Socioeconomic context of land use and land cover change in Mexican biosphere reserves | Environmental Conservation | Cambridge Core (original) (raw)

Summary

Land use/land cover change (LULC) is a major threat to natural protected areas worldwide. This paper explores the relationships between four estimated LULC parameters for 17 Mexican biosphere reserves (BRs) for 1993–2002 on a GIS platform, and ten socioeconomic factors obtained from census data. These relationships were tested through linear correlations and multivariate analysis. BRs showed lower human demographic pressure, but higher population dispersion, social marginality, percentage of rain-fed agriculture area, and dependence upon agriculture and cattle compared to nationwide values. BRs also varied in their indigenous population, and showed cattle overpopulation, and low immigration and road density. Socioeconomic factors explained 87% of LULC variation. High population and road density, cattle overpopulation and low percentage indigenous population were related to percentage of transformed area (2002). Conversely, small population and road density, large proportion of indigenous population and high dependency on agriculture and cattle, were related to the rate of change in transformed area (1993–2002). High human population growth and urban concentration occurred when BRs suffered higher LULC than their corresponding ecoregions. Including socioeconomic conditions prevailing in BRs and their influence on LULC in reserve management and rural development planning will improve strategies for the confluence of conservation and development goals.

References

Alarcón-Chaires, P. (2006) Riqueza ecológica versus pobreza social. Contradicciones y perspectivas del desarrollo indígena en Latinoamérica. In: Pueblos Indígenas y Pobreza. Enfoques Multidisciplinarios, ed. Cimadamore, A.D., Eversole, R. & McNeish, J., pp. 41–70. Buenos Aires, Argentina: CLACSO.Google Scholar

Angelsen, A. & Kaimowitz, D. (1999) Rethinking the causes of deforestation: lessons from economic models. The World Bank Research Observer 14: 73–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Antinori, C. & Bray, D. (2005) Community enterprises as entrepreneurial firms: economic and institutional perspectives from Mexico. World Development 33: 1529–1543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Asbjornsen, H. & Ashton, M.S. (2002) Community forestry in Oaxaca, Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 15: 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Barbier, E.B. (1997) The economic determinants of land degradation in developing countries. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B 352: 891–899.Google Scholar

Barbier, E.B. (2000) Links between economic liberalization and rural resource degradation in the developing regions. Agricultural Economics 23: 299–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Barbier, E.B. & Burgess, J.C. (2001) The economics of tropical deforestation. Journal of Economic Surveys 15: 413–433.Google Scholar

Benhin, J.K. (2006) Agriculture and deforestation in the tropics: a critical theoretical and empirical review. Ambio 35: 9–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Bilsborrow, R.E. & Okoth-Ogendo, H.W.O. (1992) Population driven changes and agricultural intensification in developing countries. In: Population and Environment. Rethinking the Debate, ed. Arizpe, L., Stone, M.P. & Major, D.C., pp. 171–207. San Francisco, USA: Westview Press.Google Scholar

Brandon, K., Gorenflo, L.J., Rodrigues, A.S.L. & Waller, R.W. (2005) Reconciling biodiversity conservation, people, protected areas, and agricultural suitability. World Development 33: 1403–1418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Bray, D.B., Merino-Pérez, L., Negrero-Castillo, P., Segura-Warnholtz, G., Torres-Rojo, J.M. & Vester, H.F.M. (2003) Mexico's community-managed forests as a global model for sustainable landscapes. Conservation Biology 17: 672–677.Google Scholar

Brooks, J.S., Franzen, M.A., Holmes, C.M., Grote, M.N. & Borgerhoff-Mulder, M. (2006) Testing hypotheses for the success of different conservation strategies. Conservation Biology 20: 1528–1538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Bruner, A.G., Gullison, R.E., Rice, R.E. & da Fonseca, G.A.B. (2001) Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversity. Science 291: 125–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Calva, J.L. (1993) El modelo de desarrollo agropecuario impulsado mediante le Ley Agraria y el TLC. In: Alternativas para el Campo Mexicano Volume 1, ed. Calva, J.L., pp. 15–42. Mexico City, Mexico: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung & Fontamara, PUALUNAM.Google Scholar

Carey, C., Dudley, N. & Stolton, S. (2000) Squandering Paradise? Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund for Nature.Google Scholar

Carr, D.L. (2004 a) Ladino and Q'eqchí Maya land use and land clearing in the Sierra de Lacandon National Park, Petén, Guatemala. Agriculture and Human Values 21: 171–179.Google Scholar

