Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén (ACOFOP, Association of Forest Communities of Petén) brings together communities in the buffer zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve to manage forest concessions that collectively represent the world's largest certified forest area under community management.

The initiative has ensured community access to the forest by securing legal forest concessions for sustainable timber and non-timber forest product extraction at the local level. Through its pioneering use of certification schemes and extensive biological monitoring, this umbrella organization has helped to conserve the forest's biodiversity and improve livelihood options for more than 14,000 of the forest's community members. The association is currently made up of 23 community-based organisations, each of which is represented within an equitable and democratic governance structure.

 

Key Facts 

Equator Prize Winner: 2002

Founded: 1995

Location: Petén Department, Northern Guatemala

Beneficiaries: 2,000 families, 30 communities

Biodiversity: 1,400 plant species, 450 animal species

 

Case Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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