Edith Kauffer

Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, Sureste · Políticas ambiente y sociedad

Introducción México enfrenta una crisis hídrica multifacética que, además de la escasez del recurso, está caracterizada por profundas fallas en la gestión y gobernanza del agua. Las causas de esta crisis son complejas y diversas, entre las que destacan el impacto creciente del cambio climático, el acelerado crecimiento poblacional y, de manera pre...

Esta publicación busca visibilizar un campo de problemas urgentes que enfrentan las naciones y pueblos en México y el resto del mundo: el de las luchas por transformar el modelo político ecológico dominante de explotación extractivista, excluyente, patriarcal y ecocida. A través de un abanico amplio de problemáticas y situaciones, escrito por un nu...

Food systems are seemingly characterized by inherent trade-offs including, but not limited to, (1) the need for sufficient food production vs. conservation of lands, biodiversity, and natural resources (especially water), (2) the protection of economic viability for producers vs. the availability of affordable yet diversified and nutritious food fo...

El objetivo del artículo es analizar los distintos procesos de agenciamiento de mujeres migrantes del campo a la ciudad que mediante una estrategia de acción colectiva sentaron las bases de una solidaridad femenina ante situaciones de violencia de género durante la pandemia de COVID 19 en San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México. Mediante una me...

Between the time when the editors’ note below was written and this issue of Regions & Cohesion went to press, Hurricane Otis battered Acapulco and surrounding villages or communities in Guerrero, Mexico, with sustained winds of 266 km/h — and even stronger gusts hitting up to 330 km/h. Regions & Cohesion has published numerous articles on socioenvi...

Belize is considered a ‘small state’ because of its geographic and population size. However, ‘smallness’ is also relative, depending on the context in which the term is used. This chapter examines Belize’s participation in three different regions: the Caribbean, Central America, and the geographic region including its northern neighbour, Mexico. Th...

Since 2005, Mexico has developed a national climate policy aligned with internationally defined parameters. In this article, we analyze the vertical and horizontal coherences in the process of institutionalization of climate policy during the period 1992–2018 in the Usumacinta River Basin, based on the review of laws and actions implemented at nati...

The global political agenda has included some high-profile environmental summits over the past few months. Three of these events stand out. The 2022 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was held from 6–20 November 2022. This was followed from 7–19 December 2022 by the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montréal, Canad...

The editorial team at Regions & Cohesion welcomes 2023 with a reflection on the challenges of regional integration at diverse scales, from international relations to very local places and in disparate political arenas. Regional organizations are generally criticized at the moment for a lack of responsiveness to citizen concerns. Our Editors’ Notes...

According to the United Nations Environmental Program, sand is the second most exploited resource on the planet after water, and local knowledge about the effects of sand mining has been little addressed in international studies. In the case of rivers, the sand and gravel used in the construction industry are part of the fluvial sediments, and the...

Since 2020, the editorial team at Regions & Cohesion has engaged these editors’ notes as a way to highlight the relevance of the socio-economic research published in the journal for our understanding of current events. We have specifically embraced discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic from the point of view of the social construction of vulnerabili...

The eco-frontier concept has addressed the processes of certain territories that are subject to ecological concern and appropriation of different actors. This study approaches the underexplored interaction with the frontier. The article sharpens the focus on the relations between the eco-frontier and the frontier as both a naturally rich periphery...

Since the Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional Integration and Social Cohesion-Social Elevation (RISC-RISE) was founded in 2007 (RISC at the time), it has been characterized by two important traits: (1) a commitment to the principle of leadership within discussions of sustainable development; and (2) the presence of strong women leaders...

We evaluated the deforestation of the Lacandona region harmonizing concepts and methodologies. An international (FAO definition), governmental (national definition), and regional definition of deforestation with applications at different scales were analyzed and harmonized with two classification methods (likelihood and spectral angle mapper (SAM))...

