Biodversity conservation and non-governmental organisations in Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

The lack of local scale biodiversity assessment in Oaxacan conservation is examined. Biodiversity assessment is a prerequisite of systematic, scientifically directed conservation and in Oaxaca, as in many other parts of the world, conservation is not planned according to scientific prescriptions. This thesis investigates the reasons for this in two ways. First, it considers the technical demands of biodiversity assessment from the point of view of local conservation NGOs. Second, it considers the institutional context in which the concept of biodiversity is translated from scientific discourses to Oaxacan NGOs. It is argued that tree diversity assessment techniques as currently promoted in scientific discourses are not necessarily appropriate to the needs of local NGOs and that biodiversity is itself a contested concept in Oaxaca. This results in the lack of priority given by Oaxaca's local conservation NGOs to biodiversity assessment. It is further shown that non-systematic conservation has made an important contribution to biodiversity conservation in Oaxaca, and it is argued that it is unrealistic to expect scientific prescriptions for biodiversity planning to be translated, without modification, to rural Oaxaca.