets, but also on the environmental quality of life of the mtire region.

All these potmtial proposed meaarres only could be arccessfill if an authmtic political
commitrnmt is set up through the integration of all inaitutions ill charge of rural development

and health programs to promote people participation, justice and equity. Problems are

132

complex, and demand a nnllti-fiame approach, however, in all instances education and local

peoples involvement looks to be a central premise.

5.5. Summary

Since food security and natural ecosystems degradation and loss are strongly linked, a
study was unde to investigate the most important plant species utilized for food and
collected by local dwellers from the tropical dry forest in the Mixteca Poblana region of
Mexico. The assumption was that important gmetic resources still exist in patches of this
ecosystem, and they are worth being studied and conserved along with the traditional
knowledge that has made their management and conservation possible.

The nnin pmpose of this research was to assess the existmce of gmetic resources with
food vahre, and their economic and cultural meaning to the Mixteca Poblana residmts The
study flamed its scope in a represmtative community called the "Los Amates" and its
comnnmal forested lands The prime hypothesis was:

Thereareinthetropicaldryforestasignificantnumherofwild specieswithfoodvahre,
which are worth being idmtified, and studied to assess their vahre as potmtial crops adopted to
water stress conditions The evidmce obtained supported to acceptance the hypothesis, as
over 35 native species were fornrd and idmtified as important sources of food and cash
gmerators for the household economy. The arecies were evaluated by their degree of
frequmcy in their natural habitats, sorting them as rare, scarce or abundant, according to
empirical quantitative criteria The food species embrace a diversity of habits, and

morphological traits, which local people classified fimctionally.

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The foodstufis formd include edible fiuits, seeds, roots, flowers and leaves. Although
most are eaten fresh, several are prepared by complicated recipes as a part of the cultural
heritage of this region All species featured with food vahre also have other alternative uses

While some taxa show difl‘ermt degrees of domestication, others may he considered
tamed and subject to an incipimt cultivation. For that reason this study grouped them as:
1)Protected species, 2) cultivated but non-domesticated species, 3) domesticated species, and
4)completely wild species. Among these species there are an array of distant and close relatives
of these aheady cultivated plants, with a high potmtial for use in gmetic improvement.

From an economic perspective, at least six species are commercialized for their fiuits,
whose sales account up to 21% of the net annual income per household (only aupassed by the
firewood sale). The fiuits or other edible parts are gathered from Ejidal-owned lands by the
Ejidatalios, who hold the property rights of these resources in common. The wild food
harvesting has a negligible inrpact on the ecosyaem if it is compared with firewood extraction,
and the overgrazing by goats and cattle.

The firele sales recorded from the Los Amates connmmity indicated that the 77
fimilies trade every year is about 44 cubic meters, which represmts 95% of the total
extraction, while only 5% of the cuts are used for home-conarmption. This high demand for
biomergetics, has led to a rapid and unarstainable overexploitation. Thus, at a regional level
many vahrable wild food taxa with high calorific power are also cut down along with any other
potmtially acceptable firewood, which is drastically reducing the vegetive cover.

Since the Forest Law does not regulate firewood extraction, and there is opm access

to communal lands, the population growth along with the rise of bio-mergy conarmption and

134

government tmdmcy for deregulation, has triggered major presalres for ever more forest land
clearance.

The econorrric indicators calculated in this study (net annual income per rural
household) indicate that most of the peasants are under the poverty line. For the past decade
local residmts have arfl‘ered fiom food inalfiiciency. The gmeral perception of the people
showed a deep smse of uncertainty for the firture, and awarmess of the seriouaress and
complexity of their own fite if the exhaustion of the resources occurs However, whm we
asked them about alternatives most of them expect that at least their childrm may be able to
enrigrate out of the region

In gmeral, the situation of Mixteca Poblana region is becoming worse. Water scarcity
represmtsabig concern. Inyearsofdrought cattle die, andwaterpricesrise ashigh asbeer or
milk per liter, because of the distance for transportation of drinln'ng water. For that reason, the
study presents some alternative strategies which are based on birth control, a land policy to
settle property rights avoid opm access, and an accormting of the total vahre of the tdf. From
a technical perspective an agrosilvopastoral initiative to foster the use of native species, local
knowledge, and low-cost power technology is proposed to restore ecosystems and to look for
self-arflicimcy ill villagers' food production This study attempts to accormt the total vahre of

this ecosystem, rather than the direct use vahre of separate marketable connnodities alone.

5.6. Limitations of this study
Apart from the budget constraints of this research, other limitations are recognized
Firstofall,itwasacross-sectionstudyatonepointintimeandmanyfactorsaffectthe

accuracy of the rearlts over time. The particular case of the weather may generate dramatic

135

variations from one season to another, not only in the rates of anvival of many wild food
species, but also in their appearance, seasonal production and other quantitative traits related to
species resilience. For example, 1997 was a very lmualal year. E1 N'mo's wind brought very late
but abundant rain. It could have caused significant loses ill the rainfed agriculture yields and
then we would have recorded biased data. On the other hand, due to out-season precipitation,
we were able to collect and find plants that perhaps would not normally be presmt until the
beginning of the winter.

