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Forest owners’ perceptions of ecotourism: Integrating community values and forest conservation

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Abstract

The use of forest land for ecotourism has been well accepted due to its ability to provide income to local people and to conserve the forest. Preparing the forest with infrastructure to attract and educate visitors has been reported of importance. This study applied Q methodology in a small rural community of the State of Puebla, Mexico, to reveal forest owners’ perceptions to build infrastructure in their forest as part of their ecotourism project. It also discloses forest owners’ underlying motives to use their forest for ecotourism. Ecotourism is perceived as a complementary activity to farming that would allow women to be involved in community development. Low impact infrastructure is desired due to forest owners’ perception to preserve the forest for the overall community well-being.

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Fig. 1
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Notes

  1. According to 2006 statistics, 32 % of the population of the village, in particularly young adults, migrated to the United States.

  2. This forest land is separated from the land (ejido) that the government granted to farmers, which is called “tierra ejidal or ejido.”

  3. Due to migration of some of the principal and secondary owners, it was necessary to include immediately family members who are empowered by forest owners to participate in meetings and projects, while they are away.

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Acknowledgments

We want to express our gratitude to El Programa Profesor Humanista Internacional Multidisciplinario and the Posgrados en Agronegocios y Dirección de Organizaciones at UPAEP for sponsoring this project. Special thanks to the members of the community La Preciosita for their willingness to participate. We also thank our anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that greatly improved this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, México, Periférico Francisco R. Almada Km 1, CP 33820, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico

    Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros

  2. Centro Interdisciplinario de Posgrados, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), 17 Sur 901. Barrio de Santiago, CP 72410, Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

    Yesica Mayett-Moreno

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  1. Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros
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Correspondence to Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros.

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Rodríguez-Piñeros, S., Mayett-Moreno, Y. Forest owners’ perceptions of ecotourism: Integrating community values and forest conservation. AMBIO 44, 99–109 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0544-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0544-5

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