Impact of the Wildlife Management Units Policy on the Conservation of Species and Ecosystems of Southeastern Mexico

Carolina Álvarez-Peredo, Armando Contreras-Hernández, Sonia Gallina-Tessaro, Mariana Pineda-Vázquez, Alejandro Ortega-Argueta, Carlos Tejeda-Cruz and Rosario Landgrave
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Carolina Álvarez-Peredo: Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, Mexico
Armando Contreras-Hernández: Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, Mexico
Sonia Gallina-Tessaro: Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología A. C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, México
Mariana Pineda-Vázquez: Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad San Cristóbal. Carret. Panamericana y Periférico sur s/n, Barrio de María Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de las Casas 29290, Chiapas, Mexico
Alejandro Ortega-Argueta: Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad San Cristóbal. Carret. Panamericana y Periférico sur s/n, Barrio de María Auxiliadora, San Cristóbal de las Casas 29290, Chiapas, Mexico
Carlos Tejeda-Cruz: Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, Carretera Terán—Emiliano Zapata Km. 8, Tuxtla Gutiérrez 29050, Chiapas, Mexico
Rosario Landgrave: Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología A. C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, México

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-25

Abstract: Wildlife in Latin America is subject to enormous pressures and, as in most countries, has been negatively impacted in Mexico. In 1997, the Mexican government implemented a policy of conservation and sustainable use of wildlife units (called UMAs, by their Spanish acronym) that comprises intensive and free-living management. Since then, no national or regional assessments have been conducted to estimate impacts and benefits even with 5529 registered UMAs now covering almost 20% of the national territory. The objective of this study was to characterize the SUMA (UMAs System) in a regional context in three states of southeastern Mexico. The impact of UMAs was studied in depth through a selection of representative case studies: three species of mangrove ( Avicennia germinans , Laguncularia racemosa and Rhizophora mangle ), ponytail palm ( Beaucarnea recurvata ), red cedar ( Cedrela odorata ) and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), and a connectivity analysis, in order to evaluate the contribution of the UMAs to the conservation of species and ecosystems. The number of active UMAs at regional scale was 834, managing 273 species; 7.1% of the UMAs manage nationally-prioritized species, while 8.3% and 94.3% manage endemic and native species, respectively. Conservation of ecosystems has been successfully achieved through the UMAs that manage mangrove and white-tailed deer. We propose to promote the establishment of free-living UMAs that would contribute to increase the conservation areas. Finally, we highlight the relevance of regional-scale spatial analysis as an important tool for improving environmental policy and conservation strategies.

Keywords: wildlife conservation; management policy; wildlife management units; conservation evaluation; ecological connectivity; priority conservation areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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