Synergies and trade-offs among integrated conservation approaches in Mexico.
Abstract
Integrated conservation approaches (ICAs) are employed by governments, communities,
and nongovernmental organizations worldwide seeking to achieve outcomes with dual
benefits for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Although ICAs are
frequently implemented concurrently, interactions among ICAs and the synergies or
trade-offs that result are rarely considered during program design, implementation,
and evaluation. In support of more deliberate and effective use of ICAs, we examined
interactions among four well-known strategies: biosphere reserves (BRs), voluntary
protected areas (VPAs), payments for ecosystem services (PES), and community forest
management (CFM). Through a comparative case study, we analyzed interactions among
spatially or temporally clustered ICAs implemented on communally held and managed
lands in three ecologically and socioeconomically distinct regions of Mexico. Our
research methods combined policy analysis with data gathered through participant observation
and semistructured interviews (n = 78) and focus groups (n = 5) with government officials,
implementers, and participants involved in ICAs in 28 communities. Despite the significant
differences among the regions in which they were implemented, we found that key actors
at each level of involvement generally perceived interactions among ICAs as synergistic.
The PES programs were perceived to strengthen protected areas by reducing forest cover
loss in and around BRs, fostering proconservation attitudes, and incentivizing the
establishment of VPAs. Communities that invested PES income in CFM were motivated
to conserve forests beyond the duration of PES programs, and CFM in buffer zones was
perceived to strengthen BRs by maintaining forest cover and generating income for
communities. We also identified key social and environmental factors that can influence
these interaction effects among ICAs. Based on these findings, we recommend further
study of ICA interactions and intentionally complementary policy design to maximize
positive environmental and social outcomes.
Type
Journal articleSubject
América LatinaLatin America
Mexico
México
biosphere reserves
carbon offsets
community forest management
compensaciones por carbono
estrategias de conservación integrada
integrated conservation approaches
manejo comunitario de bosques
pagos por servicios ambientales
payments for ecosystem services
voluntary protected areas
áreas protegidas voluntarias
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23448Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/cobi.13711Publication Info
Alatorre, Andrea; Depenthal, Johanna; & Shapiro-Garza, Elizabeth (2021). Synergies and trade-offs among integrated conservation approaches in Mexico. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. 10.1111/cobi.13711. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23448.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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