Stories from Latin America
In-depth (based on site visits with extensive interviews)
- Honduras – The Monte Verde Story: Community Eradication of Aedes aegypti (the mosquito responsible for Zika, dengue, and chikungunya) – A humble community uses biological control to free itself from the mosquito and the diseases.
- Mexico – Oaxaca – Community Reforestation in the Mixteca Region – The Center for Integrated Farmer Development recently won the Goldman prize for reforesting highly eroded lands and rescuing the traditional sustainable agriculture of the region.
- Mexico – Quintana Roo – The VigГa Chico Fishing Cooperative – A remote fishing village devises community management to protect its lobster fishery and ensure a high quality of life for everyone
- Mexico – Quintana Roo – Sustainable Agro-forestry in the Zona Maya – Mayan communities augmented their ecological security with a cooperative
Capsule (shorter pieces which appear below)
- Brazil – Curitiba – Planned “Eco-City” – A participatory master plan makes fast-growing Curitiba a model city.
- Brazil – Icapui – ‘Microcredit’ Schemes – “Microcredit schemes” serve as alternatives to lobster overharvesting by struggling fishers.
- Costa Rica – Talamanca – The Talamanca Initiative – A multi-faceted community initiative simultaneously promotes the local economy and ecosystem conservation.
- Cuba – Rural Solar Power – Solar power brings numerous benefits to off-the-gr >
Brazil – Curitiba – Planned “Eco-City”
Author: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May 2005
This city is frequently cited in the media as a model for the developing world due to its various initiatives on waste management, urban design, greenery, social programs, and especially transportation. It demonstrated that with anticipatory planning, a city could experience rapid growth while maintaining a high quality of life and avoiding some of the major problems typical of other rapidly expanding urban centers in the South.
In the 1950s, Curitiba’s was 150,000; today, it is a major city with nearly 1.6 million residents. In the 1960s, a group of young architects recognized that the city was on the brink of exponential growth. They wanted to see a different kind of development than what was occurring in other Latin American cities. This development was driven by the early stages of a lending spree that later led to the debt crisis of the 1980s,ing expensive infrastructure such as highways, skyscrapers, shopping malls, and other flashy projects. Fortunately, the leaders were receptive to some of ideas on human needs and the environment. When this group of designers approached the mayor, he sponsored a contest for a Master Plan of the city. The best entries were circulated, opened up to public debate, and the results were returned to the architects, who developed and implemented final plan.
Among other things, this master plan aimed to provide economic support for urban development by creating industrial zones and encourage local self-sufficiency by ensuring all city districts had education, healthcare, recreation, and park areas. To achieve this, traffic management had to be integrated with land-use planning, as they were inherently inseparable by design. Flexibility in regulation was allowed for various future scenarios.
The design layout’s centerpiece was its transportation system. As efficient as a subway system at a fraction of the cost, it was organized in five main corridors that radiated from the city center. This system included dedicated bus lanes, which allowed for rapid transit and reduced congestion. The buses were designed to accommodate a high volume of passengers, and the stations were strategically located to ensure accessibility for all residents. This innovative approach to urban planning and transportation has made Curitiba a renowned example of sustainable development and a source of inspiration for cities around the world.
Brazil – Icapui – ‘Microcredit’mes
Author: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May 2005
Icapui, Brazil, is a farming and fishing village of 17000 on Brazil’s northeast coast. Both farming and fishing have suffered due to prolonged droughts and declining lobster. Across the region, small businesspeople are ineligible for bank loans, farmers and fishers are struggling, and young people are fleeing to cities to chase the myth that urban centers offer a better life.
One day during public meeting, lobster fishers were informed of a new national policy that lobsters could only be caught by traps and that were banned. This angered the fish,95% of whom used nets, because traps meant reduced hauls. While fishers knew it was only a of time before net fishing would dry up lobster hauls completely, they had families to feed and long-term sustainability was secondary to more immediate priorities.
Locals believed the most obvious—and only—choice for boosting the local economy was to attract a multinational operation to the area, despite the fact this would probably not only fail to the problem but also bring in unanticipated economic, environmental, and social costs.
