MEET OUR FOREST STEWARDS

Tomás owns a 1,236 acre property known as “El Topozán” in the community of San Antonio Tancoyol. It is an oak forest with jaguars, margays, ocelots, tayras, jaguarundis, porcupiness, ajols, wild turkeys, great curassows, frogs, and fer-de-lance. Tomás receives payments from the National Forestry Commission for the ecosystem services he provides by protecting this land.

“There are many animals. Puma, ajol, deer… I saw them all when I lived on my ranch.” With the payments, Tomás was able to reinforce two kilometers of fencing on his property to prevent neighboring livestock from entering. He also constructed a water collection tank. “I am a big fan of nature, to the point where I get upset when I see someone in the community carrying a slingshot. When I lived on the ranch, even though I saw all those wild animals, I never shot one. I am completely against cutting down trees, burning trash… if I could, I would have stayed on the ranch, I would have stayed to die on my land,” Tomás explains emotionally.

Francisca has lived on her 2,125 acre property in the Puerto de los Bueyes community for 16 years. Over the course of three years, she received payments for ecosystem services from the Fundación Gonzalo Río Arronte. “It is a marvelous forest, wherever one walks. There are white and red cedars, junipers… these are very coveted by the people who cut trees down illegally for posts and boards. When they saw that I had come here to live, they had to be more discreet. Now, they don’t cut down living trees or take the wood. They are more respectful of nature now than they were in past. In the past, they would even cut down palm trees,” Francisca tells us.

“With the payments that I received, I was able to fence in the majority of my property to keep out open range livestock. The wire for fencing is expensive, as is the labor. That is how I used the money. I would like to invite the people who donated to visit this area. There are places here that are true natural sanctuaries. The way to Los Indios Cave goes through one of these sanctuaries, a grove of junipers. I would love it if donors could come to see the places we are conserving. I know that they would want to support even more,” says Francisca.

In 2012, the company Bombardier began to pay Silvestre a yearly sum for the carbon captured on his property. “In the past, I had a few heads of cattle here, but not anymore. I removed them all when the program began. Since then, you can see changes. The forest is denser, and more animals are coming to feed.” Silvestre is also a lover of wildlife, including peccaries – relatives of wild boars, native to the Americas – whom he indulges with treats such as acorns, guavas, and maize. “In the past, people in the community would hunt them for food, but now they do not harm them. The peccaries stay in the pastures, where people don’t bother them; that’s where you’ll find the herds, the mothers with the little ones. It’s really wonderful.”

Primitivo lives with his wife, son and brothers, and is the Representative of the San Juan de los Duran Society, which collectively owns more than 8,073 acres of some of the most biologically important and pristine forests of the Sierra Gorda, forests of fir trees, cedars and pines.
In the past, the community did not take part in forest conservation. They would clear forest to plant maize and beans, and, in order to earn a livable income, eventually began to sell timber and raise cattle. Due to the age and density of the undergrowth, the harm to the trees, ecosystems, and habitats was not immediately obvious, and the community was not aware of the detrimental effects that their activities had on the environment. However, when they saw that pine trees were dying because goats were eating their bark, the impact of the destruction became evident and the community began to worry.
As many others in the Sierra Gorda, Primitivo and his community faced a difficult choice: to earn a minimal income by raising livestock and selling timber, or to conserve their natural resources and live in poverty. Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda’s offset program, provided them with a viable alternative. The community now receives regular payments in exchange for conserving their lands and for the environmental services and carbon capture that these old forests provide. “The (GESG’s) program will be of much help to us and to the forest as well: we have to conserve it. With more help, we could do even more,” says Primitivo.

Hermilo and his wife Nicanora Servin are forest owners. Before partaking in the Carbon Neutral Planet Program, their family earned an income by raising subsistence crops and livestock and by selling natural ropes made from the fibers of the local “lechuguilla” agave plant. However, as the use of plastic grew, the demand for this artisanal product decreased, and the family ended up in poverty.

Several years later, when a road was built to their isolated community, Hermilo and Nicanora began to sell timber. Recently the trees have been affected by bark beetle infestations. “Selling infested wood is bad business; the only ones who can make a living are those who clear-cut the forest,” says Hermilo.

When the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve was established, Hermilo began to receive financial support for protecting the forest: this financial support is now the family’s principal source of income. Through Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, the Querétaro state government and other donors provide compensation to Hermilo’s family and other proprietors for eliminating livestock, agricultural activities, and logging from their land. “We know that the forest is life and, if we want water and cool weather, clean air and little animals, we have to care for our forest. A tree is a man’s best friend,” Hermilo tells us.

Valentin’s story shows the transformation taking place in the perception that Sierra Gorda residents have of the environment.

Valentin has always made his living from livestock and agriculture. Every year he would burn down part of the forest to plant new crops and graze cattle. Gradually, he saw that these activities were destroying the forest and, in turn, his ability to earn an income. Through the support of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda and its donors, Valentin now applies his abilities and energies to forest regeneration. Little by little, his forests have returned to their natural state and can now provide vital habitats for native wildlife.

Valentin no longer has to choose between poverty and conservation. He is grateful for the chance to play a positive role in the protection of the Sierra Gorda and in combating climate change. “We know about global warming from the TV. We know that forest fires harm us. I am old now, and the funds I receive help me to support myself and to conserve my forest,” says Valentin.