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This article analyzes the incorporation of normative principles of governance in the management of protected areas on the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico, during the period 2007-2011. A review of the literature permitted an evaluation of the following indicators: effectiveness, efficiency, participation, inclusiveness, and equality. It was found that important changes leading toward improved governance have taken place at the administrative level. However, these changes are still insufficient to bring about greater stakeholder involvement; therefore, continued improvement is necessary for governmental management practices and refining participatory mechanisms. [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 environment is a complex space where multiple interests converge, so the traditional government has been insufficient to respond to the new demands of the environmental management. In this sense, the theory governance suggests a bigger role for social actors in decision-making for a more effective resolution of environmental problems. This article focuses on the Civil Society Organizations (cso's) of Ensenada, due to its relevance in the public sphere and the ecological value of the area. Twenty two esos, its participants and the network of actors were characterized through a survey. It was found that three types of esos are focusing on the conservation agenda and urban sustainability. [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]