, community leader named de Oliveira Repoucas Neto developed the idea of combining “micro” with business management training to make entrepreneurs out of local. In 1996, Neto launched a program called Orgape, which is a Portuguese acronym for “the organization to support small enterprises.” Orgape combines four types of services:
– Flexible, local microcredit loans
– Training for small business managers
– Helping microprises expand and bridge supply-demand
– Educating youth as future entrepreneurs
ers pay 3% interest This is insufficient to reimburse all Orgape’s expenses, and so to make up the difference, municipalities in-kind donations of office space and salaries of two credit agents (1 agent can
Costa Rica – Talamanca – The Talamanca Initiative
Author: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May 2005
With a population of approximately 35,000 people, the 3,000-square-kilometer region of Talamanca lies along the southeast Caribbean coast of Costa Rica on the border of Panama. While economically and socially poor, the area is rich in biodiversity and tropical forests, with many species of flora and fauna not found else in the world. It is here where the UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad International Park, straddles the Costa Rica-Panama border.
Costa Rica’s rates of deforestation are among the highest in the world. In the Talamanca region, cacao was the main source of income, but the method of growing it in monocultures left it vulnerable to pests. In 1979, a fungal disease spread like wildfire through the crop and practically wiped out the cacao farming overnight. Former farmers instead began clearing land for timber production, cattle raising, and intensive, short-cycle cash crops to the income lost from cacao production, which accelerated the deterioration of the local environment.
A local nonal organization, concerned about destruction of the region’s assets began to revive traditional agricultural techniques and developed ecourism as a way out of the unsustainable cycle of increasing degradation. The organization, Asociacion ANAI (later joined by two other organizations, APPTA, the Association of Small Producers of Talamanca, and the Talamanca Caribbean Biological Corridor,TC) developed a program called the “Talamanca Initiative” which simultaneously promoted the local economy and conservation. The initiative was based on some core principles:
negating the perceived conservation/economic conflict
the value of locals in environmental stewardship
the need for immediate action to save the tropical areas
the high value of the natural assets
the need to environmental, social, economic, and organizational needs
These core principles became the driving forces behind the practical work that followed. Among some of the steps taken:
Finding alternatives to cacao: While farmers knew diversity was better for in the long term, they needed support and training to make the switch. Since1980, ANAI has helped to build up agroforestry systems that mimic the natural forest and assisted farmers in setting up tree nurseries in the villages. They managed to plant over 150 species of fruits, nuts, spices, and medicinal plants. These nurseries brought communities together to cooperate and share information. Between 1985 and 1990, over two million cash/food crops and trees for timber were planted on family farms in the region, increasing the diversity of the resource base. By mimicking the natural forests, this helped to sustain insect life and preserve the health of the nearby forests.
Creation of markets: In order for the increase in biodiversity to be economically viable, APPTA helped to create local processing facilities to add value to products and secure markets. This was done by applying for and receiving certification for fair trade,, and sustainably logged wood products. The success of this approach has led to over 1,000 farmers establishing organic “agro-ecosystems” that combine cash crops with subsistence needs. APPTA now the largest volume producer and of organic products in Central America, with an annual income of US$500,000, much of is injected into the local economy through a large number of family farmers. Demand for organic cacao has surpassed supply, and the program been expanded to neighboring countries.
Creation and expansion of grassroots networks: Other grassroots organizations began to form as a result of ANAI’s work meeting weekly farmers and representatives from each community. Some of the grassroots groups include APPTA (see above), a regional trade, and village microcredit and savings programs.
Cuba – Rural Solar Power
Author: Amanda SuutariPosted: May 2005
There seems to be no “environmental tipping point but this is a good example of energy for areas out of reach of the national grid, and how appropriate technology can become one of many alternative models for development.
As with other rural areas, extending the power to rural areas in Cuba is often too expensive. Photovoltaic cells are expensive to manufacture because they are pure silicon, their production requires high levels of energy. However, they can be imported to Cuba in bulk from Germany or Spain, and then fully assembled in Cuba.
The non-governmental organization Cubasolar has received international recognition for its efforts to bring solar power to rural regions. Their focus is to provide solutions to social problems by providing an energy supply, particularly targeting the health and education sectors.
Las Tumbas is a small coffee-growing village of one people, located in Cuba’s mountainous interior,140 km west of Havana Before the village had power, people simply went to bed early, but now they can study or engage in other activities after dark. First, the school was connected, introducing two new technologies: (1) A computer, which offers potential not only through internet but also through various teaching materials and tools made to teachers and students; () A television, which has benefits, but people are better informed about current events, and one channel in Cuba is dedicated to education. Video equipment also provides the opportunity to watch documentaries.