In short, the environmental circmnstances formd during the time that this study took
place might have afi‘ected our rearlts and conchrsions A longitudinal study over several years
might conpare moredata, andhavemoreaccurateinfomurtion aboutwildfiuitproduction,
firewood extraction and yields in the milpa system

Anotherlimitation ofthisstudywasrelianceon ataxonomist not specializedin tdf
plants for the idmtification of the tree species with food vahre. Despite the effort inveaed, in
several species we do not have 100% confidmce in the accuracy of the scimtific names
assigned In fict, there is a lack of antecedmt taxonomic studies performd on these kinds of
plants, and the systematics of many tdfs plant finrilies are very conrplicated evm for botanists

Finally, there is some concern about the validity of the quantitative data obtained
regarding the income obtained fiom the difi‘ermt sources, since for the last five years the
country, and of course the Mixteca Region have experimced a dramatic reshaping of economic
relationships This caused irrportant changes in people’s migration patterns, as well as in oil‘-
firm activities. The constitutional ammdments regarding land tmure are in the process of
inrplemmtation, and this does not show a defined trmd These changes influmce human

behavior, and are related to chaotic and contradictory situations which were sem in many

136

aspects of the local economy and life. For example, the head of a fimily could have extracted
excessive amounts of firewood for sale during three or four months, but nothing during the two
months that he was out of the village working in a new vineyard ill Sonora.

The strength of the botanic data compared with the socioeconomic data is another
limitation. A further constraint was that this study did not compare the degree of depmdmcy
and sociecononric meaning of the tdf’s food plants among different comnnmities. Both aspect

were beyond the scope ofthis research and are potmtial challenges for firture research.

.5.7. Opportunities for Future Research

There are many opportunities for extmding knowledge on the dynamics of the wild
species for food and other non-tinrber products In order to protect living assets and promote
sound exploitation, much research should be done from both an ecosystem, and an individual-
species perspective.

One of the urgent nmds is to characterize each of the species idmtified as food
gmerators under a precise description of its morphological structures and gmetic make up. For
exarrque, there are many species for which we do not know their chromosome number, how
these are pollinated, and to what extent other species are associated ecologically with them
This preliminary assessrnmt hopes to stimulate major interest in the tremmdous gap that we
have, and thm to contribute in mabling local connmmities to idmtify optimum methods of
managemmt. Another area of promising firture research is to study the capacity of resisting
prolonged droughts of many tdf species This poses interesting lines of research to understand

howthose plants cope with this constraint as has hem studied in other ecosystems

137

In other instances, the arrival of globalization may also bring tremendous opportlmities
to tdf and its people in terms of scimce and technology applications Potmtial fiuit species
have among other problems a lack of physiological and post harvest managemmt. Several
tastefill fiuits rape too rapidly due to this better market advantages are not attained However,
through gmetic mgineering and in-depth studies of the biochemistry of these plants, and evm
through new gme manipulation and packing techniques may discovered possible ways to keep
the fruits longer without ripming fresh and alive to breath but not too nnrch to be oxidized
Even though it could be at the same time a risk, since vested interests could take economic
advantages of the tdf potmtialities without real bmefits to the rural comnnmities Therefore
the the incorporation of Mixteca Poblana region into the fine market ought to be carefillly

oriented towards a more just, humane, arstainable and ecologically sound society.

138

6. EPILOGUE: REFLECTIONS AND FURTHER IMPLICATIONS

The central point of this dissertation was to assess the gmetic resources having food
vahre from the tdf. The rearlts of this research have presmted evidmce about the plant
richness existing in this ecosystem Rearlts presented by many researchers in other parts of the
world indicate that in order to protect the existmce and evolutionary continuity of vahrable
germplasm stocks, an ecosystem approach, rather than an individual species-oriented approach,
is needed Therefore, to protect food species found in the tdf it is necessary first to rehabilitate
and protect the habitats were these species have alrvived, and the premise for protecting the
habitats is to put people first. Based on these considerations, the following sections try to point
outthe key aspectsto hearirrmirrd forbringing some degree ofarstainahilityirrthe forest and

economic well-being to the people.

6.1. WHO FIRST, ECOSYSTEMS OR PEOPLE?

To recover the ancient natural condition, the pristine beauty and the original
composition of the tdf is an rmattainable goal In the same vein, a govemmmtal policy to
insulate the remaining tdf hotspots of biodiversity fi'om human action can be idle and naive, if
other requiremmts are not addressed first. Furthermore, lmder the socioeconomic
circmnstances shown in previous chapters, each household is a rmique case and requires a
different approach Then, how can lives and forests be restored? How can we reduce
destructive practices and promote a true arstainable use of tree richness? Many authors state
that a key aspect is to avoid fiilures in accounting for the total vahre of the ecosystems, which

has led to pernicious practices or total depletion. But how can this be operationalized?.

139

To operationalize arstainable use of tdf is a premise to recognize the mnlti-character of
the forest in gmerating diverse goods and services is needed The following table points the
total value of the tdf. Based on these Staten-ts other points to protect gene stocks and to

promote economic benefits for people are discussed.

