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The Role of Women in the Forest Conservation in a Mexican National Park: Pruning Firs for the Manufacture of Christmas Wreaths

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Abstract

National Parks in Mexico are home to small communities. Whereas productive activities are by definition prohibited within park limits, restoration and conservation practices are encouraged. One way to benefit the inhabitants of these parks is to promote conservation practices that can be productive at the same time. This paper describes and evaluates the practice of regular pruning of Abies religiosa (HBK) in the Cofre de Perote National Park as both a measure to prevent forest fires and a means to obtain the raw material for the manufacturing of Christmas wreaths. Under the guidance of our university research team, over a period of 3 years, local women pruned trees over a total area of 36 ha and used part of the pruning waste (2.71 %) to make the wreaths. The income generated from pruning and from sale of the wreaths contributes significantly to household expenses. We describe the collaboration between the local Women’s Group, the academic team, a federal government agency and the local authorities. The study concludes that the laws regulating national parks in Mexico should specifically stress the importance of allowing productive activities compatible with conservation.

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Notes

  1. An income-generating activity promoted by two authors of this report, Pineda-López and Sánchez-Velásquez.

  2. Translation by the authors of this article.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the women of the CMUCB; the local authorities of Ejido el Conejo; Promep; The European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Programme for External Cooperation, Window (Lot 20) EMUNDUS 20, Mobility Network Europe-Mexico and Central America. The research was supported by Inbioteca-UV (2006–2011) and Procodes-Conanp (2009–2011). We also thank Rafael Ortega Solis, Rogelio Lara González, and Suria G. Vásquez Morales for their work in the field and their constant support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (Inbioteca), Universidad Veracruzana, Avenida de las Culturas Veracruzanas 101, Col. E. Zapata, 91090, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Maria del Rosario Pineda-López, Lázaro R. Sánchez-Velásquez, Yareni Perroni Ventura & Patricia Gerez Fernández

  2. Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico

    Citlalli López Binnqüist

  3. Unidad de Gestión Forestal Sostenible Departamento de Ingeniería Agroforestal Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Alberto Rojo-Alboreca

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  1. Maria del Rosario Pineda-López
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  2. Lázaro R. Sánchez-Velásquez
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Correspondence to Maria del Rosario Pineda-López.

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Pineda-López, M., Sánchez-Velásquez, L.R., Ventura, Y.P. et al. The Role of Women in the Forest Conservation in a Mexican National Park: Pruning Firs for the Manufacture of Christmas Wreaths. Hum Ecol 43, 493–501 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-015-9756-y

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