case studies undp: san crisanto foundation, mexico

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: SAN CRISANTO FOUNDATION, Mexico

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Mexico

SAN CRISANTOFOUNDATI0N

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph CorcoranManaging Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa

Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the San Crisanto Foundation, and in particular the guidance and inputs o Jose I

Loria Palma. All photo credits courtesy o San Crisanto Foundation. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. San Crisanto Foundation, Mexico. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdf


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PROJECT SUMMARYThe San Crisanto Foundation ocuses on mangroverestoration and ood prevention in a region thatconsistently aces heavy rainall and ooding. Since theFoundations establishment, over 11,300 metres o canalshave been restored, and 45 cenotes have been delistedand rehabilitated. As a result, ood risk is reduced andpopulations and diversity o endemic wildlie in the cenotesand mangrove orests have increased. Restoration eortshave generated 60 jobs and local household incomes haveincreased substantially.

To complement to its restoration eorts, the Foundationundertakes community education and awareness-raising, emphasising the value o wetland and mangroveconservation or local livelihoods and as a natural bueragainst oods.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2010

FOUNDED: 2001

LOCATION: Yucatn, Mexico

BENEFICIARIES: 150 families, 570 total residents

BIODIVERSITY: 850 hectares of mangroves, 167 bird speci

3

SAN CRISANTO FOUNDATIONMexico

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 10


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4

an Crisanto is a small shing community o approximately 150

Mayan amilies, located along the northern coast o Mexico in the

tate o Yucatn. The community has experienced rapid growth in

ecent decades, its population increasing rom 150 in the 1970s

o over 570 in 2011. The San Crisanto Foundation is a community-

ased organization that manages all conservation and restoration,

apacity-building, and education projects in the San Crisanto Ejido.

Collective land management the ejido system

he ejido is a orm o land tenure designation dating to pre-

Columbian Mexico. The system ell out o use ollowing colonization

ut reemerged ater the Mexican Revolution, allowing groups oetween 20 and 200 landless people to communally take possession

tracts o land or collective management. It was not until the

930s, however, that the government began to actively redistribute

ederal and private land, leading to revitalization o the ejido system

nd signicant expansion o the practice across Mexico up until the

970s.

he San Crisanto Ejido was created in response to the escalating

xploitation o local natural resources by large arm owners.

ncursions into community land were starting to threaten the

iability o traditional livelihoods and the productivity o local

cosystems. The San Crisanto community made an ocial land claim

nder the ejido system, which received approval and designationy ederal mandate (provisional in 1974, and nal in 1980.) One

the stipulations o the ejido designation was the creation o a

and use plan which unctionally divides the community territory

nto a conservation area, land plots or productive activities (e.g.

griculture), and land or human settlements.

and use planning in the San Crisanto Ejido

he conservation area in the San Crisanto Ejido is 1,020 hectares

ut o a 1,500-hectare territory. It includes 110 hectares o tropical

deciduous orest, 850 hectares o mangrove orests (red, b

white, and buttonwood), and 60 hectares o grassland and wet

The area also contains 45 cenotes, natural sinkholes characte

to Mexico that result rom the collapse o limestone bedrock

which then expose the groundwater underneath. The area con

a number o important endemic species, including More

crocodile, the Hicotea tortoise and several species o tern. The

Crisanto Ejido is recognized as a community conserved area

oundations stated objective is the restoration and conservati

the natural resources and biodiversity o this area.

Productive activities in the ejido have evolved and expan

over time, but remain unequivocally linked to the conservaand health o local ecosystems, both inside and outside o

ormal conservation area. As a complement to the main activ

o community members, shing activities began in 1976, coc

plantations were introduced in 1978, and salt extraction

traditional activity o the ancient Mayans was started in 1983.

In 1995, two hurricanes struck the region within less than

weeks o each other. The hurricanes brought an unusual amou

rain which, due to a lack o drains leading out into the mangr

led to widespread ooding. The community decided to cons

a drainage system alongside a highway bordering the mang

orest that would allow oodwaters to drain and ow naturally

the mangroves and out into the sea. In the course o this prothe community cleared the culverts o blockages. This resulte

a marked increase in the number o reshwater sh, prawns,

crocodiles in the cenotes ater just a ew months.

These successes motivated the community to create a sustain

development program or the restoration o mangroves and

recovery o local biodiversity. The San Crisanto Foundation

ormally established in 2001 to support the conservation activ

that the ejido began. The oundation and the ejido work clo

together and are unctionally interdependent.

