Identifying Priority Areas for Conservation in Central Mexico: A Multi-criteria Approach

Abstract

Mexico has 181 federal protected areas, most of them with a clear spatial delimitation and management program, but some protected areas still do not have clearly defined limits, as is the case of the Protected Natural Resource Area (PNRA) Pabellón Basin, in central Mexico. The lack of delimitation of this reserve has resulted in loss of ecosystem functionality and environmental services. Our work addressed the identification of areas strategically important for conservation since they have been spaces with high diversity and ecosystem integrity with high values of biodiversity, hydrological significance, cultural importance, and mismanagement in the PNRA “Pabellón Basin” and its adjacent region. Based on this study, we have proposed areas for federal protection, as well as zones for conservation under state and county level. To achieve these objectives, multi-criteria assessment was applied based on a geographic information system, considering the participation of different sectors. This method allowed including physical, biological, and cultural criteria and views shared by different actors, as well as obtaining a spatial projection of the relevant areas for conservation. Two workshops were organized with the participation of 47 actors; 12 criteria were selected and prioritized, of which environmental heterogeneity, biological representation, and biodiversity were the three main criteria. The results showed the highest zones of the Sierra Madre Occidental, locally known as Sierra Fría (SF), the Plains and Hills of the Altiplano Zacatecano-Potosino (PHAZP), and the highest zone of the Sierra de Asientos (SA) as the areas with the highest value for conservations purposes.