Developing Mexico’s Culture through New Economic Models
Changing Terrains of the Land and the Mind
Far south in Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, people are discovering the benefits of creating a sustainable economic structure as part of their larger conservation process.
Unsustainable logging practices in many small communities, known as ejidos, have historically strained the forest cover. Other communities, after clearing forests for farming, have relied on outdated agricultural techniques that yield low results and a devastating impact on the health of the Earth’s environment.
Through the Rain Forest Rescue program, the coalition has introduced new economic models that motivate local inhabitants to increase the land’s long-term productivity. Offering sound options like agroforestry and ecotourism, the coalition is inspiring people to act in a way that better sustains both their families and the very land on which they live.
One community, an ejido known as 20 de Noviembre, has already profited. They have learned how to promote and sell sustainably produced commodities. This community is also planting younger trees in an older forested region to increase annual growth rates and improve the forest’s composition. Introducing new equipment appropriate to environmentally conscientious harvesting in today’s forests is replacing destructive practices that were used to harvest massive, old-growth mahogany logs.
Gathering additional data also helps us shape more effective sustainability strategies. This coming year, a monitoring system will examine the health of two key animal and plant species in the Calakmul Reserve in different conditions. The most effective practices that 20 de Noviembre has used will be applied in another ejido—eventually to spread among the 125 forest communities that exist there.
Next: Opportunities Disguised as Needs
Save 2,500 Square Feet of Rain Forest Today
