ECO-PALMS

Environment and Indigenous Communities
at Risk

Harvesting palm products is an important source of supplemental income for many indigenous families and communities in Guatemala and Mexico. However, over-harvesting palm can threaten the livelihood of these communities as well as the forests where the palm plants thrive and provide the shade required by the palms.

The palm producing areas tend to be the home of poorer segments of the rural population where the people really heavily on the palm harvest for income. But, although purchases of palms in the U.S. may reach as high as $4.5 million each year, the palm harvesters themselves earn very little. 

Typically, palm harvesting is done by community members hired by by local contractors, who then sell palms to large floral export firms. Payment is based on volume so the harvesters are motivated to gather a large number of palms without regard for the quality. As a result, up to 50% or more of the palms are later discarded because of poor quality. This method risks the rapid depletion of the forest's rich biodiversity, including the many bird species that migrate to these regions during the winter.

Many of the palm producing areas in Central America are important biosphere reserves, where palms are part of the natural forest.

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