Bharat International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
ISSN 0000-0000 | e-ISSN 0000-0000 | EN HI
BIJHSS
BIJHSS Bharat International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
Published by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी हिन्दी विश्वविद्यालय
Articles

Women’s Roles and Local Ecological Knowledge in Community-Based Environmental Management: An Ecofeminist Case Study of Laguna de Tres Palos and El Arenal, Guerrero, Mexico

Fernando Jessay (1), Melina Edward (2), Carvan de Watsu (3)
1 Professor at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Cadereyta de Montes Campus, Autonomous University of Querétaro. Email:jessay.fer@uaq.mx
2 Full-time Professor, Title “C.” Center for Regional Development Sciences. Autonomous University of Guerrero. Email:jmelina_ed@uagro.mx
3 Full-time Professor, Title “C.” Center for Regional Development Sciences. Autonomous University of Guerrero. Email:carvan.de@uagro.mx, (Corresponding Author)
Received2025-07-25
Revised2026-01-12
Accepted2026-05-24
Published2026-06-13

Abstract

This study examines women’s roles in community-based environmental management and how their lived experiences inform understandings of socio-environmental problems in Laguna de Tres Palos and the coastal community of El Arenal, Guerrero, Mexico. It adopts a phenomenological approach informed by noema and noesis to consider both the lagoon as experienced by participants and how they perceive and interpret it. The study included 20 women who had lived in El Arenal for decades and had longstanding ties to the lagoon ecosystem. Spaces for dialogue and participation enabled the women to share their experiences and local ecological knowledge.

Drawing on an ecofeminist perspective, the study argues that documenting women’s experiences and including their perspectives in conservation decisions can help lay the groundwork for more gender-equitable environmental governance. It identifies engagement with local ecological knowledge as a way to understand and respond to human-caused environmental degradation. The case illustrates how women’s knowledge and participation can inform community conservation priorities and environmental decision-making.

Keywords — Community-based environmental management, women’s participation, local ecological knowledge, ecofeminism, phenomenology, environmental governance, Laguna de Tres Palos.

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