From dialogue to protocol: participatory approaches to biocultural governance in Maya Q’eqchi’ agricultural cooperatives in Guatemala

This paper documents the collaborative development of biocultural protocols (BPs) with ten Maya Q’eqchi’ agricultural cooperatives in Alta Verapaz, northern Guatemala, highlighting the methodological, ethical, and political dimensions of co-designing community-defined governance tools. Framed by Indigenous Peoples’ rights frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), the protocols articulate locally grounded norms and claims over land, traditional knowledge, and benefit-sharing. Drawing on participatory and decolonial methodologies, the process engaged both non-Indigenous and Maya Q’eqchi’ researchers in a reflexive dialogue, navigating challenges related to language, internal diversity, and institutional scepticism. The paper contributes to ongoing debates on ethical research and Indigenous Peoples’ sovereignty by providing a framework to assess the process of development of biocultural protocols and demonstrating how they not only support community governance and articulate collective rights, but also serve as living expressions of cultural values, relational accountability, and territorial care. The concluding reflection interrogates what it means to co-create protocols without co-opting voice, arguing for a deeper commitment to epistemic plurality, trust, and community ownership in environmental governance and research partnerships.