Carr, D.L. (2004 b) Proximate population factors and deforestation in tropical agricultural frontiers. Population and Environment 25: 585–612.Google Scholar

Carr, D.L. (2006) A tale of two roads: land tenure, poverty, and politics on the Guatemalan frontier. Geoforum 37: 94–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Carr, D.L. (2009) Population and deforestation: why rural migration matters. Progress in Human Geography 33: 355–378.Google Scholar

Carr, D.L., Suter, L. & Barbieri, A. (2005) Population dynamics and tropical deforestation: state of the debate and conceptual challenges. Population and Environment 27: 89–113.Google Scholar

Challenger, A. (1998) Utilización y Conservación de los Ecosistemas Terrestres de México. Mexico City, Mexico: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México – Sierra Madre.Google Scholar

Chase, T.N., Pielke, R.A., Kittel, T.G.F., Nemani, R.R. & Running, S.W. (2000) Simulated impacts of historical land cover changes on global climate in northern winter. Climate Dynamics 16: 93–105.Google Scholar

Chapela, G. & Barkin, D. (1995) Monarcas y Campesinos. Estrategia de Desarrollo Sustentable en el Oriente de Michoacán. Mexico City, Mexico: Centro de Ecología y Desarrollo.Google Scholar

Chowdhury, R.R. & Turner, B.L. (2006) Reconciling agency and structure in empirical analysis: smallholder land use in the southern Yucatán, México. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96: 302–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

CONABIO (2001) Mapa de Grado de Marginación a Nivel Localidad, 1995. Mexico City, Mexico: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad.Google Scholar

CONANP (2003) Mapa de Áreas Naturales Protegidas Federales de México, 1:250,000. Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca.Google Scholar

CONAPO (1991) Índices de Marginación Municipal 1990. Mexico City, Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Población.Google Scholar

CONAPO (2001) Índices de Marginación Municipal 2000. Mexico City, Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Población.Google Scholar

COTECOCA & SARH (1988) Memorias de Coeficientes de Agostadero, Años 1972–1986. Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos.Google Scholar

Dale, V.H., Pearson, S.M., Offerman, H.L. & O'Neill, R.V. (1994) Relating patterns of land-use change to faunal biodiversity in the Central Amazon. Conservation Biology 8: 1024–1036.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

de Janvry, A. & Sadoulet, E. 2001. Income strategies among rural households in Mexico: the role of off-farm activities. World Development 29: 467–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

de Sherbinin, A. & Freudenberger, M. (1998) Migration to protected areas and buffer zones: can we stem the tide? Parks 8: 38–53.Google Scholar

de Sherbinin, A., Carr, D., Cassels, S. & Jiang, L. (2007) Population and Environment. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 32: 5.1–5.29Google Scholar

Deininger, K. & Minten, B. (2002) Determinants of deforestation and the economics of protection: an application to Mexico. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 84: 943–960.Google Scholar

Durand, J. (2007) Origen y destino de una migración centenaria. In: El País Trasnacional. Migración Mexicana y Cambio Social a Través de la Frontera, ed. Ariza, M. & Portes, A., pp: 55–81. Mexico City, Mexico: Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar

Ervin, J. (2003 b) Rapid assessment of protected area management effectiveness in four countries. Bioscience 53: 833–841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Figueroa, F. & Sánchez-Cordero, V. (2008) Effectiveness of natural protected areas to prevent land use and land cover change in Mexico. Biodiversity and Conservation 17: 3223–3240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Geist, H.J. & Lambin, E.F. (2002) Proximate and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation. Biosicience 52: 143–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Ghimire, K.B. & Pimbert, M.P. (1997) Social Change and Conservation. London, UK: Earthscan Publications.Google Scholar

Gómez-Pompa, A. & Kaus, A. (1992) Taming the wilderness myth. In: The Great Wilderness Debate, ed. Callicot, J.B. & Nelson, M.P., pp. 293–313. Athens, Georgia, USA: The University of Georgia Press.Google Scholar

Gotelli, N.J. & Ellison, A.M. (2004) A Primer of Ecological Statistics. Sunderland, MA, USA: Sinauer.Google Scholar

Haenn, N. (2000) ‘Biodiversity is Diversity in Use’. Community-Based Conservation in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Arlington, Virginia, USA: USAID & The Nature Conservancy.Google Scholar

Halffter, G. (1984) Conservation, development and local participation. In: Ecology in Practice: Ecosystem Management, ed. di Castri, F., Baker, F.W.G. & Hadley, M., pp. 428–436. Dublin, Ireland: Tycooly International Publishing.Google Scholar

