Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparajá A.C.

I. El Ciruelito: Didactic module for Soil Conservation and Aquifer Recharge  El Ciruelito is a rural community located in the heart of Sierra el Novillo, located 37 kilometer south east of La Paz in one of the main recharging areas for the La Paz aquifer.  As in most rural communities in the Baja California Sur Sierras, local economy at El Ciruelito is based in livestock and the commercialization of livestock byproducts, but also in the exportation of labor to La Paz city.  The introduction of livestock to this arid region took place in the 1700’s with the arrival of new colonizers from Europe and the interior of México. Since then, livestock became a deep component of the local “ranchero” culture and economy, though, it has deeply contributed to the degradation and erosion of soil.   In 2011, teachers and students at a technical high school located in La Paz city (CBTIS 230) took the initiative to build a didactic module for Soil Conservation and Aquifer Recharge.  The didactic module for soil conservation and aquifer recharge at El Ciruelito, is built over a total surface of 8.4 hectares, includes several different techniques of soil conservation works, all designed to preserve the soil and vegetative cover, reduce erosion, control runoff, and therefore, increase the infiltration capacity that finally benefits the aquifer recharge.  With an inclusive approach, this project is actively promoting the involvement, participation and education of students (both from La Paz and El Ciruelito), government, NGO’s, community members and the press.  All have been able to participate from their own perspective and approach, both on the construction of the module, but also on learning from it.      Today we can say that this module is being useful to help increase social consciousness, educate and involve decision makers and generate new and replicable techniques and local knowledge. In fact, decision makers are gaining understanding and interest in promoting conservation and soil recuperation schemes’ on the upper part of the basin, and thanks to this first experience, it is possible now to provide them with measured results and detailed information on efficiency, design, costs and knowledge.   I.II Inclusion:  Local community is the one more actively involved and benefited, but in the long term, all the citizens of La Paz benefit from initiatives aimed at fostering an efficient watershed management in La Paz.  This project started as an initiative of two visionary citizens.  Engineer Socorro Paulin, a teacher of CBTIS 230 which is a public technical high-school in La Paz city, and Engineer Vicente Aguilar Osuna, a former consultant for the National Water Commission - CONAGUA. These key leaders have implemented a strategy that involves diverse stakeholders.  Their model includes several layers of community involvement, participation and inclusion. The first one is successfully adding the in-site implementation and research of this module as part of the curricula of the technical high-school. This has allowed the participation of more than 20 students over the last year, and the possibility of involving new students every year. One great example of the impact this is generating on the young kids, was the winning of the first place of the “National Water Youth Price of 2012” through this project. As recognition to this price, the embassy of Switzerland in Mexico invited and sponsored 3 of these young kids to participate on the World Water Week in Stockholm to present the project.  The second layer of inclusion regards the local rural community’s understanding, involvement and investment.  The community signed an agreement allowing the project to use 8.47 acres of their land. Even if this is a small portion of land, it is significant because of the nature of the community, were cattle is one of the main economic activities and they agreed to keep it out of this area.  In return, the community is constantly receiving data and information on the progress and research.  Some of the results are being received with joy in the community. The water level of the well that is being tested and measured has increased over the last year.  Besides the new employment opportunities for construction and maintenance for the local community, this project has also involved the local primary school.  All the kids that live and study in this community have the duty to participate in the reforestation and maintenance of the area. Furthermore, the families received a course on organic agriculture and are now able to produce their own food, thus increasing the quality of the vegetables eaten on the village and allowing them to save money.  The third and fourth layer of inclusion involves the participation and involvement of NGOs (Such as Niparajá A.C.), governmental agencies and the media. All of them have been supporting the project through different means such as funding, instrumentation and media coverage.  I.III  Partners   ● Community of El Ciruelito: Land ownership, interest and involvement in the project and research, employment opportunities, students’ and family participation.  ● CBTIS 230: Added the project to their academic curricula, provides technical assistance and labor with the aid of teachers and students.  ● Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparajá A.C:  Provides funding and technical assistance. Serves as a link with authorities, other NGO’s, partners and press. Aids with communication and diffusion. ● Ecology Project International: Has developed a curricula on environmental education inspired on this module. This curricula is being used to educate a large amount of junior high and high school students of La Paz on water cycle and watershed subjects. ● La Paz Municipality: Provides on-site logistic such as allowing the use of trucks and financing fuel when needed.