A. Species
Scientific name: Dioon edule
Common name(s): Chamal
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Near Threatened
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Mexico
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Gulf of Mexico seaboard along the Sierra Madre Oriental
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1991
End Year: 2007
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal and Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism and Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed and Decorative and aesthetic
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence and Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The initiative discussed in this study aims at conservation through propagation toward sustainable utilization coupled with habitat conservation. The study recommends endangered status after a subjective assessment using the Method for Risk Evaluation MER (Spanish acronym) for the Mexican Norm because: i) historically the species was once very abundant but now populations have been reduced drastically to less than 5% of the national territory; ii) many populations are relict with poor or nil regeneration and the species is apparently sensitive to herbicides nowadays in common use; iii) estimated number of adult plants in known populations ca 10,000,; iv) decapitation of reproductive adults lessens seed production in the habitats and the species is protected by only one biosphere reserve. Exact figure of the extent of habitat reduction is not available The main threats are largely due to human induced habitat loss through deforestation and land use change, illegal collecting especially decapitation of leaf crowns. Purposeful elimination of the plants owing to the cycads toxicity to cattle (no precise data other than anecdotal). The species is on several “Toxic Plants to Cattle” lists. The exact figure of number of plants destroyed by cattlemen is not available since this has been an on-going process over a very long period of time. Also, the recent use of herbicides over the last 20 years to induce pastureland is believed to have seriously affected the cycad populations (amount not quantified).
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Sustainable if supported by cultivation and law enforcement. In terms of income the MO nursery between the years 1991 to 1995 earned approximately $1,500 US total. For the years 1996 to 1998 a total of $2,700 US; and for the years 1999 to 2006 a total of $4,600 US and from 2007 to date approx. $10,000 US. All this is through domestic sales.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Levels of exploitation for non-destructive seed harvest (legal) and plant/crown harvest (illegal) are unknown, but high levels imply that 'many' people use this cycad for food or (illegal) trade. The MO nursery clearly employs people (number not specified).
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Seeds must be boiled or soaked to remove toxins (that can cause cattle paralysis). - but eaten widely.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Cattlemen in the northern limits of the cycad’s distribution purposely cut the plants down since the freshly emerging leaves attract cattle and are eaten resulting in hind-leg paralysis syndrome and death. Unfortunately figures on the number of plants destroyed are not available.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
RECOMMENDATIONS: i) Marketing assessment is crucial during the early stages of innovative sustainable management projects. ii) More long-term funding is required to get projects such as this one working. iii) A multidisciplinary team is required for these projects especially in the fields of conservation biology, horticulture, anthropology and sociology as well as marketing expertise. iv) Projects involving sustainable management of threatened species should be encouraged nationally and internationally, especially within buffer zones of biosphere reserves. v) It is highly recommended to start first with small medium-term pilot project and grow on from this rather than to inject mega scale funding on a short-term basis. vi) The species to be managed should be on the farmers’ collective (ejido) or individual private property and the habitat must be an integral part of the management system in which the habitat is managed for seed thus creating incentive to conserve. Establishing mother seed plants at the nursery is contrary to this since independence from the habitat is not recommended. vii) There should be a mechanism for assisting the growers during their permit renewal applications and other paperwork, since on a local basis in Mexico the farming communities are in remote communities on Reserves. This is being addressed in Chiapas since 2006 where the authorities were willing to assist the growers on these matters. In the absence of this aid, then projects should contemplate an administrative section, possibly a part to the marketing officer’s duties.
Record source
Information about the record source: grey_lit
Date of publication/issue/production: 2008-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
By Andrew Vovides
Instituto de Ecologia, Xalapa, Mexico.
NDF Workshop Case Studies
WG 3 - Succulents and Cycads
Case Study 3
Dioon edule
Country – Mexico.
Date of record entry: 2023-09-25