TABLE 6.1. Based on theoretical arguments of Pearce and Moran (1995), and the
methodological approach of Kaplowitz (1997), the total value of the Mixteca
Poblana tdf could be depicted as follows:

 

 

 

USE VALUE NON- USE VALUE
Direct Use Indirect Use value Option Value Existence Value Bequest Value
Value (future (Moral

options) Responsibility)
Firewood Carbon Fixation Gme pools to Evolution Transgenerational
Foods Flood Control New crops continuity enjoyment (future
Medicines Water supplies New drugs Universal generations, will
Construction Oxygen Genetic appreciation have ecosystems
materials Deputation improvemmt of to their own).
Forages Waste absorption currmt crop (Bmefit of knowing

plants that spades will
Aromatics Contemplation Ecotourism persist over time)
Hmlting Nutrimts cycling Environmental

Prospecting
Fibers Beneficial fauna

Ritual Plants Aesthaic
Omalnentals Resort to migratory
species

Currmtly,onlythedirectusevahreoftheindividual speciesisbeingconsidered,
inldervaluing the other important assets of the ecosystem However, getting all bmeficiaries of
the tdf contribute to its conservation and arstainable exploitation, as well as that the economic
assessment of the indirect use vahre, would be a more appropriate meaarre.

This research has also reiterated the importance of the option value of the gmetic
resources contained ill the tdf. It is possible that any food species finding their way as a new

potmtial crop can trigger a stronger conservation policy. However, more immediate and viable

140

is the fict that forests areas provide services (the indirect use vahre of the ecosystem), which
traditionally have been considered free. And most evident as a contemporary phenomena: all
society is arfl’ering the environmental impact of its degradation. Therefore, the tdf is more than
firewood wild food, and other commercializable products; forests are strategic entities
providing environmental quality of life.

However, as a basis for the argummts previously presmted on the total value of the
tdf the consideration and integration of many other fictors will also help to tmderstand that for
protecting the tdf and the food species that it contains, priorities must inchrde people’s
guaranteed livelihood For these, three have prime importance: 1) Population Growth, : 2)
Property Rights and Land Policy, and 3)Technical Initiatives A brief discussion which

articulates all those fictors is present in the following section.

6.2. POPULATION GROWTH.

"A arstainable society is a demographically stable one" (Brown and Mitchell, 1998:74),
but the current Mixteca's population is fir fiom this condition Unfortlmately, any new mouth
to fwd puts a serious strain not only on the local people's alrvival, but also on germplasm
stocks, and mvironmmtal services (c. g. watershed protection) on which other groups of
people also rely. For that reason, to slow down the rates of woman fertility is an imperative to
cormteract the life-arpport systems shrinkage, and to mane that food, shelter, education,
health care and mvironmmtal quality of life can be equitably reached

It is ahnost universally accepted that each couple should have the means and
knowledge to decide freely, responsibly, and without coercion whether and when to have

childrm. However, to implemmt birth control is a very serious isare, since cultural, ethical,

141

religious, political and socioeconomic variables meet. And when these aspects are not

appropriately integrated, conflicts rise.

Only through an extensive, opm and public educational program, carefully designed
and snmtly launched, can fiictions betwem religious ideas and customs be avoided A birth
control program has to respect cultural fimily vahres, not rmdermine traditions, and get the
approval ofallfimilymemhers Then, therealchallmgeisto implemmt aprogramwhere the
gap betwem local people's perception and the effects of population growth can be reduced
through comnnmication, education and incmtives

In terms of comnnmication, the strategy should bring awarmess of the limited capacity
ofthenaturalresourcebaseto arpport a burdm ofpopulation growth, and above all, that
methodsforbirthcontrolareinharmonywithethical and cultrualprinciples, anddonot
damage women's dignity nor fimily links Programs are needed to:

1) increase knowledge at all levels (fiom childrm to smiors, from legislators to connnon
citizmsyfiom poor to rich), about the social, economical and mvironmmtal consequmces
of greater numbers, whm the carrying capacity of the resources may be mough only for
two-childrm fimilies

2) mobilize local networks (school teachers, religious leaders, official health, . care
represmtatives, mvironmental organizations, legislative leaders, radio broadcasters, etc. ),
to create incmtives to arpport fimily planning.

3) mcourage the training of educators to introduce population control and contraceptive
methods in a respectfirl way.

4) foster more eflicimt and soil ways of male and female sterilization though research and the

establishmmt of clinics as close as possible to rural comnnmities.

142

At this point arccessfirl experiences exist. Many developing cormtries have had
dramatic positive rearlts. Costa Rica in Latin American and Bangladesh in Asia, have shown
that is not necessary to reach the wealthy condition of Japan or France to reach a fertility rate
of 3.3 childrm and even to try lowering this number to zero population growth Different from
China, these programs have based their arccess in strong educational campaigns rather than
coercive policies (Brown and Mitchell; 1998, Goodstein, 1995).

Moreover, Brown and Mitchell (1998), reports that the Govemmmt of Bangladesh
spmds $62 to prevmt a birth, but saves $615 on social services expenditures for each birth
averted Thus, prevmtion is ten times less expmsive than the cost of doing nothing. These
savings are particularly important incmtives for educating yormg girls who become pregnant
without desire, because of fimily presalres for earlier marriage, or simply due to ignorance or

In addition, since it is well known that rural poor fimilies, like the Mixtecos,
traditionally have arpported the idea that by having more children they malre firture labor
compensate for high rates of child nrortality thus delivering of knowledge on how this situation
has changed is vital For instance, how the mortality rate has decreased in the Mixteca Region
has always hem mmtioned Therefore, what is needed now is to adopt other approaches to
teach people the problems associated with today’s population growth

Politically one of the potmtial tools is to grant economically two-children families, and
totaxthose middle andwell—ofl’fimilieshaving morethanthreechildrm. It means, ifa rural
poor couple is environmentally literate, educated and they voluntarily and consciously accept to
have only two childrm, the govemmmt could guarantee the means and access to education at

least until high school On the other hand, wealthy fimilies having more than three childrm may

143

have to pay extra taxes to compensate those who even would accept to have just one child It
somlds impopular but is an imperative, since ill a global vision to stop a new baby birth, is to
stop the death of one already lives.

