<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper presents a case study from a <italic>Mazahua</italic> indigenous community in the rural Highlands of Central Mexico. It analyses <italic>Mazahua</italic> farming livelihoods characterised by subsistence agriculture, marginality, poverty and severe land degradation. <italic>Mazahua</italic> farmers face constrained environmental, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, which influence their local decisions on natural resource management. The results describe the capital assets base used, where land, livestock and crop production are imperative assets to support farmers’ livelihood strategies. It analyses local management practices to achieve livelihood outcomes in the short/long term, and to improve or undermine land characteristics and other related assets. It also presents a farmer typology constructed by local perceptions, a controversial element to drive sustainable development strategies at the local level. Finally, it discusses how local land management practices are adopted and their importance in developing alternatives to encourage positive trade-offs between conservation and production in order to improve rural livelihoods.</p></abstract>

This paper presents a case study from a Mazahua indigenous community in the rural Highlands of Central Mexico. It analyses Mazahua farming livelihoods characterised by subsistence agriculture, marginality, poverty and severe land degradation. Mazahua farmers face constrained environmental, socioeconomic and cultural conditions, which influence their local decisions on natural resource management. The results describe the capital assets base used, where land, livestock and crop production are imperative assets to support farmers’ livelihood strategies. It analyses local management practices to achieve livelihood outcomes in the short/long term, and to improve or undermine land characteristics and other related assets. It also presents a farmer typology constructed by local perceptions, a controversial element to drive sustainable development strategies at the local level. Finally, it discusses how local land management practices are adopted and their importance in developing alternatives to encourage positive trade-offs between conservation and production in order to improve rural livelihoods.

<bold>Land Management Strategies</bold> and their Implications for <italic>Mazahua</italic> Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Highlands of Central Mexico

Facultad de Planeación Urbana y Regional, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, México

School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom

Facultad de Planeación Urbana y Regional, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, México; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.

Miscellanea Geographica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

 and their Implications for  Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Highlands of Central Mexico

This paper presents a case study from a Mazahua indigenous community in the rural Highlands of Central Mexico. It analyses Mazahua farming livelihoods...

Land Management Strategies and their Implications for Mazahua Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Highlands of Central Mexico

Published Online: Jun 16, 2016

Page range: 5 - 12

Received: Mar 16, 2015

Accepted: Jan 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgrsd-2016-0003

Keywords
Rural livelihoods, farmers, hillside areas

© 2016 Belina García-Fajardo et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Land Management Strategies and their Implications for Mazahua Farmers’ Livelihoods in the Highlands of Central Mexico

Published Online: Jun 16, 2016

Page range: 5 - 12

Received: Mar 16, 2015

Accepted: Jan 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgrsd-2016-0003

KeywordsRural livelihoods, farmers, hillside areas

© 2016 Belina García-Fajardo et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Rural livelihoods, farmers, hillside areas