Resumo

HERNANDEZ MARTINEZ, Neftalí; VAZQUEZ GARCIA, Verónica; FIERROS GONZALEZ, Aurelio Manuel  e  VELAZQUEZ MARTINEZ, Alejandro. Social assessment of a commercial forest plantation. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2012, vol.3, n.9, pp.89-103. ISSN 2007-1132.

In order to know the social impacts of a Forest Commercial Plantation (FCP) it was necessary to apply an evaluation system integrated by Principles, Criteria and Indicators. These were clustered in three related areas: environmental, economic and social sustainability. This paper provides information about nine social indicators applied to an FCP located at the boundaries of Oaxaca and Veracruz states. Indicators were taken from a previous paper which identified 66 for the plantation. As the social assessment focused on an FCP, it proposes to determine the following aspects: hiring and salaries policy; wages and perceptions according to law; training support; proportion of employees from the region; knowledge of use and benefits from plantations; divulgation mechanisms for their activities; programs supporting community; and existence of a forest local industry. To place each indicator in a category of sustainability, a scale generated for Chihuahua Model Forest was used. Results showed a qualitative and quantitative assessment for each indicator and qualified as regular the state for the social component of the project. Finally, some suggestions were made to raise positive social impacts from forest plantations companies.

Palavras-chave : Social component; criteria; indicators; forest plantations; principles; sustainability.