Motivation Water management is currently sustained by international norms negotiated in global meetings which are replicated worldwide. Integrated Water Resources management (IWRM) and the Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) are two of the main global norms presented as important ideals for good water governance, and as such are seen as cont...

Deforestation is one of the processes that most impact the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. In Mexico and Guatemala, deforestation continues to increase at alarming rates, but there are still regions where extended areas of conserved vegetation persist, such as the Usumacinta River basin. Throughout history, various protected areas (PA) have...

The past decade has seen a revival of the long-disfavored concept of frontier, which now eluci- dates the interdependence between political centers and their naturally rich peripheries in the Global South. “Frontier” has referred to the cyclical discovery of and competition over new resources, and the transformation of power relations in a given sp...

Desde hace tres décadas existe un debate académico entre gobernanza y redes de política pública. Entender y asumir la equivalencia entre ambos conceptos es perder de vista que la gobernanza en redes solo es una de una parte del proceso de las políticas públicas y de la gobernanza. Igualmente simplista es asegurar que la interacción entre agentes pú...

Starting from a theoretical reflection on extractivism, the paper proposes a typology that evidences the characteristics of hydroextractivism and its deep diversity. What is hydroextractivism and what is it compounded by? How is hydroextractivism stated in the Usumacinta transboundary river basin? How does it relate with transboundary and border is...

This is a review of Rosa Tonangla's book on Colonización y colonialidad en una selva de frontera. La cuenca campechana del río Candelaria (siglos XIX y XX)

There is currently no consensual definition of deforestation. Given its importance in several research topics ranging from biodiversity to climate change, conservation, restoration, and emerging diseases as well as in comparative studies, it is necessary to provide an integrated framework towards a harmonized definition of deforestation. Here, we a...

The dynamics at the Mexican–Guatemalan border drastically changed from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper deals with these transformations and tries to evidence a new assemblage that has resulted. The rationale that prevailed until the beginning of 2020 between Mexico and Guatemala was a south-north selective open border derived fro...

This special issue commemorating Regions & Cohesion’s tenth anniversary continues the tradition described herein. Entitled “Re-thinking regions: A citizen perspective,” it has been conceptualized and coordinated by the journal’s editors, associate editors, and editorial manager. We thank the contributing authors for accepting the challenge to respo...

La gestión integrada de recursos hídricos (GIRH) y la seguridad hídrica (SH) constituyen dos componentes definidos en el ámbito internacional y están aceptados como pilares de la política hídrica mexicana. Resulta pertinente para la investigación socio-política analizar su concreción en estudios de caso locales, en particular, en aquellos donde exi...

The paper invites to think about relations between waters and boundaries from a perspective that conceive the territories as constantly juxtaposed and transforming realities, situated in specific times and spaces. It is based on the polysemy of the concept of boundaries (frontera in Spanish which also means border and frontier in English) and on ex...

El presente trabajo muestra cómo la construcción de una presa, en este caso la presa Malpaso en Chiapas, produjo dinámicas territoriales no previstas por la institución que auspició su construcción. A partir de entrevistas realizadas a los habitantes de Raudales Malpaso, y de la consulta de archivos e informes, principalmente de la Comisión del Río...

El ensayo invita a reflexionar en torno a las relaciones entre aguas y fronteras desde la perspectiva de los territorios concebidos como yuxtapuestos, en constante transformación e inscritos en tiempos y espacios particulares. Se fundamenta en la polisemia del concepto de fronteras y en un trabajo de campo de más de dos décadas en escenarios fronte...

We analyze Belize water policy from its independence in 1981 until 2015 from an historical institutional perspective. We demostrate how the institutional change started with a new law based on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) didn’t strengthen water institutions but deepened their weaknesses. An historical institutional focus enables us...

Water diplomacy aims to shift water disputes from zero-sum games into positive-sum cooperation models though actor-driven approaches. Small states are often viewed as facilitators of diplomacy through a commitment to regionalism and consensus, which highlights their influence in international affairs. Responding to the research question, ‘How do “n...

