Analysis of the community perspective on institutional managementand sustainable development in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán BiosphereReserve, Mexico

Abstract

Since 1998, the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve has been recognized as a natural conservation
area, resulting from the merger of two state Protected Natural Areas to create a federal, making it
the largest in the south-central region of the country with both national and international interest.
This area is notable for its convergence of biological, geological, cultural, and historical richness.
The government has emphasized its care through a management tool known as the Management
Program. The article aims to understand the perspective of the population immersed in the polygon
regarding the effects of institutional functioning, whose actions involve a commitment to sustainable
development for the protection of this commons. A quantitative analysis was conducted in eight
of the municipalities within the polygon using factorial analysis. The results indicate a burden in
socio-economic issues due to the lack of attention from institutional bodies, which has generated in
the community a feeling of employment scarcity, enforcement of sanctions seen as unfair, and low
quality of life. This has led to a disinterest in ecosystem conservation, promoting actions based on
individual interests rather than collective ones.