Determination of the framework conditions and research–development needs for the dissemination of cleaner (sustainable) production applications in Turkey

SUMMARY

A cross-section survey of five states in Nigeria was derived through a stratified random sampling technique in 1999–2000 to assess the contribution of traditional knowledge in environmental conservation. Data were collected through a combination of questionnaire survey and discussions with stakeholders, with field assessment of herb gardens. Interviews were held with 1953 respondents composed of women, men and youths drawn from 20 settlements in 10 local government areas in the savanna and rainforest ecological zones.

The results derived from data analysis indicated that: (i) the rural communities were willing to accept integrated rural land-use practices that would conserve species and habitats, sustain the rural economy and the socio-cultural lifestyles of the people; (ii) the people at the local level had some basic knowledge about species and habitats, and have been conserving the forests with traditional land tenure rights; and (iii) environmental projects acceptable to the rural communities must be beneficial to the people, participatory, integrated with traditional knowledge and based on local needs.     

Population dynamics,rural livelihoods and forest protection projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from Santa,Cameroon

The study examines mainstream efforts to rehabilitate and conserve forests in Cameroon, and concludes that technocratic blueprints will always flounder when they come face-to-face with the real world of complex human relations in poverty-stricken societies. These result from the failure to integrate concerns relating to rights, needs and priorities of rural communities, who are the local natural resource users. The paper argues that when rural livelihoods are affected negatively, the adjacent forest communities often respond in ways involving conflict, illegal exploitation of resources and apathy, which makes the realisation of conservation goals very remote. There is, therefore, need for a broader perspective that links environmental protection with human welfare. Consequently, the study advocates that Social Impact Assessment (SIA) be an integral part of such conservation projects if success is to be achieved.     

Conservation impacts of commercial cultivation of endangered and overharvested plants

Overharvesting is one of the greatest threats to species survival. Farming overharvested species is a conservation strategy that can meet growing market demand and conserve wild populations of the target species. This strategy is compatible with the international community's desire to uphold the right of local communities to use biological resources to support their livelihoods. However, studies investigating whether farming can alleviate poaching pressure have focused almost exclusively on animals. To address the shortfall in plant-focused studies, we compiled information on commercial cultivation of threatened plants to assess its conservation benefits. Because China's rising middle class has rapidly intensified demand for wildlife products, we searched the scientific literature published in Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Baidu) and in English. We found 32 reports that contained data on 193 internationally or nationally threatened plant species that were under commercial cultivation. These reports showed that cultivations of 82% of the 193 species were sustained by collecting whole plants from the wild periodically or continuously. Although based on a small sample size, species that were maintained in cultivation only through artificial propagation or seeds collected in the wild were likely associated with a reported reduction in wild harvesting of whole plants. Even so, results of correlation analyses suggested that production system, scale, and when a species began being cultivated had little effect on conservation status of the species, either globally or in China. However, species brought into cultivation relatively recently and on a smaller scale were more likely to have undergone a reduction in collecting pressure. Farming of nonmedicinal plants was most problematic for species conservation because wild plants were laundered (i.e., sold as cultivated plants). For effective conservation, policy to guide cultivation operations based on the target species’ biological characteristics, cultural significance, market demand, and conservation status is needed.     

The importance of agricultural lands for Himalayan birds in winter

The impacts of land‐use change on biodiversity in the Himalayas are poorly known, notwithstanding widespread deforestation and agricultural intensification in this highly biodiverse region. Although intact primary forests harbor many Himalayan birds during breeding, a large number of bird species use agricultural lands during winter. We assessed how Himalayan bird species richness, abundance, and composition during winter are affected by forest loss stemming from agriculture and grazing. Bird surveys along 12 elevational transects within primary forest, low‐intensity agriculture, mixed subsistence agriculture, and intensively grazed pastures in winter revealed that bird species richness and abundance were greatest in low‐intensity and mixed agriculture, intermediate in grazed pastures, and lowest in primary forest at both local and landscape scales; over twice as many species and individuals were recorded in low‐intensity agriculture than in primary forest. Bird communities in primary forests were distinct from those in all other land‐use classes, but only 4 species were unique to primary forests. Low‐, medium‐, and high‐intensity agriculture harbored 32 unique species. Of the species observed in primary forest, 80% had equal or greater abundance in low‐intensity agricultural lands, underscoring the value of these lands in retaining diverse community assemblages at high densities in winter. Among disturbed landscapes, bird species richness and abundance declined as land‐use intensity increased, especially in high‐intensity pastures. Our results suggest that agricultural landscapes are important for most Himalayan bird species in winter. But agricultural intensification—especially increased grazing—will likely result in biodiversity losses. Given that forest reserves alone may inadequately conserve Himalayan birds in winter, comprehensive conservation strategies in the region must go beyond protecting intact primary forests and ensure that low‐intensity agricultural lands are not extensively converted to high‐intensity pastures.     

