Building ties: social capital network analysis of a forest community in a biosphere reserve in Chiapas, Mexico

Governance of the commons depends on the capacity to generate collective action. Networks and rules that foster that collective action have been defined as social capital. However, their causal link is still not fully understood. We use social network analysis to assess social capital, decision-maki...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rico García Amado, Luis, Ruiz Pérez, Manuel, Iniesta Arandia, Irene, Dahringer, Guillaume, Reyes, Felipe, Barrasa García, Sara
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/95675
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95675
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Collective action
Community forest management
Ejido
Mexico
Social capital
Social network analysis
Ciencias Sociales
Geografía
Geografía regional
Geografía humana
54 Geografía
5401.01 Distribución de Recursos Naturales
5403.06 Geografía Social
5404 Geografía Regional
5404.02 Geografía Rural
Descripción
Sumario:Governance of the commons depends on the capacity to generate collective action. Networks and rules that foster that collective action have been defined as social capital. However, their causal link is still not fully understood. We use social network analysis to assess social capital, decision-making, and collective action in a forest-based common pool resource management in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve (Chiapas, Mexico). Our research analyzes the productive networks and the evolution of coffee groups in one community. The network shows some centrality, with richer landholders tending to occupy core positions and poorer landless peasants occupying peripheral ones. This has fostered the community’s environmentally oriented development but has also caused internal conflicts. Market requirements have shaped different but complementary productive networks, where organic coffee commercialization is the main source of bridging ties, which has resulted in more connectivity and resilience. Conservation attitudes, along with the institutional setting of the community, have promoted collective action. The unresolved conflicts, however, still leave some concerns about governance in the future.