Evaluación de la efectividad de las áreas protegidas para contener procesos de cambio en el uso del suelo y la vegetación. ¿Un índice es suficiente?

Abstract

Effectiveness of 44 federal protected areas (PA) for preventing land use and land cover changes (LULC) in Mexico is examined, comparing results and methodological approaches used in previous studies. We quantified the percentage of transformed area (TS) in 2002 and its rate of change between 1993 and 2002. We compared observed TS rate of change in PA, adjacent areas, and their ecoregions of location. An effectiveness index was build to produce a characterization of LULC processes developed for each PA. In 2002, 77% PA showed less than 20% covered by TS; nearly 30% of PA showed a reduction of TS. Additionally, in 30% of PA, TS increase exceeded the mean rate for all PA. More than 70% of PA showed lower LULC rates than their surrounding areas, and in 80% of PA, these rates were lower than those observed in their corresponding ecoregions. Overall, PA were effective to prevent LULC processes as previously suggested. However, trends derived from this type of analyses depend on methodological specifications. Effectiveness indexes should be complemented with a detailed characterization of LULC processes and their interpretation should correspond to the specific methodological approach used.