To achieve the necessary zero population growth other structural reforms in
govemmmt programs have to be accomplished The first one is to rebuild the health care and
rural developmmt assistance systems On the other hand, it is clear that evm if the educational
birth control program were irnplemmted today, the effects will not be sem until the so-called
population momentum is overcome; that is to say, whm young women from two-childrm
fimilies reach reproductive age. Therefore, practices such as childbearing delay, marriage only
afiertwmty,volrmtarysterilizationatthemommt ofsecondchildhirth, aswellasahigher
access to women's education are crucial in this conrplexity.

In short, since in the Mixteca Poblana Region the natural resource base has tremendous
constraints, to stabilize population to the carrying capacity of those resources depmds on what
wedotodayinplanningfimilysize, anditwilldecideingreatextmtthefirtureofthe anire

Mixteca Region.

6.3. PRIORITIES ON PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LAND USE POLICY

A priority point in this respect is the urgmt intervention of the govemmmt ill defining
the hormdaries betwem neighboring Mixteca’s ejidas and their rights on shared comnnmal
lands, since too many conflicts remain It is particularly pathetic ill these points where due to
population growth, several comnnmities have split up into new cmters of settlement and new

disputes among comnnmal right holders rise, which in the md rearlts in more deforestation.

144

The first step in this recognition of rights is to set up agreemmts and negotiations
betwem these parties claiming lights to the same land, to stop more looting due to the
lmcertainty of the ownership, and then to define a policy on the use of the associated resources
which are contained on these forested lands In short, how these lands are to he managed in the
firture is as important as the definition of the property rights regime, since ejido privatization
will not avoid disparities betwem social coa and social bmefits It means, the requisites to an
eflicimt allocation into a market economy are not achieved completely because:

1) The new owners do not have complete rmiversality on the mtitlemmt,

2) Allbmefits and costs accrued asrearlt ofownership anduse ofthese resources cannotbe
accrued by the owner alone, and above all,

3) the lights and duties on use of the resource are not mforceable, without a complete and
deeper reform

Thus, this will likely reallt in a new and greater tragedy, a tragedy of the privates,
(former commons) since the constitutional amenrhnmts can not control land use. Evm if the
legal instnnnmts were aheady presmt, the ability to mforce them is right now limited Private
ownership on hilly lands does not mean that externalities gmerated by unarstainable use
(erosion, flooding, biological diversity losses) can be eliminated; nnrch less that victims will be
able to claim the lights to be fiee of harmful expoalres because of erqrensive transactional costs
produced by lack of information, incapacity of negotiation and no mforcemmt.

As the standards of living and education of a sociay become higher, its marginal
evaluation of goods and mvironmmtal services are likely to be higher. For the same reason
environmental protection for poor rural people may appear to be an unaffordable hourly, givm

the multiplicity of attributes of the forest. Thus, additional mismanagement of the forest will

145

increase social costs. Besides, to restore it is expmsive, and, if it were done, its monetary
benefits will not be seen immediately by the new tenant status holders, for whom, lmcertainty
ofthefirtureisarule sinceto have moneyinhandright nowiswhat matters, givmtheir
desperate situation. Unfortrmately, doing nothing to stop the ecosystems depletion will
contribute to irreversible changes, which would have disastrous consequences for the next

generations welfire.

6.4. TECHNICAL MEASURES

Without meeting biophysical conditions no arstainable development is possible (Axinn
and Axinn, 1998). Thm, how to maintain cultural and comnnmity idmtity while being
economically viable? The structural adjustrnmts, the globalimtion and government policies to
foster free trade practices have worsmed hardship in the Mixteca Poblana Region by
eliminating credit to anallholder peasants, by reducing technical assistance, by opming the
nmrkets to transnational big-capital vmtures, and perhaps the moa debatable aspect discussed
before; the creation of legal settings for the privatimtion of the ejido. Under these
circumstances the transition from arbsistmce agriculture to one of post-peasant economic
integration relies on the capacity to become involved in the market economy, without
undermining human vahres cultural idmtity, and above all, the natrual resource base.

One of the urgent needs is to pose altematives for redirecting all those extractive
practices which are mining, rather than maging, the ecosystems The top priority is to adopt
all aritable practices to restore to some extmt the already spoiled soils Technical initiatives are
crucial and the first point is to design an ecosystem restoration program to recover the

fimctioning of the tdf.

146

The rehabilitation of marginal lands is an economic imperative, not only for increasing
food production and income of local villagers, but above all for diminishing the environmental
off-firm costs of resources and services not accormted for the markets, (e. g. erosion, flooding
and gmetic variability losses) which impacts the whole society. The solution is resting to a
great extent on the knowledge about the local aboriginal plants, which adapted to adverse

conditions are the key to restore the ecosystem fimctioning.

6.4.1. Mimicking nature; An Agrosivopastoral Initiative

From the technical point of view, a potmtial sohrtion can be reached by designing a
mosaic of diversified land uses, through agrosilvopastoral systems promotion These are not
novel practices, but a hybrid of traditional and modern techniques; a half-home gardms, a half
formal agroforestry system Their implementation could make smse in economic, social,
cultural and mvironmmtal terms, and above all, to reduce negative externalities arch as
biodiversity loses, and environmental services degradation (i. e. water and wind erosion).

