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Objective: To analyze the state and community efforts to face both environmental problems and health effects in the country through two different strategies: 1) the Environmental Emergency Regions (REA) and 2) the Tayolchikawalis strategy (ET) of the Regional Agricultural Cooperative Society "Tosepan Titataniske" (Tosepan Titataniske Society (STT)). Methodology: A case analysis was carried out based on the physical review of the social and environmental situation in the territory, as well as the verification of the collective efforts to face the environmental problems that affected them. Results: It was observed that community processes are oriented towards solidarity development with collective participation, while REAs are projects focused on environmental recovery objectives with more limited social participation. Limitations: The main and most important difficulty in carrying out this work were the risks due to the health crisis that hindered some of the visits, interviews, and consultations. Conclusion: Both social efforts and the interest of the State manifest positive effects for territorial environmental recovery, but the social fabric can only be reestablished when the importance of collective participation in the planning and development of these projects is recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to propose a development planning model validated in field conducive to the proper use of natural resources. Related to the methodology, a program of ecological land relying on geographic information systems, participatory workshops, field observations and semi-structured interviews was formulated. We found these results: The local development model proposed part of the foundations of sustainable development, participatory rural appraisal and territorial planning and seeking compatibility between the management of natural resources, productive activities, sociocultural characteristics, technical recommendations and the perceived needs of the population. The main limiting factors in this work are the little time to complete and required to monitor and assess the processes of self-management and the availability of economic resources to finance it. Thus, we can conclude that the contribution of this work, as a tool for planning and local development, seen as pillar for the construction of the proposed participation of stakeholders in the public, private and social sector, so that their visions combine the perspective of sustainable management natural resources in the same effort to decide local affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to make an analysis of the main issues of environmental or ecosystem services regulations in Argentina, and a brief reference of a selection of Latin American countries laws (Peru and Costa Rica). We implemented the documental observation and normative comparative methods. One of the main results is that during last year many bills of laws were presented at the National Congress, which guidelines might be useful as precedents. Notwithstanding, in parallel an integral evaluation must be made in order to state if some valid environmental laws should be or not abolished, in order to avoid new contradictions. One of the main limitations for the argentine case, is that there is not a specific regulation about environmental services. We can conclude that in the case of other countries of the region which already have regulated the ecosystem services payment, there are some relevant issues which might be taken into account for future laws and/or public policies in Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of the organizational processes and institutions was analyzed in a context of the bird watching tourism (American Flamingo -Phoenicopterus ruber) and the establishment of the Biosphere Reserve Ria Lagartos (RBRL). A perspective of collective action was used, and quantitative and qualitative approach to analyze the effects that tourism generates in communities living within protected areas. The results reveal a weakening of local organizations to give priority to the institutionalization imposed by external actors has caused new problems with negative consequences for conservation. In Rio Lagartos there is a social base that can enable collaboration among social actors, but it requires collective action mechanisms that improve social organization and local institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of non-timber forest products is associated with the conservation of eco-systems and the generation of income for forest inhabitants. However, this is not an automatic correlation. In the Lacandon Forest, the sale of camedor palm does generate income for local communities, but appears to have resulted in an over-exploitation of the resource. The government has attempted to regulate this activity through Wildlife Conservation Management Units (UMAs), but with limited environmental and social outcomes. We describe the harvesting and production of camedor palm in the Lacandon region and analyze the effectiveness of the UMAs, concluding that their limitations are the result of the instrument's emphasis on technical and normative aspects rather than on processes of negotiation and conciliation amongst stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policy in Mexico is already part of the national security agenda. However, one of its key planning instruments, the OET (Ecological and Territorial Planning), is not having the expected impact. Indigenous peoples and territories should be considered as a strategic sector, should OET is to be implemented. However a closer look into the current state of affairs is necessary. Therefore, a socio-environmental analysis is performed on the Sonora biocultural complexes, from the political ecology and biocultural perspectives. This interdisciplinary analysis conjugates the epistemologies and methodologies of the social and ecological sciences. The socio-environ-mental analysis is organized using two major themes, contemporary territorialiry and indigenous community. We conclude that OET in its actual format is not operational, thus, several recommendations to increase its efficiency are presented. Lastly, we underline the importance of attention to biocultural complexes as a first step towards environmental justice, as well as its capacity to influence in favor of global environ-mental issues, such as climate change and water quality and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical identification of research approaches and academic formation with a political ecology perspective is becoming more frequent every time in Mexico. This upsurge of political ecology, as a discipline and theoretical framework, is quite encouraging for those who analyze environmental change from a social and political perspective. Notwithstanding, we consider that a thorough review of this discipline's development in Mexico is necessary in order to delimit its field of inquiry and to avoid its generalization and simplification. In this study we offer a synthetic account of the origin and evolution of political ecology and its main theoretical approaches. We also present a general historical review of research efforts devoted to analyze environmental change from a social perspective in Mexico; lastly, we discuss the traits that characterize Mexican political ecology, its main lines of research, and their relevance in Mexico's environmental scenario. Given the high diversity and quantity of Mexico's socio-environmental studies, this work should be considered a preliminary characterization and history of political ecology in Mexico that may be useful as a basis for a further and more complete analysis about this discipline development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]