How do biosphere reserves influence local vulnerability and adaptation? Evidence from Latin America

Resource management regulations, such as those associated with the establishment of protected areas, can increase vulnerability and compromise individual and collective agency for adaptation. In this article, we comparatively analyse how four rural communities located within two biosphere reserves i...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ruiz-Mallén, Isabel, Corbera, Esteve, Calvo Boyero, Diana, Brown, Katrina, Reyes García, Victoria
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repositorio:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/92800
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10609/92800
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:biodiversity conservation
adaptation
Bolivia
Mexico
social vulnerability
protected area
adaptació
Mèxic
vulnerabilitat social
àrea protegida
conservació de la biodiversitat
adaptación
México
vulnerabilidad social
área protegida
conservación de la biodiversidad
Biodiversity conservation
Biodiversitat -- Conservació
Biodiversidad -- Conservación
Descripción
Sumario:Resource management regulations, such as those associated with the establishment of protected areas, can increase vulnerability and compromise individual and collective agency for adaptation. In this article, we comparatively analyse how four rural communities located within two biosphere reserves in Mexico and Bolivia experience vulnerability and adaptation to global change. We use focus groups, interviews and scoring exercises to analyse the influence of reserve management practices on locally perceived changes and stresses on livelihoods, and to discuss communities' coping and adaptation strategies. We show that both reserves are perceived as a source of stress but somewhat differently. In Mexico, communities feel vulnerable to the reserve's regulations but less to climatic and economic stresses, whereas in Bolivia communities perceive the insufficient enforcement of the reserve's rules as the most relevant stress to their livelihoods. Most of household-based and collective adaptations to environmental change have been adopted without the support of the biosphere reserves. We discuss how and why the biosphere reserves contribute to local vulnerability and why their role in enhancing local adaptation is limited.