People Over Projects: Gustavo Sánchez Valle
In April, we had an incredible week in Mexico visiting our newest partner, Red Mexicana de Organizaciones Campesinas Forestales (Red MOCAF). Amidst inspiring trips to see their work in action, we also learned more about the incredible people who’ve kept the organization running for nearly 3 decades – amongst them, Gustavo Sánchez Valle, Red MOCAF’s president.
Gustavo: “I am originally from the state of Jalisco, from a place called Sayula, in the south of the state. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers were Indigenous. We have a cultural root, as I believe the great majority of Mexicans do, though many do not recognize it or assume it... Since I was 16 years old I wanted to study agronomy, and I’ve always been interested in rural development issues. Now, I’ve been working with communities, with forest ejidos, for nearly 30 years.”
Within his role at Red MOCAF, Gustavo supports Indigenous and campesino communities – often organized within ejidos – in their efforts to sustainably manage forests throughout the country.
Gustavo: “There is a particularity in Mexico that is not found in other places. Half of the territory is owned or possessed by these collectives called ejidos, by communities, and an objective of these collectives is to manage and conserve the forests. This has allowed that forests are still conserved in Mexico to a much better extent than if they were managed privately. If managed privately, many of these forest territories would have probably been lost by now. So for us, it is very important to focus our work on communities, as we know we have a lot to learn from them. Some people see the effort of community forest management as something from the past. But in reality, it is something very current. And we need to give it visibility, push it forward, give it momentum.”
Alongside the organization’s director, Guadalupe Leyva Santillan, Gustavo has helped grow Red MOCAF’s network to more than 54 community groups, working together to protect Mexico’s forests and forest-based communities.
We’re so proud to have joined their vision; on April 23rd, we gathered in Mexico city to sign an agreement supporting their efforts over the next year.
Gustavo: “Each one of us plays a different role in this effort to conserve forests, to promote good management, to ensure the people living in these regions can raise their standard of living – that their culture is preserved and strengthened, that young people are proud to belong to a community. That’s why we seek these types of alliances. We believe that the conservation of nature is a task that goes beyond a single organization.”
Gustavo & Lupita – we’re so glad to have become part of your work, and part of your lives.
