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Article

Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems

by
María Mar Delgado-Serrano
1,* and
Roberto Escalante Semerena
2
1
Department of Agricultural Economics, ETSIAM, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
2
Faculty of Economics, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2018, 10(9), 2983; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092983
Submission received: 28 June 2018 / Revised: 15 August 2018 / Accepted: 17 August 2018 / Published: 22 August 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social-Ecological Systems. Facing Global Transformations)

Abstract

The sound management of Social-Ecological Systems (SESs) requires a deep knowledge of the system and its dynamics, but effective strategies also need to include the perceptions of the local actors. These perceptions are specific and might differ for different actors. In this research, we analyzed the gender and across scales differences in the perception of a SES and unveiled the potential reasons that shape the different actors’ understanding. Using structural analysis tools, we analyzed the perceptions of local women, local men, and external stakeholders on the most relevant variables shaping the actual and future sustainable management of a SES. The research was developed in Santiago Comaltepec, an Indigenous community located in the Sierra de Oaxaca (Mexico) that manage their forest under community-based strategies. The gender differences in perception showed the inequalities in agency, voice, and power between women and men. The comparison of the perceptions between community members and external stakeholders showed greater similarities, but still reflected power differences and differences in knowledge and cultural representations. We concluded that sound and resilient SES management need to recognize the gendered and across scales diversity in perception, knowledge, and practices and create bridges and synergies among knowledge systems to shape desirable trajectories.
Keywords: community-based natural resource management; structural analysis; knowledge systems; Mexico community-based natural resource management; structural analysis; knowledge systems; Mexico

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MDPI and ACS Style

Delgado-Serrano, M.M.; Escalante Semerena, R. Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092983

AMA Style

Delgado-Serrano MM, Escalante Semerena R. Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems. Sustainability. 2018; 10(9):2983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092983

Chicago/Turabian Style

Delgado-Serrano, María Mar, and Roberto Escalante Semerena. 2018. "Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems" Sustainability 10, no. 9: 2983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092983

APA Style

Delgado-Serrano, M. M., & Escalante Semerena, R. (2018). Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems. Sustainability, 10(9), 2983. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092983

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