Mapimí Biosphere Reserve: grassland restoration to face climate change

Without the involvement of the people, it is not possible to implement ecosystem conservation schemes at different scales. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness and work with local communities, in this case for the conservation of grasslands, through a local environmental education program that addresses the problems detected.

Identity can be developed by increasing people's awareness of the benefits of sustainable management in maintaining local livelihoods and people's quality of life, but it can also be further strengthened by encouraging the self-organized commitment of all members of the community, not only to make use of the different parts of the ecosystem to sustain livelihoods, but also to participate in its rehabilitation.

Community organization has been a determining factor in the development of the restoration work. Initially, informative meetings were held, coordinated by ANP staff, to inform about the project, the objectives to be achieved, and to identify the intervention sites. A workshop was also held to identify the effects of climate change on the conservation targets and productive activities in the region. Subsequently, working groups were formed in the communities, which were in charge of a field activity and received training and technical support from CONANP and Pronatura Noreste, A.C. for its implementation.

This organizational process was based on the efforts made by the Mapimí BR team to promote, through the Advisory Council, participatory planning, collaboration and joint decision making with respect to restoration. In this sense, livestock management programs have been established, involving landowners and land users in specific actions for grassland restoration.

In order to implement resilience actions and mitigate the impacts of droughts, temperature increase and extreme weather events on socioecosystems, local partnerships are necessary. The articulation of efforts with local actors makes it possible to act according to common objectives, and allows for good coordination, the effectiveness of intervention actions, and long-term local ownership. Working through alliances multiplies the resources available to generate actions, strengthens capacities and ensures sustainability/replicability. The continuity and permanence of the actions depend on the commitments established with other institutions, governments, civil society organizations and, above all, the trust generated in the communities, who are the ones who make the decision to manage the territories according to their needs and possibilities. The permanent presence of CONANP, through the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve team, and the participation of the community and organized civil society, in this case Pronatura Noreste, A.C., were decisive for the success of the adaptation measure implemented.

In the context of integrated management to recover soil productivity and organic capacity, and with the objective of reducing the vulnerability of the socio-ecosystem to climate change, support was provided to women and men from local communities to restore pastures. The implementation of the activities followed an ecological function recovery approach, focused on improving soil conditions to enable grassland restoration. In the case of arid zones, such as the Mapimí BR, it is necessary to change the perspective of excessive afforestation for one of soil reactivation, since the latter is what sustains life in this ecosystem.

The micro-watersheds allowed the recovery of pastureland, which serves as food for the Bolsón turtle and is beneficial for cattle ranchers because of the increase in forage production. In addition, the landowners received training and paid wages for the restoration work. In addition, it is necessary to work with the producers so that they use the new pastures in an orderly and rational manner, in order to make the productive activity more efficient.

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In addition to grassland restoration, the Mapimí BR promotes the implementation of good livestock management practices. CONANP works with the local population to plan the use of pasturelands and promote restoration actions, such as cattle exclusion areas, micro-watersheds, and the planting of native grasses, which improves the productive system and conserves the pasturelands. In this way, the resilience of the pasture is increased; the soil is reactivated to improve the habitat of wildlife, particularly the Bolsón tortoise, and the environmental services provided by the pasture are maintained, while increasing the capacity of the ejidos involved to deal with the degradation of ecosystems in a context of climate change.

The positive results obtained in the ejidos involved have strengthened the relationship between CONANP and the human communities that form part of the reserve. At the same time, they have motivated interest in replicating the restoration work in other sites. Participants have shared their experience with the restoration work in peer-to-peer discussions and a video was produced with the support of the Resilience project.