Abstract

MALDONADO IBARRA, Oscar Alberto; CHAVEZ DAGOSTINO, Rosa María  and  BRAVO OLIVAS, Myrna Leticia. Natural Protected Areas and Social Participation in Latin America: Problems and Strategies to Achieve Community Integration. Región y sociedad [online]. 2020, vol.32, e1277.  Epub Jan 27, 2021. ISSN 2448-4849.  https://doi.org/10.22198/rys2020/32/1277.

Protected natural areas have faced common challenges to achieve their conservation objectives. The resulting conflicts from their implementation and management over time call for greater community participation. In order to identify these problems related to social participation in Latin America and to the proposals to incentivize it in favor of conservation, a systematic review of 30 scientific documents was carried out on the multidisciplinary databases from Web of Science. The priority problems identified were limited participation in decision-making, few opportunities regarding other economic alternatives and political factors. The analyzed papers expose the exclusion that local communities have suffered in decision-making and in management processes, as well as the few initiatives for natural protected areas that allow their participation. No relevant measures were found to encourage community participation, except for ecotourism projects and proposals for changes in management plans to consider the biocultural aspects.

Keywords : natural protected area; Latin America; social participation; conservation.