All homes have their own panels, which accumulate enough energy in the batteries for 4-5 hours of lighting after dark, and to play a small radio. In the local clinic, important vaccines and medications can now be refrigerated, so families don’t have travel to the nearest city for vaccines. There is also a transm
Cuba – Organic and Urban Agriculture
Author: Amanda Su
Posted: May 2005
Cuba was once dependent on imports from the Soviet Union for a large percentage of staple goods, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, animal feed, and petroleum. The farms were large, high-input industrial farms, many of which grew cash crops in monocultures for export.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, Cuba was into a severe economic crisis, where imports of food and other basic necessities, including pesticides and chemical fertilizers, ceased overnight. Within a year, the country lost over 80% of its foreign trade, which, compounded by ongoing US embargos, triggered widespread hunger and malnutrition in what was known as Cuba’s “special period.” Without infrastructure or fuel to transport goods from rural to urban areas, the cities had no way of feeding themselves.
This crisis spurred the government into action, mobilizing resources and putting urban wastelands into use farms and orchards. It distributed vacant lots for free to anyone who wanted to cultivate them, and switched from the export of cash crops to growing food crops for domestic consumption The government offered incentives to encourage people to move back to rural areas to work on the land. In1993, it changed state farms to “UBPC” (basic units of cooperative production), a form of worker-owned enterprise or cooperative, where 80% of farmland once held by state, including sugarcane plantations, was turned over to workers.
Havana became a priority for the National Food Program, and in 1991, the government began establishing gardens and public gardens using cooperative labor and serving markets around Cuba. Customers and farmers came from the same community, and unattractive, unused areas created a supply of employment, a source of food, and greener neighborhoods. The of Agriculture set up an urban agriculture department to support the new farmers. Seed shops in every municipality supplied necessary resources.
Dominican Republic – Solar-Based Rural Electrification
Author: David Nuñez
Posted: June 2009
In 1984, American engineer Richard Hansen solar panels on a house in a small off-the-grid village in the Dominican Republic. The Martinez family repaid him in monthly installments equivalent to their usual expenses for batteries and kerosene, which they had previously used to power appliances and light their home. The system provided them with clean, safe, reliable electricity, and neighbors immediately began inquiring about their own systems.
Noting that most grant-based projects suffered from a lack of local know-how, poor technical assistance, and no sense of ownership over the project, Hansen, through his non-profit Enersol, devised a market-driven electrification strategy based on micro-enterprises that came to be known as the SO-BASEC (Solar Electrification Concept strategy.
It consists identifying talented locals and training them certified photovoltaic (PV) systems technicians. Upon completion of the course, individuals install a system for a to showcase the technology in their communities. Technicians are to start own businesses and offered follow-up assistance not just with technical issues, but with business development skills such as marketing and accounting. These individuals are urged to join a professional network to further pursue common interests.
Their clients obtain loans to purchase the photovoltaic system from local NGOs that are already established trusted by the community, and the PV system itself acts as collateral. These NGOs, in turn, are able to obtain from banks using Enersol grant monies as collateral.
The project was so successful that by 1990, over a thousand PV systems had been installed in homes, businesses, churches, schools, and clinics throughout the Dominican Republic. In 1991 Enersol expanded its operations into Honduras, where the thousand
Ecuador The Battle Against Chevron Texaco
Author: Adapted from the Goldman website (with permission)
Posted: 2008
Fighting for justice after what has described as one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in history, Luis Yanza and Pablo Fajardo are spearheading an unprecedented community-driven legal battle against a global oil giant. According to the plaintiffs, from 1964 to 1990 Texaco dumped nearly 17 million gallons of crude oil and 20 billion gallons of wastewater directly into the Ecuadorian Amazon. Allegedly suffering from the health effects of the pollution, the region’s inhabitants are demanding a complete cleanup in what may be the largest environmental lawsuit ever filed in the world. Yanza co-founded the Amazon Defense Front to organize 30,000 inhabitants of the northern Ecuadorian Amazon in a class-action lawsuit against Texaco, which acquired by Chevron in 2001 The lead lawyer, Pablo Fajardo, a of one of the affected communities, become the public voice of the.