Hayes, T.M. (2006) Parks, people, and forest protection: an institutional assessment of effectiveness. World Development 34: 2064–2075.Google Scholar

Harvey, C.A., Komar, O., Chazdon, R., Ferguson, B.G., Finegan, B., Griffith, D.M., Martínez-Ramos, M., Morales, H., Nigh, R., Soto-Pinto, L., Van Breugel, M. & Wishnie, M. (2008) Integrating agricultural landscapes with biodiversity conservation in the Mesoamerican hotspot. Conservation Biology 22: 8–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Hockings, M. (1998) Evaluating management of protected areas: integrating planning and evaluation. Environmental Management 22: 337–345.Google Scholar

Hockings, M. (2003) Systems for assessing the effectiveness of management in protected areas. Bioscience 53: 823–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Houghton, R.A., Hackler, J.L. & Lawrence, K.T. (1999) The US carbon budget: contributions from land-use change. Science 285: 574–578.Google Scholar

INE (1995) Atlas de las Reservas de la Biosfera y Otras Áreas Naturales Protegidas. Mexico City, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Ecología.Google Scholar

INEGI (1991) XI Censo General de Población y Vivienda 1990. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (1993) Carta de Uso del Suelo y Vegetación, Serie 2, 1:250,000. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (1994) VII Censo Agrícola-Ganadero. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (2000) Mapa de Carreteras de México. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (2001 a) Mapa de Municipios de México, 2000. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (2001 b) XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda 2000. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto de Nacional Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI (2005) Conjunto de Datos Vectoriales de Uso de Suelo y Vegetación, 1:250,000, Serie 3. Aguascalientes, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática.Google Scholar

INEGI, CONABIO & INE (2007) Mapa de Ecorregiones Terrestres de México, 1:1,000,000. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico City, Mexico.Google Scholar

Islam, K.R. & Weil, R.R. (2000) Land use effects on soil quality in a tropical forest ecosystem of Bangladesh. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 79: 9–16.Google Scholar

Kinnard, M.F., Sanderson, E.W., O'Brien, T.G., Wibisono, H.T. & Woolmer, G. (2003) Deforestation trends in a tropical landscape and implications for endangered large mammals. Conservation Biology 17: 245–257.Google Scholar

Lambin, E.F., Turner, B.L., Helmut, J.G., Agbola, S.B., Angelsen, A., Bruce, J.W., Coomes, O.T., Dirzo, R., Fischer, G., Folke, C., George, P.S., Homewood, K., Imbernon, J., Leemans, R., Li, X., Moran, E.F., Mortimore, M., Ramakrishnan, P.S., Richards, J.F., Skanes, H., Steffen, W., Stone, G.D., Svedin, U., Veldkamp, T.A., Vogel, C. & Xu, J. (2001) The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths. Global Environmental Change 11: 261–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Leff, E. (2004) Saber Ambiental. Sustentabilidad, Racionalidad, Complejidad, Poder. Mexico City, Mexico: Siglo XXI, PNUMA, CEIICH & UNAM.Google Scholar

Lidlaw, R.K. (2000) Effects of habitat disturbance and protected areas of mammals of peninsular Malaysia. Conservation Biology 14: 1639–1648.Google Scholar

Little, P. D. (1994) The link between participation and improved conservation: a review of issues and experiences. In: Natural Connections. Perspectives in Community Based Conservation, ed. Western, D., Wright, R.M. & Strum, S.C., pp. 347–372. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar

Mäki, S., Kalliola, R. & Vuorinen, K. (2001) Road construction in the Peruvian Amazon: process, causes and consequences. Environmental Conservation 28: 199–214.Google Scholar

Mas, J. (2005) Assessing protected area effectiveness using surrounding (buffer) areas environmentally similar to the target area. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 105: 69–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Merino-Pérez, L. & Bray, D.B. (2004) La experiencia de las Comunidades Forestales en México. Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Instituto Nacional de Ecología & Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible.Google Scholar

MVSP (2007) MVSP (Multivariate Statistical Package), version 3.1. Kovach Computing Services.Google Scholar

Mwamfupe, D. (1998) Demographic impacts on protected areas in Tanzania and option for action. In: Population and Parks, ed. de Sherbinin, A., pp: 3–14. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for the Conservation of Nature.Google Scholar