From that point on, the problem demands that resources be directed to coordinate the
conrpetitive land uses through a participative action to restore degraded marginal lands This
can be drawn ill the following points adjusted fiom Vandermeer and Perfecto( 1995):

l) A rmewed agriculture fostering "criollo" (native) landraces of staple foods combined with
wild fiuit-trees cultivation for home-conannption and for cash inrder terracing.

2) Silvicultural practices for biomergy gmeration through utilimtion of native mergetic trees

3) lmprovemmt of animal grazing by planting perennial tree-fodder species with high-dmsity

whose canopies and root systems stop erosion-rather than annual grasses alone. Cattle

147

rotation and regulation of animal load according to the carrying capacity of the forest is
vital

4) Cultivation of medicinal, aromatic, and omammtal species to balance gathering with finrily
gardms

5) Refinbishmmt of rural settlemmts with omammtal trees and aboriginal plants grown in
fimily orchards

6) ching ofi‘ smsitive areas and the establishmmt of ecological reserves of the tdf relics,
placing the lights to local connnlmities avoiding fiee access

Because diversification theoretically marres peasants against unforeseen product price
variations, agrosilvopastoral systems may be capable of offering the immediate highest
economic returns, as some of the selected species can start to be harveaed fiom six months
(guage) from two to five years (cactuses) from their establishmmt.

In any case, extreme care should be exercised in designing the cultural practices to be
applied on the whole production tmit That is, the wit should be sem in terms of the whole
mixture of species and not as an monoculture or simple aggregation of species where each one
needs to he tmded with specific cultural treatmmts, but will sinmlate natural conditions and
disturbances (Granados, 1997, pers com). Ultimately, this consideration would provide for
minimia'ng total costs, thus boosting the margin of net bmefits to be gained by the owner, and
also maxinrizing social bmefits through mvironmmtal irnprovemmt.

On the other hand, because agrosilvopastoral systems have to arit a harsh mvironment
where lack of moisture becomes the major limiting fictor, special hilt easy planting designs may

initially be needed (ie. trmch systems for catching rainfill). Moreover, once the seedlings or

148

cuttings are established, during their juvenile stage they may require protection against
desiccation, wind, livestock hooves, and weed competition

Certainly, all of these meaarres require some peasants extra labor to be arccessfillly
irnplemmted In this respect, carefirl planning should base the coordination of nmltiple use
activities with those demanded by agriculture and animal production. This is due to the fict that
labor should always be limited to the household's possibilities Finally, timing for the
establishmmt of the multiple-use plantation is a keystone variable that should coincide with the
rainy season if possible. This is also extremely important for seedlings produced in nm'selies
Planting during the beginning of the rainy season, increase the possibility of seedlings arrvival

through the first drypeliod

6.4.2. Local organization and inter-institutional integration

The strength of local organization for participation and self-commitmmt will decide the
arccess of these initiatives. There are already many institutions now involved in the Mixteca
Poblana region However, the disarticulation and isolated efforts are notorious. Therefore, the
first step is to get the intersecretarial integration of these institutions ill charge of forest, water,

and natural resources managemmt on one side, and Public Health on the other.

6.4.2.1. The Generation of an Initiative

To cope with population growth, conrnnnral land policy, and the restoration of native
ecosystems through agrosilvopastoral techniques, the creation of a task force to prepare an
ActionPlancomposed ofthreeprograms, and each one ofthemwith anarrayofspecific

projects would be needed The collaboration of NGOs as well as the involvemmt of local

149

comnnmities is required The Action Plan should be presented to Legislative Bodies of

Mexican Government for fimdirrg. Such plan can be drawn as follows:

 

 

MIXTECA POBLANA
ACTION PLAN

i

NGO’S COLLABORATION LEGISLATIVE LOCAL PEOPLE
& VOLUNTEERISM CALL ‘ . INITIATIVE ‘ . PARTICIPATION

i /

[PROGRAMS ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POPULATION CONTROL & PROPERTY RIGHTS & TECHNICAL MEASURES
HUMAN DEVEOPMENT H LAND POLICY H (AGROSILVOPAST‘ORALISM)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i i 9

Specific projects H Specific projects H Specific projects

i

ORGANIZATION & ADMINISTRATIVE
COORDINATION
(INTER-INSTITUTIONS)

l

MONITORING & EVALUATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6.1. Gmeral strategy proposed to achieve the tdf restoration and to foster local people’s
economic developmmt.

For every program, an array of specific projects budgeted and planned to attack the
whole problem fiom its roots, and from difl‘ermt trmches mua be presmted Each project
would have objectives, strategies, goals, policy statements and steps to be approved, and
mforced, timing, appendixes, and budget in horizons of 5, 10, 15 and 20 years Cost/bmefit

analysis of each project would be developed and the opportunity cost of potmtial alternatives

150

assessed Moreover, the plan should indicate the time frame to achieve self-arficiency and,
idmtify potmtial jobs and economic activities to be created

An example, the particular case of the technical meaarres is presmted in table 6.2.. It
should embrace projects whose strategies are based on the use of native germplasm, the rescue

of traditional knowledge, and the use of low-cost power.

Table 6.2. Some of the projects to foster a lasting food security and natural
resources base restoration are drawn as follows.

