In this paper we compare levels of local participation across
three different models of biodiversity conservation (PA, PES and
ICCA) in Mexico, in a research context where studies on this topic
have to date focused analysis on a single conservation scheme
and few have made a comparative analysis (Khadka and Nepal,
2010; Pujadas and Castillo, 2007; Haenn, 1999). We want to test
whether the common assumption, that bottom-up conservation
approaches encourage higher and more active levels of local
participation than top-down conservation approaches, holds true.
For the empirical analysis, we evaluate differences in the fre-
quency and type of participation during three stages of a con-
servation initiative: a) its creation, b) the design of its
management plan, and c) the implementation of conservation
activities.