This note presents an account of transboundary basins on a global and regional scale throughout history. The authors introduce the special section on transboundary basins, presenting their constant increase and profound complexity. Regions & Cohesion has shown a permanent interest in this subject, from its first publications and, in particular, wit...

A World Family Portrait is a joint project of the Consortium for Comparative Research on Regional Integration and Social Cohesion (RISC) and Regions & Cohesion. It aims to promote interdisciplinary and cross-cultural communication through images and essays on the different faces of humanity, including, but not limited to, our similarities and our d...

Facing the paradox of the borders of Mexico with Guatemala and Belize, through which most of Mexico and Guatemala water resources flow, versus the lack of studies about it, how do we articulate local and international dimensions into the political water analysis in the boundary regions that Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico share? This chapter intends...

Mexican transboundary water dynamics involving settings shared with Guatemala and Belize have seldom-studied realities. This article approaches these dynamics from two perspectives. The first centers on the role of Mexican state institutions, that is, the legal framework and the governmental structure, which shows a water policy that does not take...

Based on fieldwork in various countries, particularly in Mexico and Central America, this article describes the changes in the concept of extractivism from a sustainability proposal in Brazil from 1970 to 1980 to a series of disturbing events that reflect profound environmental, social, political and economical contradictions. The paper provides an...

Based on extensive interviews, fieldwork and archival research conducted in southern Mexico, this article explores and analyzes contrasting water-security perspectives of diverse stakeholders in flood-prone portions of the transboundary Suchiate River basin. Complexities of transboundary water issues along an international river that is also a bord...

Shared Management of Transboundary River Basins Basins in Mesoamerica, a Source of Innovation for Cooperative Governance This paper analyzes conflict and cooperation dynamics in transboundary river basins through examples in Mesoamerica (Southern Mexico and Central America). Shared management of these basins represents a major challenge at these bo...

Mexico shares two borders with Guatemala and Belize where surface waters are abundant, a situation that enables dynamic relations between waters and boundaries. The border rigidity has traditionally contrasted with profound local transboundary interactions between water linked to socio-cultural dynamics and the multiple circumstances of liquidity....

[Full article is in Spanish] English: Presently, international development organizations have adopted gender perspectives in all policy spheres as a transversal approach as a result of a process that has transited through different foci since the 1950s. Nonetheless, different studies have highlighted the fact that implementation is limited beyond t...

En la actualidad, las cuencas transfronterizas ocupan cada vez más la atención no solamente de políticos, sino de académicos. La llamada crisis del agua se manifi esta por una presión creciente sobre las cantidades de agua disponibles y una paulatina contaminación del recurso, las cuales se traducen en tensiones y confl ictos en diversas escalas, d...

This article explores the apparent paradox of the simultaneity of conflicts and cooperation in transboundary rivers basins in Central America and Southern Mexico. It documents diverse relationships among a plurality of local and national actors as well as reciprocal influences within decision-making processes in the context of events that have take...

ste trabajo pretende analizar cómo las mujeres de tres grupos socio- económicos, laborales y con distintos orígenes culturales construyen sus vulnerabilidades en el contexto actual de cambio climático en la cuenca del Valle de Jovel, ubicada en Chiapas. Las vulnerabilidades analizadas deben ser entendidas desde un doble punto de vista. Las primeras...

Autre titre: "Transboundary river basins and water management: States and stakeholders between conflicts and cooperation".

The special characteristics of river borders between Mexico and its southern neighbours, Guatemala and Belize and the incomplete land borders' demarcation that were established by boundary treaties at the end of XIX century hardly allow to achieve the traditional border function as a limit of state sovereignty through separation and physical marks....

Obra organizada en torno a seis ejes principales que estudian la importancia de comparar las fronteras y los tipos de gestión desde el punto de vista geopolítico, histórico y antropológico; las tramas de la organización del espacio actual; la influencia en la evolución de las sociedades debido a la violencia política y los conflictos armados; los m...

