In the last decade, implementation of the conservation policy of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) as a tool for biodiversity conservation has attracted worldwide attention. In Mexico, this policy was launched as a programme called Voluntary Designated Areas for Conservation (VDAC). However, the indigenous Zapotec and mestizo people who embraced the programme do not fully understand its profound implications for their traditional livelihoods. This study aims to document and discuss the significance of conservation for the communities of the Zapotec indigenous region of Oaxaca, Mexico, with VDAC established in their territories. The research was conducted adopting a theoretical approach from Cultural anthropology and Conservation biology. We used a case study-based methodology in which qualitative data were collected through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with local decision-makers in their territories, as well as through participant observation. The results indicate that conservation is a new word for the Zapotec, implying for them a different space to the local spaces where social and cultural relationships of the community occur; it is exclusionary since conservation prohibits the traditional use of the certified areas (VDAC). Moreover, our study recorded local words in the indigenous language similar to conservation, which refer to an integral cycle of “to care-to have-to use”. The latter is related to the local traditions and worldviews: in this case, “to have” is seen as a responsibility, since use of the territory is primarily collective.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥瓦哈卡州Zapotec社区的保护意义

在过去的十年中，作为生物多样性保护工具的土著和社区保护区（ICCA）保护政策的实施引起了全世界的关注。在墨西哥，这项政策是作为一个名为“自愿指定保护区”（VDAC）的计划启动的。但是，接受该计划的扎帕特克人和混血儿原住民并没有完全理解其对他们传统生计的深远影响。这项研究旨在记录和讨论保护区对在墨西哥瓦哈卡州Zapotec土著地区的社区的重要性，并在其领土上建立了VDAC。这项研究是采用文化人类学和保护生物学的理论方法进行的。我们使用基于案例研究的方法，通过与当地决策者在其领土内进行的半结构化和深入访谈以及参与者的观察，收集了定性数据。结果表明，保护是Zapotec的新词，对他们而言意味着与社区社会文化关系发生的地方空间不同的空间；由于保护禁止对认证区域（VDAC）的传统使用，因此它是排他性的。此外，我们的研究以类似于保护的土著语言记录了本地单词，这是指“关爱必须使用”的完整循环。后者与当地传统和世界观有关：在这种情况下，“拥有”被视为一种责任，因为对领土的使用主要是集体的。