Background and Context


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55

Economic development and alternative livelihoods

While the oundations ocus on conservation was motivated by

elatively recent events, the impetus or engaging in sustainablevelihoods and economic development activities dates back much

arther and is more deeply rooted in San Crisantos history. Beginning

n the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the production o

enequen (a plant indigenous to the Yucatn), mangrove charcoal

roduction, cattle raising, salt extraction, coconut cultivation,

nd the production o copra (the dried kernels o a coconut) were

he most prominent economic activities and sources o revenue

or the local population. This long history o relative economic

rosperity coupled with regular interactions with less afuent

ommunities and local groups with ewer economic opportunities

created an expectation o nancial opportunity, growth and

teady improvements in community living conditions that were

omewhat untenable. The respective economies or these productswould wane, and new opportunities would need to be created. To

ddress these needs, and to ll the gaps in public services that had

eveloped due to consistent neglect by government authorities, the

oundation has also evolved a ocus on livelihoods diversication

nd the generation o alternative employment opportunities.

Foundation objectives and vision

When the oundation was rst conceived, its objective was to

ecover aquatic auna and restore the presence o migratory birds

in the region. Its mission, however, has become more genera

to include the restoration and conservation o biodiversity m

broadly. Related objectives, which receive equal emphasis rom

oundation, are: promoting social development in San Crisanto

adjacent communities, involving youth in conservation activ

promoting the sustainable use o natural resources, genera

employment through sustainable natural resource managem

supporting low-impact ecotourism services, and operatin

vocational school.

The oundation is based on three main principles that are integ

into all o its activities. First, the oundation is committed to remai

independent o any political party, government, or relig

aliation. Second, the oundation emphasizes ethical dealin

its work and prioritizes the sharing o benets amongst all o

members. Lastly, the oundation strives to operate as a democ

organization, so that all decisions are based on consensus.

To create a ramework and timeline or the achievement o

goals and objectives, the oundation, in collaboration with the

Crisanto Community Council, created a strategic plan or the pe

o 2009 to 2029 called San Crisanto Plan 929. The plan is inten

to serve as a visioning tool to guide local development activ

over the next two decades. It contains guidelines that allow

community to consolidate its development through the sustain

use o natural resources and to prevent (wherever possible) dam

and degradation o local ecosystems rom human activities.

Initial challenges enforcement and land tenure

The evolution o the San Crisanto Foundation has been marke

a number o barriers and challenges getting to success has be

trial and error process requiring active learning. Among the ea

challenges was initial resistance to community ownership oejido, and more specically the rules put in place by the comm

through the oundation to protect and conserve biodiversity. Vis

to the area did not comply with the ejido entrance ee requirem

to access the mangroves and consistently violated regulation

hunting and timber extraction. Based on inormation generate

research conducted in the area, the oundation decided to inv

great deal o time, energy and eort into explaining the reason

community protocols and regulations. In this way, the initiative

able to successully change public behavior and obtain compli

that was more in alignment with conservation and sustain

livelihoods objectives.

A related challenge was the lack o recognition by the edgovernment o the communitys land tenure. An attempt was m

by the ederal government by way o the Ministry o Environm

and Natural Resources to classiy the entire area o wetlands

ederal maritime zone. Under such a classication, the commu

would have lost access to their lands and relinquished steward

authority in the mangroves. Because this attempt by the governm

was in direct contravention o agrarian law governing muni

property, the ejido successully led a lawsuit which required

national government recognize the communitys ull ownersh

the wetlands and mangroves within their territory.


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6

Key Activities and Innovations

he oundation undertakes numerous activities to preserve

biodiversity, sustainably manage natural resources, build community

apacity and improve the delivery o healthcare and education

ervices. The primary ocus is cleaning and maintaining local canals

nd cenotes to prevent siltation, which has deleterious eects on

he health o local ecosystems. Clear, open canals also enable the

ommunity to provide boat trips and wildlie observation excursions

o tourists visiting the area, an important source o income. The

oundation also undertakes annual evaluations o mangroves and

ssessments o changes in sh populations, to track the impacts o

ts conservation work.

An innovative model of community land management

While the ejido system is based on traditional land use practice, the

stablishment o a distinct organization within an ejido to meet the

ommunitys social, economic and environmental goals is unique

o San Crisanto. The oundation was a response to biodiversity

oss and environmental decline on the one hand, and, on the

other, community members not understanding the environments

mplications or local economic development. By involving

ommunity members directly in restoration and conservation work,

he oundation has ostered social cohesion. By managing matters

elating to conservation, restoration and environmental education

within the ejido, the oundation has improved service delivery and

enerated employment.