This paper tries to analyze equity in Mexican climate policy from international dimension to local strategies, including recent federal policy. It distinguishes substantive and procedural equity and contrasts international, national and social equity depending on the area. In spite of the centrality of equity in international documents, climate pol...

This paper tries to analyze equity in Mexican climate policy from international dimension to local strategies, including recentfederal policy. It distinguishes substantive and procedural equity and contrasts international, national and social equity depending on the area. In spite of the centrality of equity in international documents, climate poli...

The Hondo transboundary river basin is a territory shared by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. There is not enough information about mechanisms of cooperation in water issues in the river basin and the reasons that prevent this process. Nevertheless, we know about the existence of factors of conflicts that limit the cooperation. This article describes...

En términos de división política, la Península de Yucatán está integrada por los estados mexicanos de Yucatán, Quintana Roo y Campeche, sin embargo los estudios geofísicos la ubican junto a Belice y el Petén en Guatemala conformando una gran cuenca. En el territorio de la cuenca es notable la ausencia de prominencias morfológicas de importancia ya...

México comparte seis cuencas transfronterizas con Guatemala y Belice, una serie de corrientes y cuerpos de agua transfronterizos además de tres ríos internacionales. Esta dimensión transfronteriza de los recursos hídricos es poco conocida debido a que la mayor parte de los estudios en la materia focaliza su atención en la frontera entre México y Es...

In the south, Mexico borders on Guatemala and Belize. These three countries are linked by natural continuums called river basins. There are six river basins on Mexico's southern borderfour of which are divided among Mexico and Guatemala (Suchiate, Coatan, Grijalva and Candelaria) while the remaining two (Usumacinta and Hondo) are shared by Mexico,...

This work aims to analyze the budget of Seguro Popular in Chiapas from a gender perspective. The methodology used was the Tracer method for setting up routes. The results show that there is not a constant budget for health programs related to gender and this program to hold women as responsible for each family affiliation. In conclusion, they worke...

The southern border of Mexico is a complex scenario of migration flows among them are internal and international movements are due to several factors. Also in the region, water resources are characterized by their abundance due to heavy rainfall concentrated in a few months of the year that cause a multifacetedpresence of water sources andgroundwat...

This article examines perceptions of river and stream water quality in the Fogótico micro watershed, from the perspective of water users and representatives of political and institutional groups. The area is in the hydrographic network of the San Cristobal watershed, in the XI Frontera Sur hydrological and administrative region and in the south-sou...

This article explores the perceptions of different social groups—i.e., "political," "institutional," and "water user"—on current and expected water quality management in the Fogótico River microbasin in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The results of the research, carried out using qualitative tools, showed differences in perception between soc...

This article analyzes the Candelaria River basin in ligth of the concept of hydropolitics. The first part focuses on the hydrographic basin of the Candelaria River, examinig two dimensions of this concept and concluding with a discussion of thew irrelevance of this basin with respect to issue. The second section evokes the interactions between the...

En este artículo se exponen las percepciones de la calidad del agua de los ríos y arroyos de la microcuenca del río Fogótico desde la perspectiva de grupos sociales usuarios del agua, representantes de colectivos, políticos e institucionales. El área pertenece a la red hidrográfica que conforma la cuenca de San Cristóbal, localizada en la región hi...

Resumen En México, en la actualidad, la investigación demográfica documenta la paulatina postergación de la primera unión y el rejuvenecimiento en la edad a la que inician las relaciones sexuales; es decir, se está observan-do una iniciación sexual más desvinculada de la unión conyugal. Sin embargo, a diferencia de lo que sucede en el contexto naci...

El artículo propone analizar el Candelaria a la luz del concepto de hidropolítica. La primera parte se centra en la cuenca hidrográfica del río Candelaria, aborda dos dimensiones del concepto y concluye en torno a la irrelevancia de la cuenca en la materia. La segunda parte evoca las interacciones entre el río y la sociedad ribereña durante tres mo...