Biodiversity Conservation and Indigenous Land Management in the Era of Self‐Determination

Abstract: Indigenous people inhabit approximately 85% of areas designated for biodiversity conservation worldwide. They also continue to struggle for recognition and preservation of cultural identities, lifestyles, and livelihoods—a struggle contingent on control and protection of traditional lands and associated natural resources (hereafter, self‐determination). Indigenous lands and the biodiversity they support are increasingly threatened because of human population growth and per capita consumption. Application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to tribal lands in the United States provides a rich example of the articulation between biodiversity conservation and indigenous peoples' struggle for self‐determination. We found a paradoxical relationship whereby tribal governments are simultaneously and contradictorily sovereign nations; yet their communities depend on the U.S. government for protection through the federal‐trust doctrine. The unique legal status of tribal lands, their importance for conserving federally protected species, and federal environmental regulations' failure to define applicability to tribal lands creates conflict between tribal sovereignty, self‐determination, and constitutional authority. We reviewed Secretarial Order 3206, the U.S. policy on “American Indian tribal rights, federal–tribal trust responsibilities, and the ESA,” and evaluated how it influences ESA implementation on tribal lands. We found improved biodiversity conservation and tribal self‐determination requires revision of the fiduciary relationship between the federal government and the tribes to establish clear, legal definitions regarding land rights, applicability of environmental laws, and financial responsibilities. Such actions will allow provision of adequate funding and training to tribal leaders and resource managers, government agency personnel responsible for biodiversity conservation and land management, and environmental policy makers. Increased capacity, cooperation, and knowledge transfer among tribes and conservationists will improve biodiversity conservation and indigenous self‐determination.     

Complementary habitat use by wild bees in agro-natural landscapes

Human activity causes abrupt changes in resource availability across the landscape. In order to persist in human-altered landscapes organisms need to shift their habitat use accordingly. Little is known about the mechanisms by which whole communities persist in human-altered landscapes, including the role of complementary habitat use. We define complementary habitat use as the use of different habitats at different times by the same group of species during the course of their activity period. We hypothesize that complementary habitat use is a mechanism through which native bee species persist in human-altered landscapes. To test this idea, we studied wild bee communities in agro-natural landscapes and explored their community-level patterns of habitat and resource use over space and time. The study was conducted in six agro-natural landscapes in the eastern United States, each containing three main bee habitat types (natural habitat, agricultural fields, and old fields). Each of the three habitats exhibited a unique seasonal pattern in amount, diversity, and composition of floral resources, and together they created phenological complementarity in foraging resources for bees. Individual bee species as well as the bee community responded to these spatiotemporal patterns in floral availability and exhibited a parallel pattern of complementary habitat use. The majority of wild bee species, including all the main crop visitors, used fallow areas within crops early in the season, shifted to crops in mid-season, and used old-field habitats later in the season. The natural-forest habitat supported very limited number of bees, mostly visitors of non-crop plants. Old fields are thus an important feature in these arable landscapes for maintaining crop pollination services. Our study provides a detailed examination of how shifts in habitat and resource use may enable bees to persist in highly dynamic agro-natural landscapes, and points to the need for a broad cross-habitat perspective in managing these landscapes.     

