J.14 SMCL2 Fact Sheet.pdf

This project supports the consolidation of community businesses that offer products from sustainable land management. In addition, it contributes to creating sustainable supply chains that value the social and environmental attributes of products. During the period from August 2018 to August 2023, USAID finances a CCMSS project that seeks to improve the livelihoods of rural communities through projects that simultaneously contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to deforestation and forest degradation, and to improve community forest management schemes. This project arises from the need to improve the technical, financial, and commercial capacities of forest communities, and promote integrated landscape management schemes in forest regions.

Currently, more than 60% of the country's forest area is owned by ejidos and communities, and around 2,300 of them carry out sustainable forest management for timber production. The ecosystems that these communities protect are of critical importance to mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity and maintain the livelihoods of rural communities.

An important component of the project is strengthening community and territorial governance. The project also disseminates its learning and experiences to generate recommendations that contribute to improving public policies and influencing decision-makers in the design and implementation of better regulations and programs to address rural development and the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation.

OUR GOALS

To achieve sustainable managed community forests so that greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation are reduced and rural livelihoods are improved.

Theory of Change: IF landscape governance is strengthened, capacity of communities to manage forests and produce sustainably managed forest products is increased, linkages with the private sector to sell sustainable forest products are strengthened, and government policies and regulations are changed to support better forest management, THEN income from sustainably managed forest will increase, deforestation and forest degradation will decline, and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY LANDS II

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Yucatan Peninsula

● 44,000 hectares of tropical forest lands under sustainable management and improved production practices.

● 410 tons of honey and charcoal from sustainable management commercialized in improved channels.

● 250 thousand dollars of income from sales of products from sustainable management through the facilitation of a regional fair-trade scheme.

● 22 commercial alliances with the private sector operating sales in 4 market segments, improving the profitability of community enterprises.

● 6 rural organizations strengthened their enterprises in terms of organization and of differentiation and added value.

● 180 people strengthened their capacities in terms of human development and collective organization.

● 90 young women and men have strengthened capacities to manage the territory through beekeeping and organic honey production.

Central Mexico

● 22 areas of springs and community water bodies have been restored.

● 38,005 hectares have integrated landscape management schemes.

● 20,674 hectares of forest have improved management practices.

● 560 hectares of forest with activities that improve its growth and biodiversity.

● 10 community productive initiatives strengthened (1 for timber forest industry, 8 ecotourism projects and 1 for charcoal production)

● 22 ejidos have implemented actions that improve their governance, including: transparency and accountability, inclusion and participation of women, and participatory decision-making.

● 1,190 agricultural hectares of rural families implement better management practices to conserve soil and water, protect biodiversity, and improve local livelihoods.

● 2 ejidos diversified their income with the sale of carbon credits for a total of 7,492 tons of reduced emissions.

Public policy and communication

● Participation in the amendment of the General Law of Sustainable Forestry Development to expand the protection of ecosystems and the communities that manage them.

● 15 communication products that document examples of community organization and land management

● A platform for geo-visualization and data about communities and forests in Mexico concluded and in operation.

● A commercial cooperation initiative with Tienda UNAM selling products from more than 20 organized communities in the south-southeast region.

● An analysis of Mexico’s forest production prepared and disseminated.

● A geo-visualization platform of the threats in the Yucatan Peninsula.

● A report on the gender gap in land tenure and community governance.

● An analysis on subsidies in the forestry sector prepared and disseminated.

● An environmental agenda for the new legislature on the most important issues to be addressed in Congress.

Prepared and disseminated with SUSMAI and the Academic Observatory.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY LANDS II