Developing a GIS program in rural Mexico -: Community participation = success

We discuss results of a participatory project in an indigenous community in central Mexico, where a GIS program was implemented. The implementation is described in three ways: by system design, by training of community members, and by development of spatial databases. A variety of factors contributed to the success of the program development, including hands-on training sessions focused on CIS techniques that would support the development and automation of the community's forest management plan. As a result, the forest plan was fully automated by trainees, and the community subsequently obtained green certification for sustainable forest management.