Nadal, A. (2003) Natural protected areas and social marginalization in Mexico. CEESP Occasional Papers 1: 2–25.Google Scholar

Nepstad, D., Schwartzman, S., Bamberger, B., Santilli, M., Ray, D., Schlesinger, P., Lefebvre, P., Alencar, A., Prinz, E., Fiske, G. & Rolla, A. (2006) Inhibition of Amazon deforestation and fire by parks and indigenous lands. Conservation Biology 20: 65–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Pearce, D. (1990) Población, pobreza y medio ambiente. Pensamiento Iberoamericano 18: 223–258.Google Scholar

Perz, S.G. (2002) The changing social contexts of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Social Science Quarterly 83: 35–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Pressey, R.L., Wish, G.L., Barret, T.W. & Watts, M.E. (2002) Effectiveness of protected areas in north-eastern New South Wales: recent trends is six measures. Biological Conservation 106: 57–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Rao, M., Rabinowitz, A. & Khaing, S.T. (2002) Status review of the protected area system in Myanmar, with recommendations for conservation planning. Conservation Biology 16: 360–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Reyes-Hernández, H., Cortina, S., Perales, H., Kauffer, E. & Pat, J.M. (2003) Efecto de los subsidios agropecuarios y apoyos gubernamentales sobre la deforestación durante el periodo 1990–2000 en la región de Calakmul, Campeche, México. Investigaciones Geográficas 51: 88–106.Google Scholar

Riezebos, H.T. & Loerts, A.C. (1998) Influence of land use change and tillage practice on soil organic matter. Soil and Tillage Research 49: 271–275.Google Scholar

Roberts, B. & Hamilton, E. (2007) La nueva geografía de la emigración: zonas emergentes de atracción y expulsión, continuidad y cambio. In: El País Trasnacional. Migración Mexicana y Cambio Social a Través de la Frontera, ed. Ariza, M. & Portes, A., pp: 83–118. Mexico City, Mexico: Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar

Román-Cuesta, R.M. & Martínez-Vilalta, J. (2006) Effectiveness of protected areas in mitigating fire within their boundaries: case study of Chiapas, Mexico. Conservation Biology 20: 1074–1086.Google Scholar

Sánchez-Cordero, V., Illoldi-Rangel, P., Linaje, M., Sarkar, S. & Peterson, A.T. (2005) Deforestation and extant distributions of Mexican endemic mammals. Biological Conservation 126: 465–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Sarukhán, J. & Dirzo, R. (1992) México ante los Retos de la Biodiversidad. Mexico City, Mexico: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad.Google Scholar

SPSS (2004) SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows, version 13.0. Apache Software Foundation.Google Scholar

Stocks, A., McMahan, B. & Taber, P. (2007) Indigenous, colonists, and government impacts on Nicaragua's Bosawas Reserve. Conservation Biology 21: 1495–1505.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

ter Braak, C. J. F. (1996) Ordination. In: Data Analysis in Community and Landscape Ecology, ed. Jongman, R.H.G., ter Braak, C. J. F. & van Tongeren, O.F.R., pp: 91–173. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Toledo, V.M. (1991) Bio-economic costs. In: Development or Destruction. Deforestation and Cattle Ranching in Latin America, ed. Downing, T., pp: 67–93. San Francisco, California, USA: Westview Press.Google Scholar

Toledo, V.M., Alarcón-Chaires, P., Moguel, P., Olivo, M., Cabrera, A., Leyequien, E. & Rodríguez-Aldabe, A. (2002) Pueblos indios y biodiversidad. Biodiversitas 7: 1–8.Google Scholar

Tucker, C.M. (2004) Community institutions and forest management in Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Reserve. Society and Natural Resources 17: 569–587.Google Scholar

Tuirán, R. (2004) La nueva era de las migraciones. Características de la migración internacional en México. Mexico City, Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Población.Google Scholar

Vandermeer, J. & Perfecto, I. (2007) The agricultural matrix and a future paradigm for conservation. Conservation Biology 21: 274–277Google Scholar

Velázquez, A., Torres, A. & Bocco, G. (2003) Las Enseñanzas de San Juan. Investigación Participativa para el Manejo de Recursos Naturales. Mexico City, Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.Google Scholar

Vitousek, P.M., Mooney, H.A., Lubchenco, J. & Melillo, J.M. (1997) Human domination of earth's ecosystems. Science 277: 494–499.Google Scholar

WWF (2004) Are Protected Areas Working? An Analysis of Forest Protected Areas by WWF. Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund for Nature.Google Scholar