SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS - NATURAL DYE EXTRACTION FROM EL-CRUCE-DOS-AAGUADAS, PETEN, GUATEMALA

The traditional harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Peten, Guatemala, provides a model for integrated conservation and developme nt programs. Conservation International and El Cruce a Dos Aguadas (El Cruce). and agricultural community in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in N orthern Peten, have created a new NTFP, called Gatherings(TM) which is a potpourri composed of seeds, flowers and leaves. Gatherings(TM) is promoted on international and domestic markets as a sustainably extrac ted natural product whose sale provides a direct incentive for local p roducers to conserve their forests. The purpose of this investigation is to test the ecological sustainability of extraction of the natural dyes used to color the potpourri ingredients and to present the follow ing eight-step method for testing the sustainability of NTFP harvestin g: (1) delineate current supply area; (2) determine current supply; (3 ) estimate the growth and yield of target species; (4) determine the c urrent demand; (5) compare short-term supply and demand and evaluate m anagement options: (6) assess secondary ecological effects of harvesti ng; (7) repeat the process for future time periods; and (8) summarize the analysis. Using this method, we found that two of the dyes are lik ely to be over-harvested within 10 years, and that the harvest of the third could be increased substantially without endangering the dye-pro ducing species. When we summarized the analysis, we found no evidence to conclude that the current production of Gatherings(TM) directly ben efits the forests of El Cruce. However, the goodwill created by this p roject has contributed to a new conservation initiative; a Land Manage ment Area which has been proposed by the community to Guatemala's Nati onal Protected Areas Council (CONAP) and which contains a 13 273 ha fo rest reserve. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.