Generation of Knowledge About Biodiversity in Mexico: A Critical Analysis of the Trajectories, Challenges and Opportunities of State Studies

Abstract

We present an analysis of the trajectories, challenges, and opportunities of the State Biodiversity Studies promoted by the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity within the framework of the State Biodiversity Strategies initiative. After 20 years of this initiative, 24 State Biodiversity Studies have been published with a technical-scientific and biologist profile through processes involving different Mexican federal, state, and academic conservation actors in Mexico. Its incidence in developing conservation policies and strategies has played a relevant role in scaling the international conservation discourse from the Convention on Biological Diversity guidelines, through the National Strategy on Biodiversity of Mexico, to the Strategies for Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biodiversity of the States and the conformation of conservation corridors. Although the State Biodiversity Studies have contributed to developing long-term planning tools, there are still areas of opportunity to overcome the gap between science and its application in decision-making and actions for biodiversity management and conservation in Mexico.