Mapping and Threats Related to the Cultural Ecosystem Services of Artisanal Fisheries for Regional Development in an Anthropized Subwatershed of Western Mexico

Abstract

Artisanal fishers receive cultural ecosystem services (CES) from nature, essential to their well-being, and can be affected by development policies neglecting their importance and spatial distribution. In this research, we quantify the social valuation of CES and analyze the spatial relationships of their flow and threats. Surveys and semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping, and social valuation were applied to fishers of the Mascota River subwatershed, Jalisco state, Mexico. We found that CES are incorporated into fisherÍ€™s collective and individual identities and occur in rivers and water bodies near principal localities. The identified threats were the decreasing of fish abundance and artisanal catches caused by poor fisheries practices, along with river alterations and the loss of riparian forest. This research highlights the importance of CES and proposes actions for their inclusion in the regional development plans.