Unprecedented Petroleum Pollution
The Ecuadorian Amazon contains five percent of all the world’s plant and animal species and is one of the most biodiverse places in the Amazon and on Earth. As the region’s primary oil investor in the 1970s and 1980s, Texaco built much of Ecuador’s oil infrastructure but chose not to re-inject back into the ground the wastewater and sludge brought up by the drilling process, called formation waters. Instead, according to the plaintiffs, billions gallons were dumped into region’s waterways or left in more than 1,000 unlined, open pits throughout the area. By the company’s own estimates, it spilled nearly 17 million gallons of oil into soils and waterways, and another 20 billion gallons of formation waters. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spilled just over 10 million gallons of oil. In 1992, Texaco left Ecuador, leaving behind what experts and inhabitants call a monumental environmental disasterTo this day, the’s 30,000 inhabitants primarily drink water that has been deemed contaminated by experts involved in the case. According to the plaintiffs, many the waste pits continue to pollute the rivers, streams, and groundwater. In some areas, all water sources are contaminated and few fish survive in the rivers. The plaintiffs claim that prolonged exposure to toxic substances has led to a serious health crisis, causing people living in such proximity to pollution to suffer dramatically increased incidences of skin disease, respiratory ailments, reproductive disorders, and a cancer rate seven times higher than the rest of the country’s population. They also that the regional devastation includes more than two million acres of deforestation. Chevron, however, claims the region’s environmental and health problems are not a result of the pollution left behind by Texaco, and that they are no longer responsible.
Leading the Community to Seek Justice
In 1993, Yanza, along with a team of US-based lawyers, filed a class-action lawsuit against Texaco. The plaintiffs included a coalition of residents brought together by Yanza’s organization, comprising 80 villages and five different indigenous peoples. The initial case against Texaco (acquired by Chevron in 2001) was filed in 1993 in a New York district near Texaco’s headquarters. In 1996, a superior court judge dismissed the case, but the plaintiffs appealed and won a reversal of the decision. 2, the US Court of Appeals agreed with’s request to transfer the case to Ecuador. However, the court warned Chevron that US courts would intervene if the company attempted to avoid a judgment imposed by the Ecuadorian courts.
In May 2003, the 30,000 plaintiffs, led by Fajardo’s legal team, filed a lawsuit in Ecuador’s northern Amazon, demanding that Chevron pay for a comprehensive cleanup. This included the removal of all formation waters, debris, and equipment; remediation of all contaminated water bodies and lands; recuperation of fauna, flora, and aquatic life; and monitoring and improvement of the health of the inhabitants.
Chevron does not deny dumping formation waters or oil in the region, but claims the resulting contamination has not harmed the inhabitants and asserts it is not responsible for any cleanup. By March 2007, the plaintiffs, with abundant evidence collected from 45 field inspections, had already proven the existence of extensive contamination, making further delay unnecessary. The judge issued an order to begin an assessment of the damages, which was conducted by an independent expert. The resulting report, released in April 2008, cited $8.3 – $16 billion in damages. Fajardo and Yanza have been touring the country relentlessly, making the trial an issue of national dignity and sovereignty in anticipation of a final decision in 2008.
Long Term Impact
The impact Yanza and Fardo’s efforts on Ecuador’s oil is already far-reaching. They have publicized the-term effects the environment and people leading the government of Ecuador to stronger environmental protection laws Texaco and Chevron’s legacy in Ecuador is now part of the national collective consciousness. Fardo and Yanza recently the president of Ecuador on a tour of Texaco’s former operations, leading to pledge by the government to relocate several contaminated communities.
work entails significant risks as well. Yanza, Fajardo, their families, and a number of their colleagues have become of death threats, harassment, and intimidation. In December 2005, the Inter Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States issued precautionary measures for Yanza and Fajardo in an effort to protect their.ajardo’s brother was killed just months he joined legal team; no investigation has taken place, and no one has been arrested for the homicide.ajardo been forced vary his daily routine, often sleeping a different place each nightYanza and Fajardo are recipients the Goldman Environmental Prize. For more information see the Goldman Prize website.
