Analysing participation from a retrospective approach: the Ecological Land Use Planning Program of the Jalisco Coast (ELUPPJC), Mexico

Abstract

Social participation has become a relevant topic in environmental agendas in recent decades. The first Ecological Land Use Planning Program (ELUPP) implemented in Mexico under a participatory approach was the ELUPP of the Jalisco Coast (ELUPPJC), decreed in 1999. This paper analyses participatory processes in the ELUPPJC from a long-term perspective to identify obstacles to their implementation from the perspective of different stakeholders. Data were obtained through document analysis and semi-structured interviews, first in 2001 shortly after the ELUPPJC was decreed, and subsequently in 2015 after decisions had already been taken based on the ELUPPJC. The findings show that the factors currently limiting social participation are similar to those identified in 2001. These limitations are related mainly to the lack of dialogue and negotiation among stakeholders. The adoption of bottom-up strategies to build local ELUPPs by some of the communities in the study site provides an essential lesson for participatory processes.