The Mahahual local community and stakeholders are crucial actors in fostering responsible and sustainable development, as well as in the conservation of the town’s natural resources. Recognizing their significance, we emphasize the need for their inclusion in various strategies and initiatives envisioned by the MARES Center for the area. The primary initiative in this program involves scrutinizing the community’s environmental awareness and attitudes.
Social Perception of the Environment Project
The Social Perception of the Environment Project aims to provide an insight into the collective understanding of the coastal environment as perceived by local stakeholders. Since its start, our goals have included identifying and illustrating local stakeholders, outlining their perspectives on the coastal environment, and mapping diverse uses of the coastal area. This collective approach enables us to identify socio-environmental issues and collaboratively explore potential solutions. We view this project as a valuable tool for empowering Mahahual’s community to address collective challenges in territorial management.
Data collection methods for the program encompass individual interviews, collective discussion workshops, participant observation of territorial management activities, and participatory cartography workshops, among others. The gathered data serves to formulate intervention measures and support territorial management initiatives in Mahahual, engaging local, regional, and federal stakeholders.
To date, our research has involved interviews with fishermen, business owners, tertiary workers, cruise ship port employees, the national and international community, and tourists. This comprehensive approach seeks to understand their interrelationships and connections to the environment in Mahahual. Additionally, through the “Portraits of Mahahualeños” project, we have crafted and shared numerous profiles of different community members, presenting their visions and aspirations for Mahahual’s development and conservation.