| Summary: | Whenever a natural area is proposed to be a protected area, the information that supports the proposal is usually based on the physical environmental, rather than on the social environment and on the management of natural resource. This study was conducted from May 2004 to June 2005 whit the objective to analyze the process of exploitation of Mexican Bay Leaf (Litsea glaucescens Kunth) in rural communities of Sierra del Laurel, a priority area in the state of Aguascalientes, México. Thirteen semi-structured interview were applied for local collectors and seven more were applied to inhabitants of the region to understand the trends in the use of resource. Three interviews were also applied to environmental officials from federal and local institutions to know about their position regarding the use of the Mexican Bay Leaf. A participative workshop with producers and collectors was conducted to document their opinion on the status of the population of this specie. Trend in utilization of the Mexican Bay Leaf have led it to be in danger of extinction: there is not organization nor legal utilization schemes among collectors that allow regeneration; the lack of institutional coordination, along whit inefficient implementation of laws and other legal instruments to regulate the management of natural resources, has contributed so that users have not adequate risk management procedures.
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