An inclusive community initiative to restore degraded lands with native vegetation
Embedded in the most extensive forest area in the Mexican tropics, near the Calakmul Reserve, this project is located in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. The mosaic of forest degradation is primarily due to the construction of roads, fire, the expansion of agriculture and livestock rearing and both legal and illegal logging of mahogany and cedar. Today, the families who live in the reserve are in a precarious position, relying heavily on practices which degrade the forest to meet their needs. But that is all about to change thanks to this restoration project.
for families with precarious livelihoods, through quinoa and honey production
with topics on camera trapping, fire control, and environmental education for children, youths and adults
with properly remunerated jobs for the landowners
with the Chicozapote forest
annually
benefit from forest conservation & restoration, thanks to the project
through community brigade initiative
17. Partnerships for the goals
With the income from carbon credits, the communities and the project partner have come together to design a range of activities which boost efforts to restore the area. This includes replanting and managing degraded patches of land with native vegetation species; establishing permanent monitoring sites and camera traps to prevent illegal logging, fires and understand the local biodiversity in more detail; training community members to tackle forest fires, poaching and illegal logging; and creating a management plan for the sustainable use of the forest, such as planting latex trees that can be used to produce natural chewing gum.
Thanks to the project, over 7,800 hectares of degraded forest will be restored, resulting in carbon dioxide being sequestered from the atmosphere and new sustainable livelihoods created. Once again this forest reserve can thrive and support flourishing wildlife as well as the communities who call it home.
