Resilience, vulnerability and sustainability of socioecological systems in Mexico

There is a growing understanding of the strong interdependence between societies and ecosystems, and from this vision the concept of socialecological system (SS) arises, as part of a new paradigm. This article presents an analysis of the contributions of Mexican scholars to the analysis of SS. First, we review the basic concepts of socioecological systems, resilience, vulnerability and ecosystem services in the context of SS. Second, we analyze the theoretical-conceptual contributions of Mexican scientists to these issues. Third, we describe some outstanding case studies of the SS integrative perspective. Fourth, we quantitatively explore the contribution of Mexican scholars in publications on SS, resilience and sustainability. Fifth, we assess the undergraduate and postgraduate educational programs on these topics in Mexico. Sixth, we describe how these approaches have permeated decision-making. Finally, we analyze knowledge gaps, challenges and perspectives, identifying the important advances in SS, resilience and vulnerability in the country. We consider critical to understand the challenges related to the stability of the systems, the scientific certainty and the existence of expert decision makers as well as the development of more resilient and less vulnerable SS. (C) 2017 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Biologia.