Abstract
Protected Areas (PA) are the main strategy for nature conservation. However, PA are not always efficient for ecological conservation and social wellbeing. A possible alternative for conservation in human-dominated landscapes are Multifunctional Landscapes (ML), which allow the coexistence of multiple objectives, such as nature conservation and resource use. Using the activity system framework, we analyzed whether the ML concept was an operative alternative to PA within an area of interest for conservation in Veracruz, Mexico. Activity systems refer to the set of productive strategies that result from the mobilization of resources and which, within particular environmental governance contexts, shape the landscape. To understand the challenges and opportunities of our case study, we: (1) delimited the landscape according to local conservation interests; and (2) analyzed the role of stakeholders in shaping this landscape. The delimited landscape included areas considered wildlife reservoirs and water provisioning zones. Our results suggested that the existence of local conservation areas (private and communal), combined with shaded-coffee agroforestry practices, made this region an example of ML. Although local conservation initiatives are perceived as more legitimate than top-down approaches, agreements amongst stakeholders are essential to strengthen environmental governance. In specific socio-ecological contexts, ML can be effective strategies for conservation through agroecosystems that maintain a high-quality landscape matrix, allowing nature preservation and delivering economic benefits.
Highlights
The designation of Protected Areas (PA), which began almost a century ago, has been the main instrument of biodiversity conservation worldwide [1]
One specific proposal is to promote the establishment of multifunctional landscapes [14], which consider a regional perspective of conservation in which areas of conservation interest are immersed within a heterogeneous mosaic of land uses and covers that allow the maintenance of ecosystem services and biodiversity, while satisfying the requirements of social wellbeing [14]
The area delimited as Las Cañadas de Sochiapa is a multifunctional landscape that, despite its transformations, presents a diversity of land uses that reflect activity systems that coexist with conservation areas formed by patches of natural vegetation in inaccessible areas and by areas of abandoned rustic coffee plantations
Summary
The designation of Protected Areas (PA), which began almost a century ago, has been the main instrument of biodiversity conservation worldwide [1]. It is recognized that a large part of this failure is due to the fact that PA policies generally ignore the socio-economic and political context in which they are enacted [6,7] This has led some authors (i.e., [8,9]) to emphasize the need to implement actions to strengthen environmental governance, understood as the set of formal and informal rules that regulate the interaction between society and nature, and that determine decision-making [10,11]. One specific proposal is to promote the establishment of multifunctional landscapes [14], which consider a regional perspective of conservation (the “wider landscape” perspective) in which areas of conservation interest are immersed within a heterogeneous mosaic of land uses and covers that allow the maintenance of ecosystem services and biodiversity, while satisfying the requirements of social wellbeing [14]. According to Dewi and collaborators (2013) [14], this vision is focused on transcending the “protected vs. non-protected”
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
