171
necessary, the content to corroborate that the study was conducted in the BRM.
Finally, the publications were classified according to the area of knowledge to which
they corresponded (Scopus 2019; Web of Science 2019). A total of 66 publications
were found published between 1981 and 2019; of which, 44 articles correspond to
the area of ecology. Within the ecological studies, only 13 address the ecology of
plants, while 31 talk about animal ecology, with emphasis on mammals in 19 studies, on reptiles (9), followed by insects (3), and finally birds (1). Most of these studies focused on population and community questions and few included functional
aspects. Thus, most of the scientific studies carried out in the BRM are related to the
description of singular elements of the socio-ecological system, without taking into
account the human component that has existed in the reserve since its foundation.
Furthermore, it is relevant to remark that published information is unavailable to
local inhabitants and its access difficult and limited to other actors outside of
academia (from NGO and GO) that are currently promoting conservation and development, thus managing the RBM.
Participatory Research Approach in the BRM
Participatory research has the overall goal of solving problems in socio-ecological
systems through the integration of scientific, technical, and local/traditional knowledge (Cornwall and Jewkes 1995). This is usually accomplished with the collaboration between the researcher and the local people, starting from the diagnosis of
problems to the application of solutions (Coppock et al. 2004). The implementation
of this approach provides an opportunity to integrate scientific and local knowledge
into public policies and community actions, since it promotes learning between the
different actors to flow in a bidirectional manner and between the different scales of
the system (Stringer et al. 2006). In particular, in biosphere reserves, the integration
of local inhabitants in research and in the generation of management programs is
necessary, since they use the natural resources present in their lands and they depend
on the services dryland ecosystems provide for their well-being. Besides they make
decisions on management practices using intergenerational learning, local/traditional knowledge, as well as technical knowledge learned from NGOs and GOs
capacitation programs. These factors influence jointly and directly the management
and functioning of the ecosystems of arid zones such as those that are present in the
BRM (Agrawal and Gibson 1999; Walker et al. 2009).
In order to better understand the SES of the BRM and to identify and study the
socio-ecological problems present in the Reserve through the participatory approach,
an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional group of researchers was formed with
expertise in the areas of ecology, anthropology, geography, and hydrology. The
project had three main stages: (1) exploration of general characteristics of the SES,
(2) detection of needs and interests, both corresponding to the diagnosis of the
system, and (3) the development of collaborative research projects. The first stage
began with an interview with the director of the RBM of CONANP, to become
10 Conservation and Development in the Biosphere Reserve of Mapimí…
necessary, the content to corroborate that the study was conducted in the BRM.
Finally, the publications were classified according to the area of knowledge to which
they corresponded (Scopus 2019; Web of Science 2019). A total of 66 publications
were found published between 1981 and 2019; of which, 44 articles correspond to
the area of ecology. Within the ecological studies, only 13 address the ecology of
plants, while 31 talk about animal ecology, with emphasis on mammals in 19 studies, on reptiles (9), followed by insects (3), and finally birds (1). Most of these studies focused on population and community questions and few included functional
aspects. Thus, most of the scientific studies carried out in the BRM are related to the
description of singular elements of the socio-ecological system, without taking into
account the human component that has existed in the reserve since its foundation.
Furthermore, it is relevant to remark that published information is unavailable to
local inhabitants and its access difficult and limited to other actors outside of
academia (from NGO and GO) that are currently promoting conservation and development, thus managing the RBM.
Participatory Research Approach in the BRM
Participatory research has the overall goal of solving problems in socio-ecological
systems through the integration of scientific, technical, and local/traditional knowledge (Cornwall and Jewkes 1995). This is usually accomplished with the collaboration between the researcher and the local people, starting from the diagnosis of
problems to the application of solutions (Coppock et al. 2004). The implementation
of this approach provides an opportunity to integrate scientific and local knowledge
into public policies and community actions, since it promotes learning between the
different actors to flow in a bidirectional manner and between the different scales of
the system (Stringer et al. 2006). In particular, in biosphere reserves, the integration
of local inhabitants in research and in the generation of management programs is
necessary, since they use the natural resources present in their lands and they depend
on the services dryland ecosystems provide for their well-being. Besides they make
decisions on management practices using intergenerational learning, local/traditional knowledge, as well as technical knowledge learned from NGOs and GOs
capacitation programs. These factors influence jointly and directly the management
and functioning of the ecosystems of arid zones such as those that are present in the
BRM (Agrawal and Gibson 1999; Walker et al. 2009).
In order to better understand the SES of the BRM and to identify and study the
socio-ecological problems present in the Reserve through the participatory approach,
an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional group of researchers was formed with
expertise in the areas of ecology, anthropology, geography, and hydrology. The
project had three main stages: (1) exploration of general characteristics of the SES,
(2) detection of needs and interests, both corresponding to the diagnosis of the
system, and (3) the development of collaborative research projects. The first stage
began with an interview with the director of the RBM of CONANP, to become
10 Conservation and Development in the Biosphere Reserve of Mapimí…