Abstract

HERNANDEZ GUERRERO, Juan Alfredo. Index of urban pressure on protected natural areas in Mexico. Rev. cartogr. [online]. 2024, n.109, pp.55-78.  Epub May 16, 2025. ISSN 2663-3981.  https://doi.org/10.35424/rcarto.i109.5785.

Urban pressure on protected natural areas (PNA) commonly involves an increase in population and built-up area, economic concentration, land use and land cover change, commodification of natural resources, reduction or loss of biodiversity, and productive and cultural reconfiguration. These situations are accentuated according to the urban dynamics, the diversity and size of urban spaces and the sectors of incidence. This is a common problem in Latin American countries, but there are few studies on a national scale that identify the pressure exerted by urban spaces of different sizes on PNA. Thus, the present study identified and represented the urban pressure exerted by metropolitan zones on PNA in Mexico. The process consisted of developing and index of urban pressure on PNA using geostatistics and geographic information system; data collection, definition of indicators, data reliability, satellite image management and the use of map algebra. The results highlighted 30 metropolitan zones with high and very high urban pressure, which are related to 8.5 PNA, and the distance to the PNA ranged from ±10.2 km. Likewise, the central strip of Mexico is the one that presented the highest pressure on PNA. It is concluded that the information generated can accompany regulations and public policies to reduce pressure on PNA and environmental problems.

Keywords : urban pressure index; metropolitan zone; protected natural area; Mexico.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )