The subversion of comanagement of a marine protected area: The case of Xcalak Reefs National Park, Mexico

Over the past several decades, theorists and practitioners of conservation debated the effectiveness of including local resource users in the decision-making and daily operations of conservation areas via methods such as comanagement. Comanagement is a form of participatory decision-making in which resource users and governmental authorities cooperate in order to conserve and maintain the sustainable use of common pool resources. This dissertation research examines a marine protected area (MPA), Xcalak Reefs National Park (PNAX), in Quintana Roo, Mexico, in which the original intention was to implement comanagement. This research investigated whether comanagement was truly being created in PNAX, and what affects the existing style of management had upon resources, community opinions, and development.; Fieldwork for this anthropological study was conducted in the community of Xcalak from September 2003--July 2004, and employed both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to ascertain the opinions and behaviors of Xcalak's residents in relation to the management of resources via the implementation of a MPA. This research uncovered the fact that PNAX was not comanaged due to a number of contextual factors that inhibited the actualization of this management style. Thus, this dissertation divulges the historical, social, and ecological factors that pushed the initiative towards consultative management rather than comanagement. In addition, it documents the ways in which this shift affected community opinions, resource use, and cooperation between the community and governmental authorities.; Overall, this research demonstrates that comanagement is an ideal that is easily subverted by contextual factors at the local, national, and international level. In addition, it shows that the failure to implement comanagement was detrimental to both resources and cooperation in the management of PNAX. The findings from this case study have important implications for future policy in regard to conservation and MPA initiatives both inside and outside of Mexico. Most importantly, the case demonstrates contextual issues that are applicable to current debates in both the theory and praxis of conservation.