Rethinking Forest Conservation: The Genesis and Evolution of Community Forest Concessions as a Socio-Ecological Governance Model in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

This study analyzes the historical and institutional genesis of the community forest concessions model in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Guatemala, as a case of socioecological transformation in tropical forest landscapes. Using a qualitative historicalinstitutional approach. The research integrates literature review, document analysis and comparative perspectives to examine how the model emerged in response to structural conditions of rural poverty, insecure land tenure, agricultural frontier expansion and weak state presence. The findings show that the concession system evolved as an adaptive governance arrangement that aligned conservation objectives with local livelihoods through the combination of conditional use rights, community organization and economic incentives derived from sustainable forest management. The results indicate that areas under community concessions have maintained near-zero deforestation rates while generating local income, strengthening territorial governance and promoting institutional learning across multiple scales. The study demonstrates that the effectiveness of the model is not attributable to a single factor, but to the interaction of socio-ecological components, including land tenure as a concession´s model, incentives, rules, capacities, and actors within a polycentric governance system. The case contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how community-based forest management can reconcile conservation and development objectives. It also highlights key enabling conditions and limitations for policy design and replication in other tropical contexts.