Governance and socioeconomics of the Gulf of California Large Marine Ecosystem

•The Gulf of California Large Marine Ecosystem presents a good governance level.•Strong collaborative efforts are needed among federation, states and counties.•More capacities are required at local level to improve the governance.•Gulf of California governance is a key element for future regional development.

The Gulf of California Large Marine Ecosystem (GoC-LME) is a long and narrow semi-enclosed body of water located entirely in Mexican territory, with a marine surface between 250,000 and 300,000 km2 surrounded by 5 coastal states and 35 coastal municipalities. The population growth and economic development in the region are among the most dynamic in the country. Since 2006 the GoC-LME has been the subject of a regional ecological planning program. The approach followed in the planning process was a top-bottom one with a clear political will, a strong public participation process supported by scientific and technical information. The obtained results, methodologies, good practices and participatory processes were considered as a guide for other planning processes in Mexico. In general terms, the governance level in the GoC-LME is good at the federal scale but several challenges remain at state and county scales where the market pressures are higher and the human and economic capacities lower.