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| Indigenous Forest Management in the Bolivian Amazon: Lessons from the Yuracare People |
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Reference |
| Becker, C. Dustin, and Rosario Leon. 1998. "Indigenous Forest Management in the Bolivian Amazon: Lessons from the Yuracare People." Presented at "Crossing Boundaries", the seventh annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, June 10-14. Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00000017/ |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| The traditional forest management of Yuracare is a mutualism with fruiting trees and game animals. The Yuracare increase the reproductive success of fruiting trees which increases the density of game, which has potential to increase Yuracare survival. Yuracare appear to be maintaining fruiting trees and other trees that sustain their valued food chain and traditional needs. Their "mobile multiple use" system also buffers them against depletion of common pool resources in the forest. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: 400 Yuracare families live in the northeastern part of the Department of Cochabamba of Bolivia. They currently claim about 250,000 hectares of the Rio Chapare watershed as their territory.Social Boundaries: Clans are the core of the Yuracare social system, consisting of an extended family made up of 10 to 20 nuclear families |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| Using a consensus approach, representatives from each clan, elect a "Cacique Mayor Yuracaré" to lead them. Likewise each Corregimiento has several representatives that participate in a tribal council (Consejo Indigena Yuracaré). This council uses a system of one person-one vote, and majority rules, to make major decisions and plans that concern the Yuracare as a whole. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| The Yuracare practice long-term biodiverse perennial agriculture in small forest patches. Areas with productive soils, "ti jukule," are first planted with yucca, then bananas, and then fruit trees (mango, chocolate, orange, coffee, grapefruit, palms, native fruit trees, etc.). The forest tree garden is used for 25 to 35 years eventually becoming mature rain forest, dominated by domestic and wild fruiting species. The Yuracare promote growth of the wild fruiting species by removing nearby seedlings that would compete for water and nutrients. They use forest trees and animals without depletion by mobile multiple use. Families spread out the impact of timber harvesting, agriculture, hunting, and gathering in time and space. Social norms exist in Yuracare culture that prescribe actions pertaining to forest management. Fruiting trees are protected and selectively encouraged in order to increase densities of game. Yuracare also have game management rules including selective harvesting of the males, and no-hunting seasons. When rules are broken, sanctioning is traditionally accomplished via social reprimand and ostracism. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Exploitation of commercial timber created conflict and challenged Yuracare institutions, because at first certain individuals accrued more benefits than others. Clans have devised a system of tree ownership to distribute this wealth more equitably. In 1991, Forest Associations were formed in each Corregimiento to organize timber exploitation and to interact with government forestry departments and timber buyers. To reduce conflicts over valuable timber, the Yuracare Forest Associations privatized Mahogany and Spanish Cedar in community forest areas. |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| Yuracare community show little inclination to conserve or restore timber species. As market and institutional incentives favor the unsustainable harvest of timber species, biomass and diversity are being lost. Privatization of forest resources may also promote a more sedentary life which can put more pressure on resources |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| Yuracare institutions are highly responsive to external incentives. In 1992, the Yuracare decided to organize Forest Associations in each Corregimiento to coordinate with external government forest agencies and timber marketing associations. Two laws, the "Forest Law and the Law of INRA (Rights of Indigenous Peoples), have extended exclusive rights to forest exploitation to the Yuracare within their territory, but under certain constraints imposed mainly by government forestry agencies. The Forest Associations have worked to allocate resources, weaken constraints (e.g., relax rule against use of chain-saws), and to resolve conflicts among themselves. |
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Purpose |
| Forest management |
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Country |
| Bolivia |
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Region |
| Northeastern part of the Department of Cochabamba of Bolivia |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-04/07/1998 |
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