131 PART II: CASE STUDIES Community-based forest management in Quintana Roo, Mexico Convening lead authors: Edward A. Ellis and Karen A. Kainer Lead authors: José Antonio Sierra Huelsz and Patricia Negreros-Castillo Contributing author: Maria DiGiano Abstract: The Mexican model of community forestry is often touted as an example whereby greater community control enhances both conservation and local livelihoods. We examine the conditions that have enabled and challenged sustainable forest manage- ment within community forests in Quintana Roo, a tropical state strongly inluenced by the Maya culture that currently boasts 91% forest cover. Over time, community forestry has been shaped by land reforms and forest policies that institutionalised com- mon property and local governance systems, granted timber rights to communities, instigated Permanent Forest Areas for commercial management, and laid a foundation to respond to changing market opportunities (i.e. payments for environmental services, railroad ties, polewood, and future carbon credits). Signiicantly, 16 years of state and international support via the Forestry Pilot Plan further empowered residents and increased local capture of forest beneits. In contrast, recent neoliberal economic and policy changes have promoted parcellisation and privatisation of communal lands, driving some deforestation and weakening governance in vulnerable communities. Corruption, lack of transparency, and contradictory agricultural, forestry, and conservation policies have impeded proper forest-sector investment. This case study explores the dynamic human-forest relationship that has evolved and persisted for more than 3000 years, revealing the resilience of both people and forests. Keywords: Community forestry, ejido, forest cover, Maya Forest,Yucatan PART II – Chapter 7 7.1 Introduction D espite the multitude of pressures at distinct lev- els to convert forested land to other uses, the Mexican model of community forestry seems to be a case where greater community control over forest management and related beneits have enhanced both forest conservation and local livelihoods (Klooster and Ambinakudige 2005). We examine the condi- tions under which community-based forest manage- ment operates in the tropical state of Quintana Roo, which occupies 50 212 km 2 of the eastern half of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula (Figure II 7.1). Although centered between the mid-1980s and 2012, our analy- sis necessarily begins several millennia before to bet- ter understand the historical conditions that shaped modern-day community forestry in Quintana Roo. We present an overview and analysis of the inter- twined socio-cultural, political, economic, and eco- logical dynamics that have enabled and challenged sustainable forest management (SFM) in the region. Diverse sources were used for the study, includ- ing a myriad of bibliographic resources and the ex- perience of the authors working in the region over different periods of time. This case study is highly rel- evant due to the dynamic human-forest relationship that has evolved and persisted for more than 3000 years, demonstrating the resilience of both people and forests. There are very few cases globally with such substantiated data over such a long period of time. Lessons learned should inform readers how community forest management can contribute to the overall goal of forest-based sustainable development and conservation in the tropics.