Capacity building

An important dimension o the oundations work is capacity building

hrough training and environment education. Investment in these

ervices has intensied over the last several years. Since 2005, the

oundation has invested more than USD 100,000 in environmental

ducation and workshops (in biodiversity conservation,

nvironmental care and management o municipal solid waste,

ender equity, and community development). Workshops are

strategically held at schools to target young members o

community. Between 2005 and 2007, the oundation ne-tune

environmental education program with the support o exper

the elds o participatory planning, teaching techniques and s

anthropology. In close cooperation with a number o comm

members, the team developed the long-term environme

education program which is operated and executed by

oundation. To urther promote its environmental education

training activities, the oundation is in the process o creati

clearinghouse o inormation and documentation on their work

oundation has stockpiled doctoral theses and analytical papers

ocus on everything rom their internal institutional dynamics to

impacts o their programming.


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7

Awareness-raising festivals

o consolidate its relationship with the wider community, and

mprove public awareness o the issues at the heart o its mandate,

he oundation initiated the San Crisanto Coconut Festival in 2002.

he estival, created in response to the loss o coconut palms and

ownward trends in the coconut market, is held over three days and

ers a wide variety o events and activities, including exhibitions;

mangrove tours, arts and crats, and concerts. The estival alsoerves as a shop window or coconut based products. The Center or

cientic Research o Yucatn, the Research and Advanced Studies

Center o the National Polytechnic Institute o Mexico, and the state

overnment have supported in the estival.

he oundation also holds an annual Mangrove Festival to highlight

he importance o mangrove ecosystems to the biodiversity in

he region and the unctioning o the local economy. The event

includes cleaning o access ways to mangroves, canals and cen

clearing and cleaning o roads and beaches; tours o the mangro

presentations o Plan 929 (the oundations long-term, stra

plan); and perormances by Yucatn musicians.

Public health services

An additional ocus or the oundation is improving commu

health, hygiene, nutrition and access to disability services. Activ

in this area extend beyond San Crisanto to adjacent commun

Ater the 2002 hurricane, the oundation organized a concert to

unds to restore various health services that had been destro

On a more regular basis, the oundation collects donations

businesses and other donors to support local health cente

provide needed medical provisions and supplies. Activities in

area o public health have been undertaken on an ad hoc, as nee

basis.

Conservation can only be achieved through the recognition and revaluation of local natura

resources and the possibility of rational use. Part of the development process must be inclusiv

respecting the rights of the members of the community concerned...

Jose Ines Loria Palma, San Crisanto Foundation


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8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

One o the most signicant biodiversity impacts rom San

Crisanto Foundations work has been the registration o the ejidos

onservation area (as delineated in its constitutional land use plan)

s a wildlie conservation management unit. In order to successully

egister the area, the ejido needed to establish several regulations

o promote the conservation o biodiversity and natural resources.

Regulations included an absolute prohibition on hunting in the

rea and restrictions on shing in cenotes and springs. While shing

rom the sea was not restricted, each household in the community

was permitted to sh rom cenotes only twice a year (or either

onsumption or recreation). Similar restrictions were placed on

imber extraction, which is only permitted or domestic use and

pending receipt o a permit outlining the amount o timber that

an be cut and rom which area. In combination with oundation

work to clean the cenotes and surrounding areas, these policies

nd regulations have collectively conserved natural resources in the

rea and ensured the health and unctioning o local ecosystems.

mprovements have been made in mangrove orest cover, sh

tocks, and populations o other key species.

Mangroves

The oundation has developed a system to measure changes inmangrove orests and the surrounding ecosystems, in particular

hose changes that can be attributed to their programming

nd interventions. An area o mangrove swamp is selected at

andom and divided into transects. In each two-meter wide

ransect, researchers rom the oundation count the number o

plants, identiying species and measuring mangrove tree trunk

diameters, height and basal cover. Assessments are carried out by

ta trained in environmental monitoring as well as partners rom

ocal universities. The oundation has provided its entire sta with

raining on conducting environmental assessments; trainees attend

our courses on dierent aspects o measurement activities an

supported to visit neighboring communities and sites that

successully applied monitoring and evaluation techniques

inormation gathered rom the mangrove assessments is reco

or statistical analysis and to evaluate progress and impacts. To

the oundation has been able restore 60 percent o the mangr

lost during the 2002 hurricanes.

Increases in the diversity and abundance of endemic spe

Prior to the cleaning o the cenotes, numbers o endemic sh sp

were very low, with only resh water catsh observed in s

springs. Ater the oundations hydrological restoration activ

the community observed dramatic increases both in the divers

species and abundance o sh in the cenotes. The most notice

changes have been in populations o Guatemalan Rhamdia

reshwater pike.

