172
acquainted with the interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research group and the
objective to conducting participatory research in the RBM. The objective of this
first encounter was twofold, first to obtain authorization to work in the reserve, and
second to invite him and his team in this government institution to collaborate and
to jointly tackle this new transdisciplinary endeavor. Furthermore, two exploratory
visits were made in April and July 2017, led by one key ejido member, who facilitated the contact to local inhabitants and quick access to those ejidos with permanent residents. During these visits, we presented ourselves as a participatory
research group, learned about the RBM from different people’s perspectives, got to
know the types and challenges of different production systems, and the state of the
rangelands. In this stage, informal interviews were conducted to identify the main
actors and key issues present in the BRM.
For the second stage of the project, in October 2017, a third visit was made to the
ejidos of La Soledad, La Flor, Colonia Ganadera, and Los Álamos to establish collaborative partnerships with local inhabitants and to conduct 12 structured interviews with the objective to learn about the relationships between the main
stakeholders and the external factors that control their decision-making processes in
the RBM. In addition, information was gathered about their needs, interests and, if
there was one, the problems of several local inhabitants of the RBM (Moraine et al.
2017) in order to identify future research opportunities. Although, a common participatory method called Participatory Rural Appraisal (Chambers 1983) is used to
identify a community’s problems and solutions, due to lack of funding and time, and
also due to low population in the Reserve, this information was obtained through
informal and semi-structured interviews. From the total population of permanent
settlers in the RBM, 300 people belong to one ejido and the others range from 1 to
9 local inhabitants.
Within the RBM SES, four main groups of stakeholders are involved in the stewardship of the reserve (Fig. 10.6): the local inhabitants, CONANP as the government institution, the non-governmental organization PRONATURA, A.C., and the
academic group of different institutions and organizations. The local inhabitants are
the main group, consisting of people who live inside of the reserve and/or in the
surrounding villages (usually by means of a dual residency, explained in detail in
Kaus 1992) who however realize their socio-economic activities within the limits of
the BRM. As mentioned before, the main socio-economic activities are livestock
production, and in the case of the ejido Carrillo and La Flor, salt production and
ecotourism, respectively. These activities influence the quality of ecosystem services and therefore, the quality of their lives (understood differently by the various
stakeholders in the RBM). Also, the projects granted by both CONANP and
PRONATURA play a role, because they provide technical knowledge and represent
up to 10% of the annual income of the ejidatarios interviewed.
As previously mentioned, CONANP formed a consultative council in the RBM;
it includes different stakeholders: field technicians from CONANP and
PRONATURA, local representatives, and researchers; they make jointly important
decisions such as priority of projects and allocation of budgets. This council is a
local creation that does not happen in other protected areas mainly due to the
N. Martínez-Tagüeña et al.
acquainted with the interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research group and the
objective to conducting participatory research in the RBM. The objective of this
first encounter was twofold, first to obtain authorization to work in the reserve, and
second to invite him and his team in this government institution to collaborate and
to jointly tackle this new transdisciplinary endeavor. Furthermore, two exploratory
visits were made in April and July 2017, led by one key ejido member, who facilitated the contact to local inhabitants and quick access to those ejidos with permanent residents. During these visits, we presented ourselves as a participatory
research group, learned about the RBM from different people’s perspectives, got to
know the types and challenges of different production systems, and the state of the
rangelands. In this stage, informal interviews were conducted to identify the main
actors and key issues present in the BRM.
For the second stage of the project, in October 2017, a third visit was made to the
ejidos of La Soledad, La Flor, Colonia Ganadera, and Los Álamos to establish collaborative partnerships with local inhabitants and to conduct 12 structured interviews with the objective to learn about the relationships between the main
stakeholders and the external factors that control their decision-making processes in
the RBM. In addition, information was gathered about their needs, interests and, if
there was one, the problems of several local inhabitants of the RBM (Moraine et al.
2017) in order to identify future research opportunities. Although, a common participatory method called Participatory Rural Appraisal (Chambers 1983) is used to
identify a community’s problems and solutions, due to lack of funding and time, and
also due to low population in the Reserve, this information was obtained through
informal and semi-structured interviews. From the total population of permanent
settlers in the RBM, 300 people belong to one ejido and the others range from 1 to
9 local inhabitants.
Within the RBM SES, four main groups of stakeholders are involved in the stewardship of the reserve (Fig. 10.6): the local inhabitants, CONANP as the government institution, the non-governmental organization PRONATURA, A.C., and the
academic group of different institutions and organizations. The local inhabitants are
the main group, consisting of people who live inside of the reserve and/or in the
surrounding villages (usually by means of a dual residency, explained in detail in
Kaus 1992) who however realize their socio-economic activities within the limits of
the BRM. As mentioned before, the main socio-economic activities are livestock
production, and in the case of the ejido Carrillo and La Flor, salt production and
ecotourism, respectively. These activities influence the quality of ecosystem services and therefore, the quality of their lives (understood differently by the various
stakeholders in the RBM). Also, the projects granted by both CONANP and
PRONATURA play a role, because they provide technical knowledge and represent
up to 10% of the annual income of the ejidatarios interviewed.
As previously mentioned, CONANP formed a consultative council in the RBM;
it includes different stakeholders: field technicians from CONANP and
PRONATURA, local representatives, and researchers; they make jointly important
decisions such as priority of projects and allocation of budgets. This council is a
local creation that does not happen in other protected areas mainly due to the
N. Martínez-Tagüeña et al.