Adaptive co-management of urban forests: monitoring reforestation programs in Mexico City

Abstract

Aiming to maintain or increase the indispensable socio-ecological benefits provided by urban forests, cities of the world have adequate urban forestry to take advantage of new technologies and governmental arrangements. Cooperation among different actors has become a trend to address urban forests’ most pressing management issues, such as reforestation monitoring and the creation of tree inventories. This management approach has been conceptualized as adaptive co- management (ACM) in European and North American cities. Intending to advance the academic efforts to understand ACM, this article presents a spatial and statistical analysis of the distribution of trees monitored in Mexico City. The analysis indicated that the number of urban trees monitored is very low and inequitably distributed in the city; poor areas of the city are not only underserved of green public spaces and trees but have also been neglected in terms of monitoring reforestation programs. The implementation of ACM for environmental management of the urban forest, using the participatory tool of Naturalista, developed by (in Spanish, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, CONABIO). The tool demonstrated to have much potential in the operationalization of inclusive reforestation programs, particularly in monitoring urban trees recently planted. The implementation of ACM and citizens' science programs are discussed and recommended as a promising urban environmental management approach.