How do biosphere reserves influence local vulnerability and adaptation? Evidence from Latin America
Ruiz Mallén, Isabel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Corbera, Esteve (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Calvo Boyero, Diana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Reyes-García, Victoria, (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Browne, Katrina (University of Exeter. Environment and Sustainability Institute)

Date:	2015
Abstract:	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.
Grants:	European Commission 282899 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad RYC-2010-07183
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Adaptation ; Adaptació ; Biodiversity conservation ; Conservació de la biodiversitat ; Bolivia ; Bolívia ; Mexico ; Mèxic ; Protected area ; Àrea protegida ; Vulnerability ; Vulnerabilitat
Published in:	Global environmental change, Vol. 33 (July 2015) , p. 97-108, ISSN 0959-3780

DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.05.002

Post-print 27 p, 859.5 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles