Challenges in the management of urban natural protected area systems and the conservation of ecosystem services in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico

The manuscript analyses the importance of the integrated management of urban and ecological systems to achieve sustainable development from the perspective of various social actors linked to natural protected areas (NPAs) located in urban contexts. The literature has mainly taken an urban planning perspective; however, fewer studies have been conducted on the environmental governance processes and collective actions carried out by governmental and non-governmental actors to achieve management integrated at the territorial and institutional levels. The objective of the manuscript is to study the collective actions and proposals carried out by strategic social actors linked to the management of urban NPA systems in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, to solve the many problems they are facing. An exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted to analyse the perceptions of 64 governmental and non-governmental actors concerning the challenges they face in the conservation of urban NPA systems and ecosystem services that they provide. The initiatives of strategic actors regarding the metropolitan management of NPA systems were analysed and combined with proposed hypothetical green belts that integrate urban NPA systems. A multitemporal analysis of land use and vegetation changes was carried out in combination with a study of the political-administrative structure of metropolitan areas with regard to the interconnection among NPAs. The results indicate that strategic actors perceive the following: (1) metropolitan management is necessary to achieve the comprehensive management of territory and NPA conservation; (2) to do so requires cross-cutting or intersectoral policies from a metropolitan perspective; and (3) the participation of non-governmental actors is indispensable in generating information and innovative ideas to establish decision-making processes and democratic and participatory urban planning institutions. This research seeks to provide useful findings for decision makers and those in charge of public policy in the implementation of sustainable urban and metropolitan policies.