One of the main objectives of this research is to collect and analyze the perception and representation of tzeltal forest communities about the future of the Lacandon rainforest in spatial, social and economic terms. The research focuses on the local socio-environmental management practices that generate resistance, resilience, destruction and exploitation of renewable natural resources in their forest ecosystems. The heterogeneous point of view about the future of the forest its in-between perspectives of different actor’s which includes locals, engineers, official state employees, brokers, lawyers and even academics researchers. This research puts on dialogue three levels: governmental discourses, in-between actors, and locals.
The research will provide a regional overview of the socio-environmental dynamics of the southern border in Mexico, the current and future perceptions and representations of the rainforest landscape from local stakeholders, and a historical, ethnographic and material record of the transformation of the social space considering the impact of conservation policies at the national level. This is both important for the development of more efficient environmental politics in the region as for the ethnographic mapping of different social and productive arrangements of local forest communities in the lacandon forest. Even so, the communities subject of interest are two that haven’t receive the proper attention by scholars and the government, and considering their proximity to one of the biggest and most important Natural Protected Area in the country, their practices, expectations and emotions about the future of common lands and natural resources is vital to conserve the rainforest and the biodiversity on it.
