One Amazing Woman Called Patí

Last week we went on a field trip with the "Environmental Specialists" from our training group to the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. It covers one third of the area of the state of Queretaro, almost a million acres, although as with most preservation in Mexico, most of the land is still privately owned, just declared to be a park. We headed up into the mountains, on windy roads. Peace Corps always seems to worry about motion sickness (which thankfully never bothers me) so dramamine was available and seats were assigned based on sensitivity.

We passed through gorgeous scenery on route to our first site - Quatro Palos. This tiny town (142 people) clings to a mountain ridge with splendid views of mountains and a cool rock formation called Media Luna. As part of the Reserve's work, they are trying to make it an ecotourism destination, with a lunchroom, a trail to an overlook (with a fee), and a campsite. It really was beautiful, and our lunch was delicious, but the question always remains - will this bring some money to the town and will the introduction of tourism be good for the town? All in all, I think in this case the answer is yes. They already have earned enough to bring electric wires to the town, although there's no power yet. The school is benefiting, along with the teenagers who have been trained to give ecotours. 

Martha Isabel (Pati) Ruiz Corso, from the Rolex Awards website

Later after more windy roads we went to the headquarters of the Reserve, a complex of buildings with offices, labs and a small shop, and heard a presentation by Roberto Pedraza Ruiz, the son of the woman who founded this Reserve. It seems to me that it is often the case that one visionary person makes change happen. Martha Ruiz Corzo (called Pati, I don't know why) and her husband retired in the mid-90s from jobs in the city and went back to where his family was from. She realized that the land needed protection and spent a number of years working to build support for the idea. In a relatively short time (less than 10 years) she was able to have the are designated as a federal reserve, and to have the people of the area vote yes on the idea even though it meant restrictions on the way they could support themselves. She then engaged government and international support to buy key small parcels of land and to build her program, focusing on preservation, economic alternatives and empowering women. She sought out and won international prizes to get recognition for the Reserve, recognition that was followed by more donations and a strengthening of her ability to stand up to oposition interests, like the loggers who tried to attack her. She was a music teacher and she sings, making people cry at international gatherings. She's a board member of the World Economic Forum. She is very powerful, but at the same time an ordinary Mexican woman who has done great things.

It doesn't hurt the effort that the Reserve has lots of charismatic megafauna (I love that phrase) like jaguars and pumas, plus rare and exotic birds. Roberto explained some of their funding comes from "selling carbon credits." I put it in quotes because he isn't really. The staff of the Reserve has figured out a way to monetize (put a dollar value on) the conservation that they are doing. They charge $15 per acre for land that is preserved. However, it's not really an offset - all of their donations come from nonprofit groups. It's an excellent start on trying to quantify the value of a preserved acre using some kind of scientific analysis, but until governments begin requiring carbon offsets for impacts, there won't really be a market. 

The Reserve is made up of numerous different entities. The overall reserve is just a declaration by the government, which means that people can't collect wood anymore or run cattle freely through the forest. There's the Grupo Ecologica, which helps start sustainable projects to help people, does scientific research and more. There's Sierra Gorda Ecotours, which organized our trip. They train and employ local people to serve as tour guides.There are five or more other entities, each set up for a specific purpose like qualifying to implement a particular government program to help the local people. Bosque Sustenable, or Sustainable Forest, helps with forestry issues.

Some people evidently have mixed feelings about the Reserve. Some say it's like a family business. Pati and her group have enough international clout that they can negotiate with the government about funding and development, which of course isn't popular, particularly with those on the other side of issues! They successfully stopped a power line through the Reserve and are now fighting a proposal to put a road through one of the major natural areas. We visited a number of their projects during the trip (which I'll describe in a separate post) and it seems to me that they are doing a great job. They are succeeding at land preservation.

What does this mean for the rest of Mexico's natural areas and parks? Well, most of the parks are managed by or with SEMARNAT, the park service. In 2012 there will be a presidential election, and if, as is widely expected, the PRI regains power, every government job in the country can be reassigned. It makes it very difficult to do long-term planning when terms are just six years and when the new group does not want to continue the work of the previous group, but rather wants to start new initiatives. Hopefully the Sierra Gorda Reserve can serve as a positive model for other preservation efforts.