The Northwest Forest Plan: Origins, Components, Implementation Experience, and Suggestions for Change

Abstract:  In the 1990s the federal forests in the Pacific Northwest underwent the largest shift in management focus since their creation, from providing a sustained yield of timber to conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on endangered species. Triggered by a legal challenge to the federal protection strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ), this shift was facilitated by a sequence of science assessments that culminated in the development of the Northwest Forest Plan. The plan, adopted in 1994, called for an extensive system of late-successional and riparian reserves along with some timber harvest on the intervening lands under a set of controls and safeguards. It has proven more successful in stopping actions harmful to conservation of old-growth forests and aquatic systems than in achieving restoration goals and economic and social goals. We make three suggestions that will allow the plan to achieve its goals: (1) recognize that the Northwest Forest Plan has evolved into an integrative conservation strategy, (2) conserve old-growth trees and forests wherever they occur, and (3) manage federal forests as dynamic ecosystems.     

Global effects of forest modification on herpetofauna communities

As the area covered by human-modified environments grows, it is increasingly important to understand the responses of communities to the novel habitats created, especially for sensitive and threatened taxa. We aimed to improve understanding of the major evolutionary and ecological processes that shape the assemblage of amphibian and reptile communities to forest modifications. To this end, we compiled a global data set of amphibian and reptile surveys in natural, disturbed (burned, logged), and transformed (monocultures, polyspecific plantations) forest communities to assess the richness, phylogenetic diversity, and composition of those communities, as well as the morphological disparity among taxa between natural and modified forest habitats. Forest transformations led to a diversity reduction of 15.46% relative to the statistically nonsignificant effect of disturbances. Transformations also led to a community composition that was 39.4% dissimilar to that on natural forests, compared with 16.1% difference in disturbances. Modifications did not affect the morphological disparity of communities (p = 0.167 and 0.744), and we found little evidence of taxon-specific responses to anthropic impacts. Monocultures and polyspecific plantations detrimentally affected the conservation and ecological value of both amphibian and reptile communities and altered the evolutionary processes shaping these communities, whereas forests with lower impact disturbances might, to some extent, serve as reservoirs of species. Although different mechanisms might buffer the collapse of herpetological communities, preserving remaining natural forests is necessary for conserving communities in the face of future anthropic pressures.     

Relative costs of conserving threatened species across taxonomic groups

Bias toward legally protecting and prioritizing charismatic taxonomic groups, such as mammals and birds, and against others, such as insects and plants, is well documented. However, the relative costs of conserving various taxonomic groups and the potential of these costs to interact with existing biases have been much less explored. We analyzed conservation programs across more than 2,000 species in 3 countries to investigate the costs of conserving species within taxonomic groups and how these costs might affect conservation planning. For each data set, we tested for differences in mean annual cost among taxonomic groups. For the data set from the United States, recovery plans differed in duration, so we also tested for differences in total costs among taxonomic groups. Although the costs for individual species varied widely, there were strong international consistencies. For example, mammals cost 8–26 times more on average to conserve than plants and 13–19 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. On average, bird species cost 5–30 times more to conserve than plants and 6–14 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. These cost differences could exacerbate unequal resource allocation among taxonomic groups such that more charismatic groups both receive more attention and require more resources, leading to neglect of other taxonomic groups.     

Changes in Forest Use Value through Ecological Succession and Their Implications for Land Management in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract:  Research on local use values of forests across an ecological succession informs land-use decisions and conservation planning. I evaluated use values of three age classes of secondary forest: fallow fields (<5 years old, $8.20/ha/year), young secondary forest (5–20 years old, $20.60/ha/year), and old secondary forest (>20 years old, $6.80/ha/year). I quantified daily forest product use and calculated use values in dollars per hectare per year for three communities in the northern Peruvian Amazon. I made three comparisons between forest types: number of useful species, value based on different use categories, and overall use values. Old secondary forest had the greatest number of total species present and species collected. Wood, food, and medicine were the three most valuable use categories. The value different families extracted from local forests varied enormously, but median forest values were lower for all forest types than potential gains from agricultural land use (e.g., coffee $167/ha/year). Values of different-aged stands on privately owned lands in two communities did not differ significantly, whereas in the third community, young secondary forest had a significantly greater value than other forest types. Old secondary forests were the most valuable source of wood products, and wood was the only use category in which there was any difference in the value of products extracted from different-aged forest stands. The value of all three forest types on open-access (nonprivate) lands was minimal (mean in each forest type, $0/ha/year). Local people can utilize the valuation results to develop land-use strategies that balance forest product use, agricultural productivity, and biodiversity conservation.     

