Ecotourism as a strengthening strategy in environmental conservation actions: A regional analysis in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

The Los Tuxtlas region in the south of the state of Veracruz is privileged by the existence of multiple ecosystems that provide services to local populations and host a great biodiversity of national importance. Therefore, in 1998 the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve was decreed, whose objective is to preserve and develop conservation strategies together with the population, including ecotourism. This research analyses from a regional perspective the contributions and impacts of this activity in the field of environmental conservation. This is reached by the application of ethnographic methods and the elaboration of a cartographic representation, in order to understand the territorial conjectures of this activity. It could be shown that the ecotourism initiatives have managed to generate small.scale positive impacts on the local level. However, there is still potential to increase this impact, if the disperse efforts would be integrated into a general strategy on the regional level.