ABSTRACT
Certain rural areas of Central America, notably in Guatemala and El Salvador, are characterized by high population density and extreme land scarcity. Many such areas were deforested long ago. In some parts of the western highlands of Guatemala, however, local communities were able to protect their forest resources and considerable areas of dense pine or mixed forest still remain. In recent years, however, these forests have been subjected to intense pressures and traditional resource management or forest protection systems show signs of breaking down. Since the vast majority of the local population depends heavily on the use of forest products this situation has had a significant impact on people’s livelihoods. To analyse the breakdown of these systems and the social impact of deforestation in such areas, a case study was undertaken in the department of Totonicapan and the neighbouring municipality of Nahuala (department of Solola) in the Altiplano region of Guatemala (see Map 5.1). 1
