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Multi-level social-ecological networks in a payments for ecosystem services programme in central Veracruz, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2020

Alfonso Langle-Flores*
Affiliation:
Centro Universitario de la Costa, Universidad de Guadalajara, CP48280, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Adriana Aguilar Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de Información Geospacial, CP20313Aguascalientes, Mexico
Humberto Romero-Uribe
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ecología, A.C., CP91070, Xalapa, Mexico
Julia Ros-Cuéllar
Affiliation:
University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-AlzetteCO4366, Luxembourg
Juan José Von Thaden
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ecología, A.C., CP91070, Xalapa, Mexico
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Alfonso Langle-Flores, Email: alfonsolangle@gmail.com

Summary

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes have been considered an important conservation mechanism to avoid deforestation. These environmental policies act in social and ecological contexts at different spatial scales. We evaluated the social-ecological fit between stakeholders and ecosystem processes in a local PES programme across three levels: social, ecological and social-ecological. We explored collaboration among stakeholders, assessed connectivity between forest units and evaluated conservation activity links between stakeholders and forest units. In addition, to increase programme effectiveness, we classified forest units based on their social and ecological importance. Our main findings suggest that non-governmental organizations occupy brokerage positions between landowners and government in a dense collaboration network. We also found a partial spatial misfit between conservation activity links and the forest units that provide the most hydrological services to Xalapa. We conclude that conservation efforts should be directed towards the middle and high part of the Pixquiac sub-watershed and that the role of non-governmental organizations as mediators should be strengthened to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the local PES programme.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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