Mexico – Sonora – Seri’s Sustainable Fisheries
Author: David Nuñez
Posted: 9
The Seri or Comcaac are an indigenous people who, until a few decades ago, practiced a semi-nomadic hunter-ger lifestyle among the islands of the Gulf of California Northwest Mexico. Wars of extermination, first by Spaniards and then by independent Mexico, brought them to the brink of extinction, with only about 600 remaining today.
In the 1930s, the federal government abandoned its extermination and relocation strategy and attempted to settle the Seri in two villages within their territory, El Desemboque and Punta Chueca, by facilitating the creation of a fishing cooperative. The shark fishery was heavily promoted, particularly for the extraction and processing of livers to yield vitamins. However, the advent of synthetic vitamin production in the 1940s, the fishery collapsed, and the Seri turned to hunting sea turtles which was banned by the 1980s. During the 1970s, outsiders discovered a profitable scallop fishery just offshore, leading to an influx of non-Seri fishermen into the region.
In an effort to correct past wrongs and help the survive, the Mexican government granted the Seri collective ownership of a fraction of their historical range in 1975. This included Isla Tiburon (Shark Island) and the mainland land across from it, as well as exclusive fishing rights to the surrounding waters. Unfortunately, the exact of these waters were never properly established and a lack of vigilance from authorities has restricted the Seri Exclusive Zone to the channel between the island and the mainland, which is narrow to allow the community to control access.
Free from government interference in their affairs, the Seri community has developed a set of rules that have allowed catches within this small channel to remain stable over the past thirty years, while the productivity of much larger neighboring fisheries has collapsed by up to 90%. The successful management of their tinyery has now been by their neighbors, and the lessons learned are being used to implement similar programs in neighboring communities.
Though several different species of fish,aceans, and mollusks are harvested in the channel, theop fishery offers a good example of how the Seri cultural, social, and biological knowledge to effectively manage their fisheries.
Though the Seri do participate in the commercial scallop fishery, most are reluctant to dive, so most of the fishing is done by outside crews. To be granted access to the channel outsiders must 1) pay an entrance fee, 2) hire a Seri as a member of the crew at the same wages (not only does this increase employment, but it allows the Seri to monitor the outsiders), 3) avoid fishing in the sandbar areas which are restricted to subs fishing mentioned, and4) agree to catch limits.
The subsistence scallop fishery is a traditional activity that occurs during the lowest tides of the year, shallow waters allow scallops to be harvested by women and children without diving. Historically, it has been an important social and cultural event in Seri society and also serves to monitor the overall health of the fishery. When these harvests are low, social repercussions can be harsh: women might publicly humiliate the men for being careless with such a valued common resource, and the men, in turn, blame outsiders and cancel all access until temp cool, stocks recover, or economic necessity forces them to issue permits again.
The fishermen’s deep knowledge of the fish itself also enhances its sustainability. By capturing only the largest scallops, they increase the likelihood that any animal caught has already reproduced. Additionally, by abstaining from diving in seasonal seagrass beds, where the work is and one is more likely to step on stingrays and crabs, they ensure that over 10% of the channel is off-limits for at least eight months a year. Finally, the Seri are well attuned to both the abundance and size of their catch and rotate fishing grounds regularly, with some sites being visited several times a year and others only once years.
Their success has allowed them to begin sending their children to university, and in 1998, for the first time, the younger generation won local elections, and a college graduate was elected as their leader. With these changes, the Seri have begun cooperating NGOs and universities who are trying to replicate their model in communities. They have become certified by the Marine Stewardship and branched out into other ventures, such as a Women Artisans Cooperative that sells arts and crafts tourists and a Sea Turtle Conservation program that has won international awards.
It is clear one of Mexico’s smallest minorities has much to teach the rest of us.
Mexico – Jalisco – Ayuquila River Restoration
Author: Davidñez
Posted: May 2009
The Ayuquila River in Western Central Mexico flows through a remarkably diverse landscape that includes mountain peaks and coastal plains, and more species than France, Canada, or the British Isles. It is home to over 100 different mammals and over 300 species of birds, with vegetation that includes mangrove, tropical jungle, and evergreen pine forests.