Unlocking ecosystem based adaptation opportunities in coastal Bangladesh

Coastal ecosystems generate diverse services, such as protection, production of food, climate regulation and recreation across the globe. These services are vital for extremely vulnerable coastal areas for enhancing present and future adaptation capacity under changing climate. Bangladesh has long coastline which provides opportunities to large population for multiple resource uses; and threats from extreme natural disasters. The CBACC-Coastal Afforestation is the priority initiative of Bangladesh NAPA that has come in actions under first LDCF adaptation project. The project has focused to reduce climatic vulnerability through enhancing resilience of coastal forests and adaptive capacity of communities. With a total of 6,100 ha of new mangrove plantation and introducing 10 important mangrove species in existing monoculture areas, the project increased protective and carbon rich forest coverage, and also functional capacity of coastal vegetation to adapt to current and future climatic shocks. Concurrently, the project developed co-benefit regime for community based adaptation through innovating integrated land uses for livelihoods of adjacent households. A new land use model (Forest, Fish and Fruit-Triple F) has been implemented to restore fallow coastal lands into community based livelihood adaptation practices. The Triple F practice has reduced inundation and salinity risks and freshwater scarcity in cultivation of agricultural crops and fish. The rational land uses improved household adaptation capacity of landless households through short-, mid- and long-term income generation. The project lesson has further focus to justify the land use innovation for harnessing potential opportunities of ecosystem based adaptation in coastal Bangladesh.     

Strategic Habitats for Biodiversity Conservation in Florida

Abstract: Privately owned lands support a large portion of the biodiversity in some areas, but procedures for identifying those private lands critical to the maintenance of biodiversity vary tremendously. We used habitat-based distribution maps in combination with population conservation goals to help identify strategic habitats on private lands in Florida. We used a vegetation map, occurrence data, and published life-history information to create habitat-based distribution maps for 179 rare taxa. We estimated the security of 130 of the taxa by overlaying public land boundaries on habitat maps and then estimating whether conservation lands satisfied a population goal of supporting at least 10 populations of approximately 200 breeding adults. The remaining taxa were evaluated in terms of number of occurrence records on conservation lands. Of the 179 taxa evaluated, existing conservation lands did not adequately protect 56. We then identified habitats on private lands that could best satisfy the minimum conservation goal or else significantly enhance the survival potential of inadequately protected taxa. Strategic habitats included a mix of large and small sites, incorporated some corridor or stepping-stone connections among habitat patches, and protected multiple species. Additional strategic habitats were identified for shorebirds, four natural plant communities, and 105 globally rare plants. The strategic habitats identified in Florida cover 1.65 million ha (12% of the land area) and would cost $8.2 billion (about 15% of Florida's annual state budget) to purchase and $122 million per year to manage. Existing conservation lands account for 3.07 million ha (22% of the land area).     

Rethinking Tropical Forest Conservation: Perils in Parks

Abstract: According to some conservationists, large, pristine, uninhabited parks are the defining criterion of success in conserving tropical forests. They argue that human residents in tropical forests inevitably deplete populations of large animals through hunting, which triggers a chain reaction of ecological events that greatly diminish the conservation value of these forests. Hence, they believe that removal of people from tropical forests is an essential step in the creation of successful parks and in the conservation of nature in the tropics. This approach can lead to undesirable consequences, however. Forest residents—and rural people generally—are potent political actors in tropical forest regions and an essential component of the environmental political constituencies that are necessary for the long-term conservation of tropical forests. In Amazonia and elsewhere, rural people are defending far bigger areas of tropical forest from unfettered deforestation and logging than are parks, thereby conserving the ecological services provided by these forests and the majority of their component plant and animal species. Moreover, the data are too sparse to judge the effects of forest peoples on populations of large forest animals. The establishment of pristine, tropical forest parks is an important conservation goal, but the exclusive pursuit of this goal undermines the broader objectives of conservation when it identifies forest residents and other rural people as the enemies of nature.     

