Conservation and Landscape Transformation in Sonora, Mexico
Author(s)
Burquez, Alberto; Martinez-Yrizar, Angelina
Abstract
Reviews Mexico’s history of dealing with nature reserves primarily for recreational purposes, which copied the US National Park Service system. The state of Sonora in Mexico covers a wide range of environments with 8% of the land under some form of protection. Two tables in the article show 13 existing reserves (created from 1936 to 1995) and 23 proposed reserves in Mexico. The authors discuss major threats from the effects of human exploitation of the Sonoran environments, which include agriculture, cattle ranching, mesquite logging, charcoal production and clearing, mining and urban development, and the endangerment of desert coastal wetlands, rivers, and fisheries.
