Participatory management of Mexican Protected Natural Areas

Abstract

This paper identifies the obstacles stakeholder participation in Mexican Protected Areas management confronts, in order to contrast them with the outstanding performance of the Advisory Council to the El Vizcaíno
Biosphere Reserve (Baja California), a participatory platform that has developed crucial capacities over the years. The results of qualitative
in-depth interviews show that it is possible to overcome most of these obstacles by improving internal organization of the council and using the council’s increasing power to lobby for members’ interests. The development of these capacities depends, however, on several external factors that enhence or affect the platforms’ performance.