Farmers, fires, and forests: a green alternative to shifting cultivation for conservation of the Maya forest?

• Published in: Landscape and urban planning 2006-02, Vol.74 (3), p.267-284
• Main Authors: Eastmond, Amarella, Faust, Betty
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultura de roza-tumba-y-quema; Conservación forestal; Ecología de incendios forestales; Fire ecology; Forest conservation; Maya Indians (indigenous people); Mayas yucatecos (pueblo indígena); Slash-and-burn agriculture; Zea mays
• ISSN: 0169-2046; 1872-6062
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.09.007

When fires blazed through Mexico's forests in 1998, the country experienced a new sense of urgency in its attempts to combat ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity. Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT, the federal environmental protection agency) identified the use of fire in agriculture as a major contributor to the conflagration. Traditional “slash-and-burn” systems are still widely practiced in the southeast of Mexico, and finding a substitute for burning, especially in and near protected areas, became imperative (SEMARNAT, 2001). Experience from different parts of Central America indicated that green manure/cover crop systems (g/cc) could increase soil fertility, reduce erosion, control weeds and raise the yield of maize; the hope was that this system could replace slash-and-burn practices with their attendant risk of forest fires. We present the case study of a project introducing a green cover crop to traditional, resource-poor, maize farmers in one community of the Yucatan peninsula and preliminary results from a similar project in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, discussing the data in the light of the on-going debates concerning both fire policy and soil erosion. We conclude that, in spite of demonstrating some advantages, adoption in the peninsula has been hindered by environmental, economic and socio-cultural factors. Mexican efforts to eliminate fire from the forests must also be assessed with reference to the scientific literature by fire experts and historical ecologists, indicating that prohibition of small fires may actually decrease total biodiversity, while increasing the probabilities of catastrophic forest fires. En 1998, cuando ocurrieron los devastadores incendios forestales en México, el país se hizo más conciente de la necesidad urgente de combatir la degradación de los ecosistemas y la pérdida de la biodiversidad. La Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) identificó el uso del fuego en la agricultura como uno de los elementos principales que contribuyó a la conflagración. Los sistemas tradicionales de roza, tumba y quema todavía son ampliamente practicados en el sureste del país y el encontrar un sustituto de la quema, especialmente cerca y adentro de las áreas protegidas, se convirtió en algo prioritario (SEMARNAT, 2001). La experiencia de diferentes partes de América Central indicaba que los abonos verdes y cultivos de cobertura podían aumentar la fertilidad del suelo, reducir