Determinants of Livelihood Diversification: The Case of Community-Based Ecotourism in Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

Diversification is a livelihood strategy that households use to survive and to absorb disturbances. Community-based ecotourism (CBE) is part of a set of sustainable options that are available to households for diversification. This paper analyses households’ capital assets that increase the probability of a family becoming involved in a CBE compared to other forms of diversification, and empirical evidence is presented for coastal communities located in Oaxaca, Mexico. Based on household surveys and a multinomial logit econometric model, the results show that the probability that a household decides to become involved in CBE increases for households with young people and those that have their basic needs covered by government programs or small agricultural production. Other forms of diversification are positively related to agreements within the community, woodfire use, and the presence of irrigated lands. Thus, CBE is determined by specific assets mentioned previously compared to other forms of diversification. Particularly, to promote CBE, tourism policies need to consider households’ human, social, natural, and financial capital assets and the associated programs in an integrated way to enhance community development.

Approaches, Trends, and Gaps in Community-Based Ecotourism Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications between 2002 and 2022

“…Together, these research methods offer a diverse range of approaches to understanding and addressing the challenges and opportunities in the field of CBET. However, authors like Kiss [82] and Sakata [115] emphasize the need to include more and better quantitative data and conduct more rigorous analyses to measure in depth the economic and biodiversity conservation impacts in CBET development, as many of the methods employed rely more on anecdotal or experiential data, which are subject to multiple interpretations. In this same vein, Wardle et al [78] state that there is a scarcity of studies and methods that measure the direct impacts on wildlife populations or other components of the natural biophysical environment.…”

Desafíos de los medios de vida frente a la roya del café en dos comunidades del Soconusco, Chiapas, México

“…Se utilizó un análisis de varianza multivariado con permutaciones (Permanova) para evaluar la disponibilidad de capitales en cada comunidad. Los indicadores se determinaron considerando las variables que forman parte de cada capital, de acuerdo con lo reportado en la literatura y considerando las especificidades de la producción del café entre los pequeños productores del Soconusco (Ávila-Foucat, Revollo-Fernández, y Navarrete, 2021;DFID, 1999;Gómez-Pineda et al, 2014).…”

Drivers of Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from Mexico’s Indigenous Rural Households

“…Although the number of studies addressing livelihoods has increased globally, few have analyzed the Indigenous dimension [48]. Research focused on Indigenous livelihoods in Mexico predominantly involves case studies [22,36,[49][50][51]. The majority of this literature has investigated how the participation of Mayan communities in public policy influences the creation of policies that boost sustainable development [50][51][52].…”

“…The determinants of ecotourism livelihoods have recently been studied. Ávila-Foucat et al [22] have analyzed the effects of households' capital assets on livelihoods on coastal communities in Oaxaca, Mexico.…”

“…Several empirical studies have examined the determinants of sustainable livelihoods in households around the world [16][17][18][19][20][21]. Some research analyzes metadata from various countries [20,21], while another set of projects has carried out case studies [22][23][24]. Recent literature about the topic suggests that the livelihoods of rural households in low-and middle-income countries are closely linked to the environment and nature [8,20].…”