People, Land Use, and Environment in the Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico

This paper describes on-going research that integrates social and natural science approaches to the study of interactions between development and environment in the Yaqui Valley region of southern Sonora, Mexico. While the focus of this project has evolved over the past 10 years, much of our research addresses three broad questions: 1) what drives land- use and land-management decisions? 2) what are the implications of these decisions for the people and ecosystems in the region, and for the regional and global environment? and 3) what alternatives are available to the people of the region in order to harmonize development and environment? Our analysis draws from various disciplines including, agronomy, biogeochemistry, ecology, economics, geography, hydrology, international policy analysis, remote sensing science, and water resources engineering to address these questions at multiple points across the landscape.

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