 

 

Household level Cropland level Connnrmity level
Familiar gardens Native crops Nurseries &

Rural Stoves Organic firming Reforestation zones
Medicinal plants Cover Crops Small dams

Living fmces Living fmces Agroforestry

Small livestock Terracing Biological Reserves
Waste disposal Marketing Organimtion,

Water optimimtion Rules and mforcemmt

 

The priority projects are grouped into three levels: households, individual parcels, and
comnnmity. All have to be integrated and articulated For example the fimily gardm's
revitalization is as important as the use of native crops through arstainable techniques of

managemmt.

6.4.2.2. Who May Pay For the Mixteca's Plan Implementation?
The agrosilvopastoral alternatives described appear to be acceptable options to
implemmt arstainable multiproduct systems and the promotion of long-term conservation of

native germplasm of the tdf. But, who will finance the irnplemmtation of arch techniques?

151

6.4.2.2.]. Local and Governmental Role

Facing the seriouaress of rural poverty, the exodus of the poor to urban settings, as
well as the gmeralized social tmsion in indigmous zones arch those in Chiapas, the Mexican
government was forced to launch a kind of enrergmcy program called PROCAMPO, which
puts money directly in the pockets of the head of rural anal] holders The cash aid is based on
the individual firmer’s plots size cultivated with staple crops (about 50 dollars per hectare
sown) on an annual or harvest season basis

Since PROCAMPO works ill a short-rim perspective, we thillk that there is a more
cost-effective system for govemmmt fimded programs Monies have to be allocated to
promotealasting and arstainableuse ofresourcesaswellasforhmnan developmmt. Thiscan
be done by creating an mvironmmtal infiastructure, and building a rural organization designed
to implement and arpport the required change. What we mean for mvironmmtal infiastlucture
is the recovery of the natural resources base, through reforestation of high mergy trees,
adoption of agrosilvopastoral techniques and social capital through education.

The adoption of agrosilvopastoral techniques and the wiser use of other resources arch
as water, requires policy modifications, regulation and mforcemmt, as well as educational
projects intended to achieve popular self-cooperation to develop an organimtional, and
participative programs for: 1) native multi-purpose trees reproduction, and their correspondmt
establishment, and 2) organic filming practices in combination with agrosilvopastoral
teclmiques using local gemlplasm, which would reduce the use and depmdmcy on pesticides

and chemical fertilizers

152

6.4.2.2.2. International scope

"Another wiser strategy for both the environment and the economy would be to fimnel
international capital into activities that arstain rather than destroy natural mdowments"(Frmch,
1998;155). Coming back to the Option Value of many native food species, it is probable that
these potmtially usefirl plants can trigger international collaboration to preserve the tdf gme
pools as natural capital, since these gmetic resources represent the possibility for using in the
future as innovative crops, improve the current ones, and maintain, or gmerate services
currernly not yet considered

Institutions, private firms or mvironmmtal NGOs from developed countries, might be
willing to pay some money to eradicate poverty and migration through the use of technical and
infiastluetural agricultural initiatives, to in-situ conservation of the rennining tdf biodiversity.

Two potmtial examples for getting finlds are explored below.

6.4.2.2.2.1. Bioprospecting and The Optional Value of the tdf Gene Pool.

There are many reasons to save vahrable plants and their traits Gmeticists may
incorporate gmes fiom wild varieties of agricultural crops to create strains best adapted to
drought, or they may develop varieties resistant to certain pests or diseases Expert breeders
and might also use those potmtial wild crop gme pools to crafi a higher responsivmess of an
improved race to slight changes observed ill the mvironmmt. In other cases, new crops could
he released to reduce hlmger and the degradation of local gmetic resources However, to reach
that point, peasants need to receive some economic bmefits to care for tdf vegetal diversity ill-

situ.

153

The exploration across rich reservoirs of plants and animals from commercially
profitable gene resources and biochemical arhstances is now known as Biodiversity
Prospecting. Companies fimd local organimtions to train people in collecting sanrples of
potmtially vahrable plants If some new medicine is found, the company will develop a lab
remch towards its commercialization ill arch way that part of these profits will be allocated
as royalties to local organizations and biodiversity holders (Zebich-knos, 1997).

Drugs and seeds companies are avariciously looking for new products based on the
biodiversity. The Costarican Instituto National de Biodiversidad has signed a bioprospecting
agreement with the large pharmaceutical transnational company, Merck The firm, trying to
anrmd the pernicious practices (biopiracy) of reaping profits without compmsating local
keepers of biodiversity, has agreed to this innovative relationship. Based on this, major interest
is emerging betwem private or public biodiversity holders and translational vmtures The case
of the Merck-lNBio my be usefill as an ideotype for preserving biological diversity of the
Mixteca Region while arstainable developmmt is promoted

Care is advised for this kind ofprospecting projects, since there is a latmt risk that a
particular traditional plant-based remedy will reach arch popularity that its depletion and
extinction can occur. There are several well documented cases ofthis For example, in the
plains of the United States the roots and purple coneflowers of Echinacea purpurla long ago
usedbylndiansto cure diverse diseases, isnow commercialized forboostirrg imrmme system
The booming market for Echinacea products has brought arch a rush from collectors to health

stores retailers, that nowadays coneflowers are vanishing under the presarres of the poachers

(Eliot, 1997).

