Integrated conservation in Mexico: reconciling conservation and sustainable development within natural protected areas

This research focuses on the extent in which integrated conservation as an approach of management for protected areas can reconcile with the effective conservation of biodiversity while supporting the sustainable development of local communities that exist within or surrounding the boundaries of the reserve. It contributes to the global debate on the appropriateness of local community participation in conservation and the potential challenges facing the integration of conservation into local development. In order to do that, two case studies were carried out in biosphere reserves in Mexico where the aim of implementing this approach was identified. An Integrated Conservation Assessment (ICA) was designed to assess the implementation of integrated conservation from the local stakeholders’ perception. The components of the ICA include; transfer of local benefits and costs, sustainable livelihoods and local participation. One year’s field work was carried out to collect information from the local communities through participant observation, informal interviews and user groups meetings. External stakeholders were also interviewed to obtain a balanced impression of integrated conservation that in turn complemented and expanded upon the perceptions of the local community. A comparative analysis demonstrates that one of the reserves has attained a significantly higher level of integrated conservation in comparison to the other. In order to explain different outcomes of results between the two case studies, the research discusses some of the conditions that favour the implementation of an integrated conservation approach, both from the managers and from the local community’s perspectives. These results support discussions on finding win win situations to increase the effectiveness of conservation and build local capacity for sustainable development.