164
use and climate change for decades. Consequently, the BRM’s management plan
by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) seeks both
the conservation of endangered species like the desert turtle and the implementation of sustainable development programs. In parallel, while long-term ecological
research has generated ample knowledge on desert ecosystems, it has remained
unavailable to local inhabitants, who hold local ecological knowledge and are,
and will be, the key players and decision makers at the local scale. An interdisciplinary research group has responded to the challenge of linking knowledge systems in the context of global environmental change. They formed a transdisciplinary
participatory research working-team with multiple stakeholders to develop projects that reflect interests of all actors. In this chapter, we describe the process of
co-designing and jointly executing this research and further present the historic
and current development challenges in the RBM, alongside a discussion on the
adaptive potential of local communities, their production systems, and the dominant ecosystems in response to government help programs, adverse climatic conditions, and a strong tendency of out-migration. Transdisciplinary research brings
numerous benefits when tackling sustainable development challenges in complex
dryland SES.
Keywords Transdisciplinary research · Rangelands · MAB Reserve · Socioecological Systems
Introduction
Drylands are conformed by an exceptionally high bio-, geo-, and cultural diversity
that offer a broad spectrum of ecosystem services to a large proportion of their
population (Safriel et al. 2005). Mexican drylands gave rise to important socioecological systems (SES), such as rangelands, which are vital, both for the conservation of multifunctional landscapes and for the human activity with historic,
cultural, and economic relevance such as livestock production. While high variability in space and time is an inherent property of drylands to which its dwellers have
adapted for millennia (Stafford Smith and Cribb 2009), reducing the vulnerability
to scare resources and climate change (Davis 2016), current prolonged and repeated
droughts, alongside land degradation is a complex yet true reality and risk in drylands worldwide.
In this chapter, through the example of the Biosphere Reserve of Mapimí (BRM)
located in the southern area of the “Bolsón de Mapimí” (an endorheic depression
typical of the mountainous areas of the dryland regions) between the Mexican states
of Durango, Coahuila, and Chihuahua (Fig. 10.1), a case study is presented to illustrate a dialogue between conservation and development by various actors that share
common goals but from multiple perspectives. It is the story of a group of interconnected people, who are normally physically separated because of the vastness
of the region. Together they seek to consolidate themselves as a team to promote
conservation programs that are developed in cooperation and collaboration with
N. Martínez-Tagüeña et al.
use and climate change for decades. Consequently, the BRM’s management plan
by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) seeks both
the conservation of endangered species like the desert turtle and the implementation of sustainable development programs. In parallel, while long-term ecological
research has generated ample knowledge on desert ecosystems, it has remained
unavailable to local inhabitants, who hold local ecological knowledge and are,
and will be, the key players and decision makers at the local scale. An interdisciplinary research group has responded to the challenge of linking knowledge systems in the context of global environmental change. They formed a transdisciplinary
participatory research working-team with multiple stakeholders to develop projects that reflect interests of all actors. In this chapter, we describe the process of
co-designing and jointly executing this research and further present the historic
and current development challenges in the RBM, alongside a discussion on the
adaptive potential of local communities, their production systems, and the dominant ecosystems in response to government help programs, adverse climatic conditions, and a strong tendency of out-migration. Transdisciplinary research brings
numerous benefits when tackling sustainable development challenges in complex
dryland SES.
Keywords Transdisciplinary research · Rangelands · MAB Reserve · Socioecological Systems
Introduction
Drylands are conformed by an exceptionally high bio-, geo-, and cultural diversity
that offer a broad spectrum of ecosystem services to a large proportion of their
population (Safriel et al. 2005). Mexican drylands gave rise to important socioecological systems (SES), such as rangelands, which are vital, both for the conservation of multifunctional landscapes and for the human activity with historic,
cultural, and economic relevance such as livestock production. While high variability in space and time is an inherent property of drylands to which its dwellers have
adapted for millennia (Stafford Smith and Cribb 2009), reducing the vulnerability
to scare resources and climate change (Davis 2016), current prolonged and repeated
droughts, alongside land degradation is a complex yet true reality and risk in drylands worldwide.
In this chapter, through the example of the Biosphere Reserve of Mapimí (BRM)
located in the southern area of the “Bolsón de Mapimí” (an endorheic depression
typical of the mountainous areas of the dryland regions) between the Mexican states
of Durango, Coahuila, and Chihuahua (Fig. 10.1), a case study is presented to illustrate a dialogue between conservation and development by various actors that share
common goals but from multiple perspectives. It is the story of a group of interconnected people, who are normally physically separated because of the vastness
of the region. Together they seek to consolidate themselves as a team to promote
conservation programs that are developed in cooperation and collaboration with
N. Martínez-Tagüeña et al.