Who Harvests and Why? Characteristics of Guatemalan Households Harvesting Xat, (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti)1

Who Harvests and Why? Characteristics of Guatemalan Households Harvesting Xat, (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti). Cultivation of harvested species is frequently proposed as a conservation strategy to reduce wild harvesting pressure and improve local livelihoods. The success of this approach is likely to be influenced by harvesters' socioeconomic characteristics. Our study focuses on illegal harvesting of a palm species (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti, locally known as xat,), by Guatemalans in the largely Belizean Greater Maya Mountains. We surveyed 222 households in nine Guatemalan villages close to the Belize/Guatemala border. With this sample we estimated the current intensity of illegal harvesting by Guatemalans in Belize, the characteristics of harvesting households, and their perceptions of the enforcement level of harvesting laws. We estimated that 26 % of households in the study area actively harvest. Harvesting households owned less land than non-harvesting households. Harvesters are aware that harvesting in Belize is illegal and of the sanctions for harvesting. However, incomes from xat, harvesting were favorable compared to alternative available activities and there were few barriers to entry. We conclude that successful conservation interventions promoting cultivation need to take account of existing harvester characteristics and constraints. Lack of secure land tenure means that cultivation is not a feasible alternative for many harvesting households.