Are indigenous forest reserves sustainable? An analysis of present and future land-use trends in Bosawas,Nicaragua

SUMMARY

In recent years, indigenous tenure over forest lands has emerged as a means to conserve forests while recognizing indigenous rights. There is concern, however, that indigenous reserves may not be an appropriate policy tool for sustained forest conservation. Our research examined how recognition of indigenous common-property rights has controlled agricultural expansion and conserved forests in Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. We used satellite imagery with empirical data gathered in the field on land-use institutions, population pressures, and land-use practices to compare whether indigenous communities under territorial management or public management are better able to (1) control the ‘fast threat’ of frontier expansion and (2) address the long-term ecological threats posed by indigenous land-use practices and institutional changes in the region. Our findings are that indigenous residents who share common-property rights over their territories are better able to control agricultural expansion than are indigenous residents living on public lands. With respect to the long-term threats to the region, a series of simulations of possible land-use pressures demonstrate that the enforcement of territorial boundaries and further development of indigenous forest management rules will prove crucial in determining land-use capacity and deforestation over the next 50 years.     

A strategy for wildlife management in depopulating rural areas of Japan

Former ranges of wild animals have been reestablished in many developed countries. However, this reestablishment has led to increasing human–wildlife conflict in agroforest ecosystems. In Japan, human–wildlife conflict, such as crop raiding by and ecological impacts of wild ungulates and primates, is a serious problem in depopulated rural areas due to these animal range expansions and increased abundances. Japan's human population is predicted to decline by 24% by 2050, and approximately 20% of agricultural settlements will become completely depopulated. In this scenario, anthropogenic pressures on wildlife (e.g., hunting and habitat alteration) will continue to decrease and human–wildlife conflict will increase due to increasing wildlife recovery. Japan's local governments plan to slow range recovery, prevent species reestablishment, or remove recolonizing large mammals through lethal control. This strategy, however, is not cost-effective, and workforce shortages in depopulated communities make it infeasible. Moreover, the suppression of wildlife prevents the recovery of ecological functions and thus would degrade regional biodiversity. The declining pressure on wildlife that accompanies human depopulation will prevent the restoration of any past states of human–wildlife interaction. We suggest human-used areas in rural landscapes be aggregated in compact cities and that in transition zones between human settlements and depopulated lands that land-sharing approaches be applied. Concentrating management efforts in compact cities may effectively decrease human–wildlife conflict, rather than intensifying human pressures. Reforestation of depopulated lands may lead to recovery of wildlife habitats, their ecosystem functions, and regional biodiversity due to minimization of negative anthropogenic effects (land-sparing approach). Balancing resolution of human–wildlife conflict and ecological rewilding could become a new, challenging task for regional wildlife managers.     

Consumer resource matching in urbanizing landscapes: are synanthropic species over-matching?

Population responses of synanthropic species to urbanization may be explained by the resource-matching rule, which postulates that individuals should distribute themselves according to resource availability. According to the resource-matching rule, urban habitats will contain greater densities if they provide better resources than rural habitats. However, because resource availability is density dependent, individuals in urban areas would ultimately achieve fitness levels comparable to, but no better than, individuals in less urban areas. Some ecologists suggest that synanthropic birds may not conform to the resource-matching rule and may instead overmatch (i.e., overexploit) in urban habitats, ultimately leading to lower fitness despite greater resource levels. Using the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as a focal species, we evaluated if Cardinal populations in urban and rural habitats were consistent with predictions of consumer resource matching. During 2003-2006 we documented population density, adult body condition, apparent survival, and annual reproductive productivity of Cardinals in riparian forest stands within urban (n = 8 stands) and rural (n = 6 stands) landscapes in Ohio, USA. Density of Cardinals in urban forests was four times that found in more rural forests. Mark-resight data from 147 males and 125 females over four years indicated that apparent survival rates were similar between urban and rural landscapes (phi = 0.64, SE = 0.039 for males and phi = 0.57, SE = 0.04 for females). Similarly, body condition indices of 168 males, 142 females, and 118 nestlings did not differ significantly between landscapes. Annual reproductive productivity (mean number of fledglings per pair over breeding season) of 294 pairs was comparable for urban (2.4 +/- 0.18 [mean +/- SE] and rural (2.1 +/- 0.18) young birds. Thus, contrary to recent suggestions, we find that high densities of certain synanthropic species in urban landscapes are consistent with expectations of consumer resource matching.     