154

6.4.2.2.2.2. Joint Implementation Projects

lntemational collaborative approaches for arstainable forests could be innovative
outlets for international tradable greenhouse gases reduction as it is being tested ill some Joint
Implementation projects (Harvey & Bush, 1997). For instance, a transnational industry
releasing a number of nrillions of tons of C02 annually could finance the creation of arstainable
agrosilvopastoral systems in marginal depleted hilly lands Plantations using fish-growth
indigmous seedlings would sequestrate the equivalmt number of millions of tons of C02 and
relief gases emissions and by this help to reduce people mrigration Moreover, in this way
international aid and cooperation, instead of arpportirrg govemmmtal bureaucracies, would be
invested more equitably toward global benefits, and local eeonomric and mvironmmtal
irnprovemmts

A similar case is AES Corporation, a US power ficility which bruns fossil firels and
indeed emits C02, the prime global warming contributor. In 1991 ABS Co. decided to explore
potmtial paths through the use of grem devices to ofllset the carbon that it releases to the
atmosphere. Since, economically and ecologically, everything affects everything else, and
because the C02 is presmt in the earth's atmosphere, the AES Co, might place carbon
sequestrators anywhere in the world (Norris, 1997). A Guatemalan Agroforestry Project
became the means An array of International agmcies joint efforts to involve 40,000 firm
fimilies to participate in arstainable strategy for managing and protecting natural resources

In this project, 12,500 hectares of woodlots were planted, and it is expected that the
trees will gmerate mough biomass to fix 18 million tons ofcarbon over a 40 year period,
which will alrpass the AES Thames plant whose emissions are calculated to be 15.5 millions of

carbon over the same time span. Such joint efforts may be viable for the Mixteca Region.

155

6.5. FEASIBILITY OF THE ALTERNATIVES AND INITIATIVES PRESENTED

It is worthwhile to ask if all these alternatives, strategies and priorities can be converted
into reality. How feasible would. it be to implement: l) a credible birth control program, 2) an
appropriate land policy mrder the new tmurial status of the comnnmal lands, and 3) to integrate
these with all the technical meaarres based on ecosystem restoration through agrosivopastoral
techniques? It is also worth asking why these alternatives have not hem lalmched before? And
if these initiatives could get the interest of legislative bodies, what kind of difliculties would
they fice if they were implemented? Of course, there will be potmtial opposition to several
initiatives which look to be not very popular. However, more important would he to ask what
willhappm ifno actionistaken? Andwhatwillbethe costs ifthe destructive trmd continues?

Although these kinds of projects have recorded arccessfill rearlts in many cormtries,
they have hem very expmsive and limited to a anall scale. However, action is needed and
there is a good possibility of morning the fimds to work on it. The first challmge is to
mcourage and strmgthm leadership required for this kind of initiatives, and this dissertation

expects to awake interest and promote action

156

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167

APPENDIX

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ON WILD SPECIES FOR F OODl
By
Alejandro S. Sanchez-Velez

INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATION LETTER

Mixteca Poblana Region, Date

 

Dear Friend:

We are developing a resesrch in order to know which are thetree fruits, seeds, roots, or leaves
that you or your family more frequmtly est as food and are extracted from the tropical dry forest.

For this reason we are asking for your collaboration by answering an array of questions about
the native plants and trees that you know and appreciate. The information that you may proportionate
will beutilized for posingpotential strategiestoprotectedthe remainingforest, andtopropose
alternatives of cultivation of the most important spades according to your preferences.

The interview will last about 40 minutes and it is voluntary. Moreover, you have the right to
answer only what you consider pertinart. However, we would like to invite you to share your valuable
knowledge about the wild fruits and we could have a precise understanding of them. This research is not
a governmental project, but from the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo. This institution has as among its
goals to propel initiatives to foster the natural resources conservation and local people development.

On the other hand the information that you give us will be strictly confidmtial. Nobody, besides
ofmewill knowthatyoutell me. Furthermore, yournamewill not appearatany report, sinceitwill
separated from the answer sheet. Your responses will be grouped along with other anonymous
respondents who also are contributing in this survey.

Many thanks for your kind collaboration.

 

RESPONDENT CONSENT

I freely accept to participate in this interview about the wild
species used for food from the tropical deciduous forest. I understand that I do no have to answer
all the questions and that I may stop the interview at any time. I understand too, that my responses
will be treated with strict confidence and that my name will no be used

Signature

Name of the person interviewed
Village where he/she lives Municipality

 

 

1 The complete survey text was translated into Spanish as soon as it was approved by the academic
committee and registered in the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects(UCRII-IS).
at Michigan State University, and then administered.

168

OPINION POLL ABOUT WILD FRUITS AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

Number Date . Surveyor
Village Household

 

 

 

 

a) WILD FRUITS GATHERING AND IN-SITU PROTECTION OF F GOD-TREES

In this first part of our talk we would like to know about the wild finits that you gather from
the forest, or those that you protect in your cropland (‘ tlacolole'), or even these that you may
have in your backyard or family garden.

1) Please rank the tree species that you gather from the wild for food according to your

Name Parts consumed How do eatthem Do considerthem
fiuit seeds roots flowers leaves Fresh Baked Boiled Fried chinks Abundant seam: rare

I
2

 

2) If you consider one of them rare or scarce tell us which one and why?

 

3) When you collect wild fruits, do you gather other products at the same time? Ifyes, which
ones '

4) Could you tell me now about the wild species that you gathered from the forest?
Cultural characteristics of the wild species used as food and only gathered.

