Defining environmental management units based upon integrated socio-economic and biophysical indicators Pacific coast of Mexico

Depicting geographic areas encompassing relevant territorial information is essential for proper land-use planning. The literature provides scant examples dealing with integration of socio-economic and biophysical attributes at the territorial level in order to bridge the gap between biophysical data and human society in regional planning. The goal of this study is twofold: first to provide an overview of the main features of the Pacific Coast of Michoacan, Mexico, delineating entities based upon biophysical and socio-economic attributes simultaneously; second, to serve as an integrated baseline to guide decision making processes in land-use planning. The geographic entities obtained represent a reliable approximation to define development and conservation priorities in the context of land-use planning.