NGOs come and go but business continues: lessons from co-management institutional arrangements for governance of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve in Kenya

The objective of this paper is to examine the current institutional arrangements for governance of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve (ASFR) and show their major contribution in the ASFR co-management business of conserving the forest and providing livelihoods to the poor forest-dependent communities. Despite the fact that funding from non-governmental organizations ended, the ASFR co-management business did not stall. The institutional arrangements for co-management were deemed to be the major component that contributed to the continuation of the ASFR co-management business. To demonstrate this hypothesis, the paper explores four main areas that shape the institutional arrangement of the ASFR co-management regime, informed by common property theories: (1) how governance arrangement structures for the ASFR are organized; (2) villagers’ perceptions and awareness of the co-management structure; (3) co-management arrangement for access, ownership and use of the various forest resources; and (4) importance of the forest resources to the households. The co-management piloting and non-piloting communities adjacent to the forest and who have been depending on the forest as a source of their livelihoods are compared in order to understand the role of the ASFR co-management institutional arrangements in the sustainability of its business.     

Principles and processes for enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods: Collaborative learning in Uganda

Livelihood diversification is essential to food security and improved incomes for human development in African rural communities. Uganda's agrarian economy suffers from limited diversification, environmental degradation, low incomes, and multifaceted negative impacts of AIDS. Efforts to stimulate and support innovation in agricultural production technology, forms of social organization, and poor markets are essential elements in promotion of sustainable rural livelihoods. Iowa State University's Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods and its partner organizations are applying a multi-dimensional approach to engage Uganda farmers and rural leaders in community-based learning and capability strengthening. We describe the role played by livelihood diversification and explore the promotion of sustainable livelihoods through scholarship with praxis. Sustainable livelihoods concepts are examined as a means to better understand contemporary African rural development. We identify principles and processes critical to achieving sustainable livelihoods. Their application is highlighted based on our early collaborative experience, including a discussion of the complexities associated with entering into balanced partnerships required for a successful community-based program. We explore the value of social science perspectives and processes for strengthening rural development in developing countries.     

Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Unsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to investigate patterns of intentional biological resource use. Forty percent of species (10,098 of 25,009 species from 10 data-sufficient taxonomic groups) were used. The main purposes of use were pets, display animals, horticulture, and human consumption. Intentional use is currently contributing to elevated extinction risk for 28–29% of threatened or near threatened (NT) species (2752–2848 of 9753 species). Intentional use also affected 16% of all species used (1597–1631 of 10,098). However, 72% of used species (7291 of 10,098) were least concern, of which nearly half (3469) also had stable or improving population trends. The remainder were not documented as threatened by biological resource use, including at least 172 threatened or NT species with stable or improving populations. About one-third of species that had use documented as a threat had no targeted species management actions to directly address this threat. To improve use-related red-list data, we suggest small amendments to the relevant classification schemes and required supporting documentation. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, can inform international policy making, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.     

Synergies and trade-offs among integrated conservation approaches in Mexico

Integrated conservation approaches (ICAs) are employed by governments, communities, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide seeking to achieve outcomes with dual benefits for biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. Although ICAs are frequently implemented concurrently, interactions among ICAs and the synergies or trade-offs that result are rarely considered during program design, implementation, and evaluation. In support of more deliberate and effective use of ICAs, we examined interactions among four well-known strategies: biosphere reserves (BRs), voluntary protected areas (VPAs), payments for ecosystem services (PES), and community forest management (CFM). Through a comparative case study, we analyzed interactions among spatially or temporally clustered ICAs implemented on communally held and managed lands in three ecologically and socioeconomically distinct regions of Mexico. Our research methods combined policy analysis with data gathered through participant observation and semistructured interviews (n = 78) and focus groups (n = 5) with government officials, implementers, and participants involved in ICAs in 28 communities. Despite the significant differences among the regions in which they were implemented, we found that key actors at each level of involvement generally perceived interactions among ICAs as synergistic. The PES programs were perceived to strengthen protected areas by reducing forest cover loss in and around BRs, fostering proconservation attitudes, and incentivizing the establishment of VPAs. Communities that invested PES income in CFM were motivated to conserve forests beyond the duration of PES programs, and CFM in buffer zones was perceived to strengthen BRs by maintaining forest cover and generating income for communities. We also identified key social and environmental factors that can influence these interaction effects among ICAs. Based on these findings, we recommend further study of ICA interactions and intentionally complementary policy design to maximize positive environmental and social outcomes.