 

Name Whendoyou Howdoyou Apprordmatedt'nneat Whoperform Howrrarchdid Forself- Orfor

 

collect it? do that? distance of gathering? this activrty you collect? consumption (%) sale CA)
1 ' -

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Now let us know about the way that you protect or cultivate tree species?
Tree species that you harvest protect or cultivate.

 

Name Thoseonly Harvestedbut Thosecroppedat Arethoseforsale Ifyouscllthemwhere llowmuchSdo
harvested pr-otecwd or self-cons do you do it? vou gain?

 

Home Land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I69

 

6) How do you protect a fruit-tree in your land or in the forest?

 

b) FOOD-TREE SPECIES IN THE HOUSEHOLD

7) Talking specifically about the trees that you grow in your backyard, we would

like to know how many and what kind of trees do you have?

Fruittrees Misrethesewereplamed? Howtha’ewereplaried? Wheredidyou Whoperform Treatments
getthe th'nactivity? andcareofthe

nomads? We

 

 

Seecerttingreplaraing

 

 

 

 

 

'ANNU-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8) Ifyou have not trees in your garden or backyard, say the reason?
9) Who in your family is most interested in planting food-trees in your garden or land?

How much do your children know about the native tree species?
Could they recognize some trees and their uses?

 

c) PEOPLE'S INTEREST FOR PLANTING F COD-TREES IN THE AREA

As you know there are many trees growing naturally in the mountains. Some of them have
been taken for people to plant them in their plots, gardens and backyards. We would like to
learn about the trees that you believe are the best trees for purposes such as food production
(fruits), firewood, forage, medicinal, ornamental, and other possible utilities if a reforestation
program were promoted for preventing erosion and flooding.

10) Please tell us which tree species would you like to farm for food purposes?
Local name Reasons Where they W better Care needed
1
2
3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks a lot. The following questions are a little bit different. These are related with the type of
land that you have. We know that most of your is rainfed and we want to ask you if you have
thought some time to plant crops resistant to droughts like wild trees. Well, let’s ask you some
questions about that.

170

SOCIO-ECONOMIC VARIABLES AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

a) LAND FEATURES OF THE HOUSEHOLD.

Now we would like to move our talk towards the characteristics of your cropland. We
know that many peasants have many types of land according the ownership, location,
water availability, and so on. It is important for us since we want to know how much of
your land may be suitable for cropping wild species, which could be better, adapted to
harsh conditions.

1 1) Please let us know the followingjeatures of you land
Howmuch ltis Condition Howitwmacrprired Approximate Plotsizeinlasthyears
land do you distance from
have? house
rainfed irriyted Flat hilly l 2 3 4 Remains same Lem more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l-W Z-bought
3-ndowed 4"me

12) What type of annual crops usually do you grow in the rainfed hilly lands

and how has been the
Crops Apprordmatesmface Yielrh Theyieldis Doyousellthe 91. mm

for

 

b) LIVESTOCK COMPOSITION

Now, we would like to move our interview inquiring you what type of animals do you have,
how do you handle it, and their relationship with the tropical dry forest.

13) Livestock composition; how many of these different animals do your household

own?

Number For sale For Are or stabled
Chidtens
T

Ducks

Goats
Cows
Horses
Am

 

l7l

c) FOOD SUPPLIES AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

Now we would like to ask you some questions about the food you and your family eat at
home.

14 Could tell me how uent do eat the foods?
Precedence Cooked with

Daily Every Every Every Every By Firew Char Ga petro

third week fortniy'lt month season cod coal s leum

 

       

Its come from

1 2 3 4
Tortilla
Beans
Rice
Chicken
Milk
Pork
Beef
Fish

Bread
Fruits
V

Other

Code:

1 = own household 2 = local market (inside of the village)
3 = foreign market (outside of the village) 4 = 1 & 2; or
1 & 3; or
3 & 1; or 1,2,3

15) How good (in terms of quantity, quality, and diversity) is your actual food compared with
these of ten year ago?
Worse equal bit better better
Why? Why?

 

 

 

d) FAMILY SIZE AND FAMILIAR PLANNING

Finally, we will ask you about your family members. This information is important because by
knowing how the population is growing we could understand in some extend the relationship
of this factor with the local natural resources. None of this information will be publish on an
individual basis.

1 F basic features.
Sex

 

172

17) Size of immediate generation before of the father

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of the mother Size of current generation
e) HOUSEHOLD INCOME
lSLWhat kind of job(s do your household members have during the present jear?
Number place of vourvmrk
Males females Local 1 2 3 4 outside 0 @
Fulltirne
Parttime
Occasion
ally
Code:
Local: 1) in agricultural labor Outside: 0) Which city
2) Trade @) kind of job
3) Salaried job
4) Other

19) Could you tell us about your Household Income distribution?
Source Percemage total
Annual crops
Cattle sale
Firewoodsale
Wild fiuits sale
osmium
Other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENDING AN INTERVIEW

Many thanks! We have learned important things fi'om you. We appreciate all your time
devoted to answer our questions We hope you have not had any problems for the time that
this interview required. Ifyour want to add something about the information that we have
talked please feel the to tell us about that now. Thanks.

 

INTERVIEWER COMMENTS:
20) Observe the respondent house:
It is small media large
Economic status appreciation low medium

 

 

 

21) Write any comments you may have about the interview, the peasant, or the household.
Was the interview carried out in private, or were other people present? Describe the interview
situation

173