The Chimalapas lands occupy the eastern part of Oaxaca State and the western part of Chiapas State to the East and bordering on Vera Cruz to the North. The two communities of the areas concerned cover 594,000 ha, including some approximately 300,000 of high forest. The area is dotted with relatively small settlements, mainly on the periphery, and much of the forest is still inaccessible. Different parts of the forest are under threat from cattle ranchers, marijauna and poppy growers and shifting cultivators, while some of the more accessible areas are being logged in an unplanned manner. In the years 1988, 1990 and 1991, the Federal Government proposed to declare some 300,000 ha as an Ecological Biosphere Reserve which would have encroached upon the legal rights and economic interests of the local people.

Identification of improved sustainable and Replicable forest management and agricultural practices, through participatory means and their adoption by local people, especially the poor, in the Chimalapas.

• Food security at household level achieved in 12 communities in the Chimalapas zones 4,5 and 6.
• Environmentally sustainable farming systems adopted in 12 communities in Chimalapas zones 4, 5 and 6.
• Social and economic opportunities, including those for women, improved in the Chimalapas.
• Health and nutrition improved in the Chimalapas.
• Improved knowledge of, and better community decisions on the use of, the natural resources in Chimalapas.