Integrating Science and Traditional Practices to Bolster the Livelihoods of Farmers in Southern Mexico
- Regenerative Agriculture
- Biodiversity
- Soil Management
- Ecosystem Restoration
- Central America Subrealm
- Central America Realm
| Bioregion | Mexican Dry & Coniferous Forests (NT28) |
| Category | Regenerative Agriculture Our project categories represent one of three core solutions pathways to solving climate change. Energy Transition focuses on renewable energy access and energy efficiency. Nature Conservation includes wildlife habitat protection and ecosystem restoration, as well as Indigenous land rights. Regenerative Agriculture supports farmers, ranchers, and community agriculture. |
| Realm | Central America The Project Marketplace is organized by the major terrestrial realms divided into 14 biogeographical regions – N. America, Subarctic America, C. America, S. America, Afrotropics, Indomalaya, Australasia, Oceania, Antarctica, and the Palearctic realm, which coincides with Eurasia and is divided into Subarctic, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern regions. |
| Partner | Agroecology Fund |
One Earth’s Project Marketplace funds on-the-ground climate solutions that are key to solving the climate crisis through three pillars of collective action — renewable energy, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture.
Recognizing that rural communities offer solutions to pressing environmental problems, Mexican NGO Autonomous Group for Environmental Research (GAIA), was created in 1998 to promote decentralized and sustainable landscape management and the wellbeing of farming communities in Oaxaca.
For two decades, GAIA has worked with diverse communities in the watersheds of the rivers Copalita, Zimatán, and Huatulco. Its main objective is to protect the Copalita-Zimatán-Huatulco hydrological complex, whose waters sustain agriculture across Indigenous communities and the tourism industry at the Huatulco Bays.
GAIA combines traditional practices of Mexican farmers and foresters with scientific knowledge, seeking both biodiversity conservation and the bolstering of rural livelihoods. The management strategies it promotes strengthen collective local governance of shared natural resources.
UZACHI. Credit: Agroecology Fund
Soil fertility and water conservation are key elements of the agroecological practices promoted by GAIA. Through simple methodologies, GAIA provides training and technical support to a network of farmer-trainers on how to take care of soils and water. This is not a traditional top-down extension system, where a professional agronomist tells farmers what to do; it relies mainly on the capacity of peasant organizations to conduct research and disseminate agroecology practices themselves, in partnership with small farmers’ cooperatives.
GAIA is expanding this work in numerous communities, building bio-input (natural fertilizer) plants which multiply microorganisms that accelerate soil recovery. The availability of bio-inputs can help accelerate scaling up agroecology by reducing the time necessary to improve soil health and increase crop yields.
In addition to supporting the production capabilities of Mexican farmers, the soil and water health and landscape management approach promoted by GAIA is also key to mitigating climate change. Through its work, GAIA helps create climate-resilient ecosystems, restores the link between agrobiodiversity and wild landscapes; ensures sustainable production and consumption by smallholders; and strengthens community-led resource management.
The partnership between GAIA and local communities led to the formation of a coalition across southern Mexico states: the Community System for Biodiversity (SICOBI in Spanish). SICOBI is committed to sustainable land management and the agroecological production of coffee, honey, corn, and beans. Its own brand, Pueblos y Selvas, certifies and markets the produce, primarily for solidarity and niche markets.
GAIA advocates for greater recognition of the role of communities’ efforts in the maintenance and provision of ecosystem services. Along with SICOBI, it leads the United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) in Oaxaca.