Social Participation for Implementation of Camera Traps Projects in Managed and Protected Natural Areas of Mexico

Abstract

Wildlife is an important component among the array of natural resources that the ecosystems can provide to the human communities. In developing countries, with high levels of poverty, wild animals can be an important source of proteins or produce economic benefits through regulated hunting or other uses or receiving a compensation to maintain environmental services. However, to obtain information on diversity, population, and habitat of wildlife to generate management decisions can be a difficult process. The use of camera traps has become an important tool to produce relevant data, but certain level of training to install and operate the cameras and to analyze and interpret the information is required. It is important that communities who are the owners of the resources get involved in the process, increasing both their technical capacity to make decisions and the sense of identity and empowerment of the community. This work focuses on the importance of involvement of local or regional stakeholders and institutions to successfully conduct wildlife monitoring projects. Therefore, we will provide some ideas about the use of camera traps in different spheres of influence and levels of management and present two successful examples of empowerment of the people using this very specialized technique in Jalisco, western Mexico. Finally, we will provide some ideas, based on our experiences, about how to systematize these processes to make them functional and effective.