Local People and Conservation in Mexico's El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve^*

* Field‐research support was provided by the Association of American Geographers, the American Cetacean Society–Los Angeles Chapter, the California Coastal Conservancy, the Cetacean Society, Cetacean Society International, Pro Esteros, the Southwest Wetlands Interpretative Association, the University of Texas Graduate Fellows Program and Institute of Latin American Studies, a Fulbright‐Hayes Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. I thank Barbara Brower, Karl Butzer, Serge Dedina, William E. Doolittle, Diana Liverman, Sallie Marston, Beth Mitchneck, Lee Pederson, Henry Selby, and the three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

Abstract

It is increasingly clear that local participation in conservation endeavors is not only critical but also highly problematic. El VizcaÍno Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur, Mexico, is examined to study the difficulties involved in translating community‐based conservation rhetoric into on‐the‐ground nature‐protection efforts. This case illustrates how inhabitants of a reserve are marginalized by the very conservation process meant to engage them as key actors in promoting natural‐resource protection. It also highlights recent attempts to enhance local participation in reserve endeavors through collaborative efforts among field staff, nongovernmental organizations, and area residents.

• Baja California
• biosphere reserves
• community‐based conservation
• ecotourism
• fisheries
• Mexico

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Notes on contributors

Emily Young

Dr. Young is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721.