Modern times arrived in the Ayuquila River watershed in the 1950s with the construction of dams and irrigation channels to support the expansion of the water-intensive (and profitable) sugarcane crop around the upstream communities of Autlán and El Grullo. Fueled by the sugar industry, these communities quickly developed as local centers of industry and commerce. Currently, about 80% of the population of the watershed lives in this “upstream” region. The remaining 20% lives downstream from this concentration of agriculture and industry. As the upstream communities thrived, those downstream dwindled, threatened by lower river flow, loss of fish and crustacean, and severe water pollution.
In the early 1980s, the region received international attention from the scientific community when a perennial relative of maize was discovered in the region by University of Guadalajara researchers. This discovery prompted the State of Jalisco to purchase over 1,000 hectares in the mountainous area known as the Sierra de Manantlán in 1984 and donate the land to the University for the development of a research laboratory facility. From the beginning, the University’s strategy included strong social outreach and environmental education programs to complement the basic science research. It stepped in and implemented a variety of innovative strategies to begin to address watershed issues, including the establishment of an Advisory Council embracing municipal, state, and federal authorities, academia, and non-profit organizations, as well as disenfranchised communities.
Mexico – Michoacán – The Patsari Stove
Author: Davidñez
Posted: May 2009
Can a wood-burning stove be environmentally friendly?
For readers accustomed to cooking on gas or electric stoves, it may be surprising to that approximately half of the world’s population still relies on solid fuels (wood, dung, coal) as their primary fuel source. The widespread use of firewood not only contributes to localorestation, but the regular use of open fires in homes is linked to acute respiratory infections in children and chronic respiratory illnesses (including tuberculosis and cancer) in. Regular exposure to indoor smoke has also been associated with other ailments, including ear infections,acts, and unsuccessful pregnancies. It is responsible for over one and a half million premature deaths each year, disproportionately affecting women and children.
So, given all the environmental and public health concerns surrounding the burning of firewood, how can a wood-burning stove be good for the environment? By reducing the amount of wood used compared to traditional open fires and significantly improving both household air quality and family health. The Patsari stove accomplishes all of these objectives.
It was developed in Mexico, where approximately one-quarter of the population—or 28 million people—still rely on open fires for cooking and/or heating. The Interdisciplinary Group for Appropriate Rural Technologies (GIRA), based in the central Mexican state of Michoacán, employed a participatory approach in which input was provided by actual users from indigenous Purhépecha communities to design a simple yet effective stove that rural households are now actively embracing instead of traditional open fires.
The consists of a closed, box-like combustion chamber that cuts fuel use in half, and a chimney to channel smoke out of the home, resulting in a 70% reduction in indoor air pollution. Hot plates on the top surface, over the fire, provide the cooking surface.
Mexico – Veracruz and Tabasco – Chinampa System
: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May 2005Archaeological evidence shows pre-Columbian use of this wetland cultivation system in what is now Mexico, Bolivia, and Suriname However it was the Aztecs who and practiced the system most intensively Derived from the Nahuatl words “chinamitl,” which meansreed” and “basket,” and “pan,” which means “,” it said to a system that grew out of conditions of alternating floods, leading to the need for agriculture that did not depend on rain. Essentially, they are raised farm beds where corn, beans, squash, chilies, and are grown in the middle of the lakes found throughout the Basin of Mexico. These rectangular fields are about 2-4 meters wide and 20-40 meters long. They were built with layers of mud harvested from the bottom of the lakes, and vegetation, creating a porous base for water to flow through. Lake mud was applied before planting. Willow trees were planted around the edges to provide and windbreaks, prevent erosion attract beneficial birds and insects, and provide firewood and construction materials.
The intricate maze of canals between the farm beds could be navigated by canoe, providing fish, crustaceans, and salamanders as protein food sources. To save space, seed beds were used, efficiently utilizing the land as almost half the chilies’ growth period took place here, requiring less than 2% of the land needed for harvest. Harvest times and transplant of were timed to ensure a constant supply of farm produce, with – harvests per year. The system an efficient way to use land, explaining why the Aztecs could such a dense population, the remaining ones today yields that rival even modern standardsThe began to collapse with the arrival of the Spanish, whose farming background was quite different, and who did not appreciate the water management required.
