This project involves the dissertation research of a cultural anthropologist from City University of New York. The student will study the effect of the international environmental movement on political activism, self-representation and productive activities among people in the Chimalapa forest of Oaxaca, Mexico. This area is home to a pristine forest which is endangered by logging, infrastructure development (dams, highways, oil pipelines) and immigration. The local peasant farmers have allied themselves recently with international and national environmental activist groups to preserve the region. These effort is also caught up in local and national politics about NAFTA and the agrarian reform in Mexico. Using ethnographic techniques of intensive interviews, participant observation as well as surveys of the involved organizations, the project will investigate how the activity of the environmentalist groups impacts on local peasant political activities, as well as how the gender division of labor will be impacted by development projects. This research is important because it will advance our understanding of how global and national processes impact local communities. The specific case of forest conservation will provide materials that can generalize to similar situations where local communities organize to preserve a valued resource, and must learn to balance their relations with NGOs as well as government agencies. In addition the project will increase our society's expertise about this important area of the world.
