Socioecological conflicts in Mexico: Trends and gaps in the regional analysis

Abstract

Global economic growth and the problems generated by climate change will cause an increase in the occurrence and violence of socioecological conflicts in the coming decades. To understand these trends, it is important to determine the current state of the conflicts. In Mexico efforts have been made to analyze socioecological conflicts at the regional level. However, it is important to know the conceptual approach under which this has been addressed and what variables that reflect the complexity of its socio-ecological context have been considered. The objective of this article is to review the trends and information gaps in the regional analysis of socioecological conflicts in Mexico, using a systematic review of documentary information sources and geovisualizers. As a result, only 30.6% of the information sources feature a defined conceptual approach. The conflicts are characterized by the drivers and social or environmental impacts in all studies. On the other hand, information gaps include the elucidation of management alternatives (41.7%) and future scenarios (22.2%), the description (25%) and analysis of the implied ecosystem services (13.9%), a gender approach (16.7%), an analysis of the normative frame (8.3%), and the exogenous conditions associated with environmental patterns (38.9%) such as the influence of climate change. We argue that a regional analysis of conflicts using a socioecological approach integrating environmental and social components could allow a comparative analysis. It could also provide an understanding of the contextual variables and underlying causes of conflicts. This information is necessary for socioecological conflict management towards peaceful resolutions.