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Título del libro: The Community Forests Of Mexico: Managing For Sustainable Landscapes
Título del capítulo: Land use/cover change in community-based forest management regions and protected areas in Mexico

Autores UNAM:
JOSE ALEJANDRO VELAZQUEZ MONTES;
Autores externos:

Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2005
Resumen:

The rapid deterioration of global forest cover in recent years has been well documented (Lambin et al. 2001). Although patterns of change in natural vegetation cover do occur due to natural causes (e.g., hurricanes, volcanic eruptions), it is widely accepted that the majority of today's environmental degradation is induced by human actions (Cincotta et al. 2000; Vitousek et al. 1997). Human beings are commonly considered the principal agents responsible for increased levels of desertification, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and loss of biodiversity (Noble and Dirzo 1997). This is particularly the case in tropical regions, where patterns of land conversion from natural conditions to human-dominated conditions prevail (FAO 1996). As a response to this process of environmental deterioration, conservation policies have been adopted at the global level that promote, among other measures, the establishment of protected areas (PAs; known in Mexico as ANPs [Areas Naturales Protegidas]). However, the effectiveness of PAs is extremely variable, depending on the specific sociopolitical situation in a particular country, demographic conditions, and on the country's level of dependency upon natural resources. Bruner et al. (2001), evaluating the effectiveness of a global sample of PAs, concluded that this system represented the best model to guide future conservation policy. In response, Vanclay (2001) argued that the evidence that PAs represent the best conservation model is not convincing. Especially in the tropics, with some exceptions, PAs do not seem to ensure the permanence of natural capital (Hansen et al. 1991; Velázquez et al. 2001a). In regard to the effectiveness of PAs, it is important to search for alternatives or complementary strategies to guide both conservation policy and the rational use of natural resources that can generate income for poor, rural peoples (Liu and Taylor 2002; Mangel et al. 1996). This is of particular importance for those tropical regions that are major sources of genetic resources, which are also the areas suffering the most significant losses in native vegetation cover (Bocco et al. 2000; FAO 2001; Kiernan 2000). Mexico is a good example of a country that is home to a large chunk of the planet's biodiversity and that is also experiencing accelerated rates


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