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Changing Landscapes for Forest Commons: Linking Land Tenure with Forest Cover Change Following Mexico’s 1992 Agrarian Counter-Reforms

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Abstract

Mexico’s 1992 agrarian counter-reforms opened up the country’s vast network of common property regimes, known as ejidos, to the possibility of privatization. This study investigates the relationship between dynamic common property regimes and deforestation in the wake of policy reform among eight ejidos in southeastern Mexico. Using institutional analyses, land use/land cover change (LULCC) analyses and a Forest Dependency Index, we examine how land tenure arrangements relate to land use and forest cover change patterns. We demonstrate that informally privatized ejidos had larger individual landholdings, more land in use, and higher rates of deforestation. Commonly-held ejidos exhibited lower deforestation rates and, in some cases, forests provided economic benefits via community forest management. However, forest dependency did not correlate with low deforestation rates, suggesting alternative pathways for conservation.

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Notes

  1. See Appendix for figures presenting forest cover change results for the eight ejidos studied for the periods between 1984, 2000, and 2007/2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Maria DiGiano & Eric Keys

  2. Universidad Veracruzana, Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Edward Ellis

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  1. Maria DiGiano
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  2. Edward Ellis
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  3. Eric Keys
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Correspondence to Maria DiGiano.

Appendix

Appendix

Fig. 3
figure 3

Forest cover within commonly-held ejidos (“common” bundle of rights) for the dates 1984–2000 and 2000–2007/2010

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Fig. 4
figure 4

Forest cover within partially parcelized ejidos (“mixed” bundle of rights) for the dates 1984–2000 and 2000–2007/2010

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Fig. 5
figure 5

Forest cover within parcelized ejidos (“parcelized” bundle of rights) for the dates 1984–2000 and 2000–2010

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DiGiano, M., Ellis, E. & Keys, E. Changing Landscapes for Forest Commons: Linking Land Tenure with Forest Cover Change Following Mexico’s 1992 Agrarian Counter-Reforms. Hum Ecol 41, 707–723 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9581-0

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