ANALYSIS OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR HARVESTING WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS IN MEXICO

The harvesting of wild edible mushrooms and other non-timber forest products is a food and livelihood strategy for many rural farmers. Despite its social, economic, ecological and cultural importance, it is one of the most isolated and little-known activities in the national primary sector. This is a direct and indirect consequence of the absence of policies, support schemes and development strategies for this activity; therefore, the objective of this work is to expose the need for official statistics on mushroom harvesting and establish the relationship between scientific research, public policies and the current legal framework, in order to determine the current state of this activity and its future outlook It is observed that the lack of awareness of this activity has resulted in it not being considered for and excluded from the development policies of the government and social and private sectors. Similarly, the lack of information, management and linkage causes a lag in mushroom harvesting and therefore its eventual substitution or replacement by other activities. Despite this, there is definite potential for mushroom harvesting, if properly managed, to provide a real alternative in sustainable forest management in Mexico.