In relation to water resources, Mexico could be considered as a country divided into two territories. The National Water Commission indicates that the north and centre of the country have restricted water availability while in the southern zone there is a natural abundance for fewer people. Starting from the study of quantitative water indexes and...

A la par del uso creciente de las tecnologías de información y comuni- cación en la vida cotidiana de los jóvenes, estudios recientes docu- mentan su uso para la investigación social y en torno al tema del VIH- SIDA. Este trabajo expone la experiencia de entrevistas por chat realizadas en el marco de un proyecto de investigación sobre VIH-SIDA y jó...

En este estudio se parte de una revisión teórica del concepto de empoderamiento para entender los cambios ocurridos en tre las campesinas que participan en la Coordinación Diocesana de Mujeres (CODIMUJ), organización que les ayuda a despertar su conciencia de género en el estado de Chiapas. Se revisan las herramientas y estrategias para impulsar el...

This work tries to apply the various meanings of the term frontera (border) (understood as a boundary, as colonization’s front line, and as a symbolic and an ethnic divide) to the life experiences of Guatemalan refugees in Mexico, which unfolds in two phases: asylum and integration. An analysis of information gathered from fieldwork during these tw...

This work analyzes the influence of the government-aid programs PROCAMPO, Crédito a la Palabra and Alianza para el Campo, on deforestation, as well as other factors that impact this process, in an area near the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. The study comprised two different scales: a regional one that included 39 ejidos, plus one local scale comprisi...

El estudio de las interrelaciones del grupo de mujeres de la comunidad de Amor de Dios con organizaciones sociales para la ejecución de proyectos productivos, indicó la existencia de la participación militante de las mujeres en tales organizaciones y una participación motivada por la búsqueda de alternativas que alivien su autodenominada situación...

El trabajo analiza la influencia de los programas PROCAMPO, Crédito a la Palabra y Alianza para el Campo sobre la deforestación, así como otros factores que inciden en el proceso, en una zona aledaña a la Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul. Se abarcó una escala regional que incluyó 39 ejidos y una local correspondiente al ejido Unidad y Trabajo. El ef...

This paper analyses the Guatemalan refugee leaders in the new context of the integration policy in Mexico. The study took place in the four Guatemalan refugee settlements located in the state of Campeche, one of several Mexican states where Guatemalan refugee settlements are found. The first part of the paper describes Guatemalan refugee settlement...

El presente trabajo pretende hacer una revisión y analizar las corresponsabilidades que lleva a cabo el Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación (Progresa) enfocada a la creación de condiciones de posibilidad que pudiesen estar incrementando rasgos de empoderamiento en las mujeres beneficiarias del programa, a partir del modelo tridimensional de...

This article looks at the integration of Guatemalan refugees in Mexico from three different angles: a) Integration is a political decision and has to be put in place as a policy; b) It is also the wish of the refugees themselves to stay for good in the country of asylum; c) Integration also refers to an experience of spontaneous integration, a proc...

As the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), prepares to celebrate twenty years of its presence in Mexico, this paper examines its work there, with special focus on the programs for Guatemalan refugees. Despite restrictions linked to the manner of its initial entry in Mexico as well as to the position adopted by the authorities towar...

Cet article retrace l'histoire des réfugiés guatémaltèques qui s'enfuirent au Mexique au début des années 1980. Installés spontanément dans un premier temps parmi les habitants du Chiapas, puis regroupés dans des camps dans cette même région, certains d'entre eux furent ensuite transférés vers de sites agricoles dans les Etats du Campeche et du Qui...

Les migrations internationales sont devenues l'un des enjeux majeurs des rapports entre les États. Dans ce cadre, les mouvements de réfugiés et de déplacés liés aux conflits politiques, identitaires ou territoriaux témoignent de la fragilité de constructions nationales encore si souvent contestées. Les principales modalités d'accueil des réfugiés m...