Relación entre pobreza y conservación del capital natural desde los Medios de Vida Sustentables en Villaflores, Chiapas, México

Abstract

Introduction]: Environmental degradation and poverty are a high priority on the agendas of international organizations for development and conservation. It is proposed that the relationship between poverty and conservation can be solved simultaneously, according to the Millennium Development Goals and, currently, the Sustainable Development Goals. [Objective]: This study aimed to describe the relationships existing between poverty and conservation of natural assets within livelihoods in the studied area. Additionally, it sought to investigate whether implementing conservation and sustainable rural development policies in a neoliberal context contributed to solving both problems. [Methodology]: A participatory-action-research was conducted as a case study. Participatory workshops were organized to diagnose sustainable livelihoods in the Sierra and Valleys micro-regions of the municipality of Villaflores, Chiapas, Mexico. [Results]: The influence of two prevailing rural development models in different periods on community livelihoods was observed: external forces that put pressure on livelihood strategies and have failed to lift communities out of poverty. In the case of the Valleys, this led to deforestation and degradation of natural assets, while in the Sierra, conservation was achieved, but communities are facing extreme poverty and high vulnerability. [Conclusions]: Policies and initiatives imposed in a top-down manner have led not only to environmental deterioration but also to the vulnerability and the process of precariousness of rural families.