An integrated assessment of social-ecological resilience in Me'Phaa indigenous communities in southern Mexico

Abstract

La Montaña, one of seven regions making up the state of Guerrero, Mexico, has high social-ecological vulnerability. Its extreme poverty and marginalization levels are among the country’s highest, superimposed in a context of severe ecosystem degradation. We evaluated the social-ecological resilience of two indigenous communities of this region engaged in agroecological projects by integrating the Resilience Assessment and MESMIS methodological proposals, using qualitative and quantitative indicators. The most critical aspects were the low quality of forest fragments, crop losses through hurricanes, lack of access to information, low socioeconomic infrastructure and lack of gender equity. On the other hand, formal and informal social organization is a major strength. Crop losses due to drought or pests are not significant, but a more critical situation is foreseen in the face of climate change. Local efforts drive the main strategies to maintain a minimum level of resilience but will not be sufficient if unaccompanied by structural changes.