Mexico – Michoacán Forest ReserveAuthor: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May2005
This case exemplifies the failure of “top-down” conservation, illustrating that even if local people ultimately understand its importance to their well-being and future, they not participate willingly due to reasons such as poverty or resentment at being excluded from the process. It also demonstrates how efforts by a local-governmental organization (NGO) could reconcile with the needs of the campesinos (peasant farmers who are descendants of indigenous peoplesThe mountainous forests east of Michoacán State were declared a special biosphere reserve in 1986 to protect monarch butterflies, which migrate here from the US and Canada during the winter season, attracting an increasing number of tourists and trekkers. However, the 200,000 campesinos who lived in and around the forests were not consulted about the creation of the reserve, and authorities faced difficulties in enforcing its protection. The campesinos live without access to basic services, and high unemployment rates have led to dependence on illegal logging the reserve. Additionally, they harvest wood for building materials and fuel as they have always done, but various pressures on the forests have rendered this practice unsustainable.
When Alternare, a Mexican NGO run by two biologists, arrived on the scene in 199, they recognized that conservation required a foundation of security for the farmers to motivate them to protect the nearby forests. Alternare concluded that the only way to gain their participation was to assess their needs and find ways to harmonize them with conservation goals.
Meetings were held with eight villages, where Alternare allowed the villagers to take the lead in deciding what they needed. The villagers were not opposed to the reserve itself; in fact, they overwhelmingly understood their dependence on a healthy forest, so they identified current obstacles to those needs, to which Alternare responded.
Peru – Micro-Hydro Power
Author: David Nuñez
Posted: June 2009
Although the eastern slopes of the Andes offer some of the most beautiful scenery in Peru, it is also one of the least developed regions in the country. The difficulty of access to this mountainous zone has prevented its electrification, and the small, scattered population continues to dwindle as people leave their villages for opportunities in larger, more developed cities in parts of the country.
Practical Action Peru (PAP), the Latin American branch of a UK non-profit organization founded in 1966, has been working to reverse these trends since 1985 by offering small mountain communities an alternative energy source that relies on the region’s abundant rivers and streams. By working with local villagers, Practical Action Peru has installed nearly 50 micro-hydroelectric turbine systems that have benefited over 30,000 people.
These systems require a controlled water flow, which depends on a series of channels and chambers that divert a portion of the flow of streams and rivers toward the turbine. Though most of the parts are by small factories in Peru (which makes the project more sustainable and facilitates its widespread adoption), some of the more advanced components are still imported. In addition, there are operating and maintenance costs to consider. It all adds up to a considerable investment.
This is why PAP works closely with each community to determine a customized finance and management plan. In most cases, PAP donates 60% of the total costs, the community contributes about 15% in labor, and the remaining is borrowed from the Inter-American Development. The loan is usually repaid in 3 to 6 years, and so far, the repayment rate is above 90%.
Most communities own their micro-hydro system, while micro-businesses are subcontracted to oversee operation and maintenance. A community management group sets electricity prices bills customers, and pays this micro-business.
Peru – Amazon – Forest Product Farming
Author: Amanda Suutari
Posted: May 2005
This is a projection based on a successful pilot project of raising tree frogs in the Peruvian Amazon.
Peru is one of eight “mega-biodiverse” countries which together possess 70% of the world’s biodiversity. However, logging, agriculture, and infrastructure development are destroying habitats of many species yet to be discovered. Many conservation projects lack long-term funding, and ecologist Rainer Shulte is creating a sustainable business by conserving the habitat of the threatened poison dart frog.
The poison dart frog is an important indicator of the overall health of its tropical rainforest habitat. It also helps regulate insects, consuming various insects, including mosquitoes, which are common vectors of disease. Its venom is being studied for potential use in medicines and natural pesticides, and it is an important example for studying the evolution and dispersal of species.
Local farmers (campesinos) will raise the frogs in 250 production lots covering 3,000 hectares, mostly located in buffer zones of national parks or reserves. Artificial breeding sites (plastic containers) are set up in the frog’s natural nesting grounds in highland tropical forests. The tadpoles are harvested from the containers, placed in cages, and transported overseas, where demand for these beautiful animals is high and they can fetch 40 to 120 US dollars each. Because raising them in situ depends on an intact ecosystem, it is expected that this industry’s growth will provide both an economic incentive to preserve the forests and an additional source of income for struggling farmers. This will also discourage the smuggling of frogs (the exotic pet trade is poorly regulated and has been blamed for endangering marketable species). Other benefits include:
Raising the frogs creates a “surplus”