Forest conservation is a controversial issue for the indigenous Zapotec of the Southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Protected Natural Areas have been heavily promoted since the United Nations adopted the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation in 2002, which called for signatory countries to designate at least ten percent of their territory as such. However, the privatization of land and natural resources, the promotion of personal profit, and the move away from collectivist ideals have severely affected the way people relate to each other and to their environment. Indigenous subsistence farmers often have a history of relative autonomy with regard to land management, but government programs implemented in the context of global conservation efforts undercut such independence.
DOI: doi.org/10.5282/rcc/6158