Abstract
Using the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve in Western Mexico as a case study, this chapter examines the usefulness of the biodiversity concept in populated protected areas. A new concept, ‘resource diversity’, is presented to shed more light on the possible role of farmer participation in ecosystem management in these areas. Resource diversity is produced and reproduced in an ongoing process of co-production, which involves interactions and transformations of natural and social phenomena. This organisation of natural cycles and spatial units results in transformations of existing resource diversity. Rather than leading to a process of unilateral loss of biodiversity, it results in changing landscape mosaics with their own specific form of resource diversity (and biodiversity). I argue that conservation activities in populated protected areas should include consideration of farmers’ perspectives (and resource diversity) to better address conservation issues.
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Gerritsen, P.R.W. (2012). ‘Diversity (still) at stake’: a farmers’ perspective on biodiversity and conservation in Western Mexico. In: Arts, B., van Bommel, S., Ros-Tonen, M., Verschoor, G. (eds) Forest-people interfaces. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-749-3_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-749-3_12
Publisher Name: Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen
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