Such positive changes have extended to other species in

mangrove ecosystem. Following the hydrological restoration e

o the oundation, sta reported a ourold increase in populatio

prawn species Macrobrachium acanthurus in the canals. Popula

o marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletti) have also g

substantially since 2004. Over a three year period, the numb

crocodiles in the cenotes grew by 87 individual crocodiles, o w70 per cent were emale. During this same period there were

sightings o crocodiles and, in September 2010, two hatching

were located.

Foundation activities have also had a positive eect on the

resident, migratory and endemic bird species in San Crisanto. B

the initiative began, the presence o migratory birds in the re

was minimal and was limited to small ocks o blue-winged

ducks (Anas discors). Flock sizes have since increases to betw

200 and 300 birds, and populations o the American coot (F


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americana) have returned. In addition, pink amingos, which had

not been present in the wetlands o San Crisanto or over 50 years,

have reappeared a ock o more than 250 birds was recorded in

2009.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

San Crisanto Foundation has helped to improve the communitys

quality o lie, strengthen local socio-economic conditions, andexpand livelihood options or the local population. When the

oundation was rst established, 90 percent o the target population

n San Crisanto was living below the national poverty line. By 2010,

he entire population o San Crisanto had incomes twice that o the

national per capita, on average USD 6,000 per year.

mportantly, improvements in income have not been limited to

middle-aged men, but have also extended to women and youth.

Project activities have also translated to the creation o much-needed

employment opportunities or the community members. Activities

n ecotourism specically have resulted in twelve permanent and

ve seasonal jobs.

The secondary livelihood options resulting rom developments in

he ecotourism sector have increased too, with amily businesses

emerging to provide tourists with needed goods (oods and

handicrats) and hospitality services. These businesses have created

more than 40 permanent jobs.

A percentage o ecotourism revenues are directed back to the

oundation where they have most oten been invested in community

nrastructure projects, schools and educational materials. As a result,

chool enrollment in the community has increased substantially,

and 30 percent o students are continuing on to pursue hi

education and technical degrees.

Increased incomes and job creation have also more gene

resulted in improvements to living conditions and to the prov

o basic public services. All households within the ejido now

running water and unctional toilets.

POLICY IMPACTS

The oundation has emerged regionally in the Yucatn as

acto leader in community mobilization and grassroot

development processes. With support rom the Center or Rese

and Advanced Studies o the National Polytechnic Institute (Ce

de Investigacin y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politc

Nacional), the oundation has been able to develop and mainst

a local strategy or community-based natural resource managem

and conservation. The strategy was designed to increase

participation in both on-the-ground action and policyma

These eorts culminated in the establishment o Plan 929, a twe

year strategic plan to guide local development activities in

community.

At the state level, representatives rom the oundation

participated in a number o policy orums and committees, no

including the Council o the Basin o the Yucatn Peninsula. In 2

the oundation took part in a meeting o the Design Comm

or the Management Program o the State Reserve o Mangr

o the North Coast o Yucatn. The meeting was held to discus

regulatory architecture, policies and strategies that the comm

would use going orward, and San Crisanto Foundation l

discussion on the unction o knowledge sharing in lands

restoration work.

9


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10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYhere are a number o components and conditions that make the

oundation sustainable over the long-term. Critical among them

re: the communitys ocial legal tenure status (as an ejido), the

uccessul identication o opportunities or income generation and

iversication, investments in sta training and capacity building,

he support and contributions o research institutes and universities,

nd a commitment to peer-to-peer learning and exchange.

rom an environmental perspective, the oundation intends to

maintain and grow its emphasis on ecosystem restoration. The

caling up o these activities will be particularly important ineducing the risk o saline intrusion, which can have detrimental

ects on biodiversity and certain endemic species and which will

ut additional tension on those members o the community who

re dependent on natural resource management or their incomes.

Another important aspect o environmental sustainability is to

reate an ongoing program to measure water quality to detect

ontaminants that may aect the auna o the mangrove. To this end,

he oundation is currently working on a our-year project with the

National Forestry Commission o Mexicos Carbon Capture Program

which is aimed at habitat conservation in the local mangroves.

REPLICATION

eer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange have been key

rogrammatic eatures o the San Crisanto Foundation and have paid

ividends in terms o the replication and up-take o best practice in

mangrove restoration. The oundation model has been shared with

ther rural and coastal communities at knowledge-sharing meeting

esigned to position on-the-ground practitioners as instructors

or other practitioners. These meetings are oten proessionally

acilitated and allow community representatives to present on

he successes and challenges o their respective work. Translators

re also oten used to include Mayan speakers and participants.

In December 2010, or instance, the oundation participate

a meeting to discuss community experiences coastal reso

management in El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in Baja Caliornia

The meeting included the participation o organizations rom

Mexican states. The ollowing year, San Crisanto was elected to

the meeting.

The oundation has also arranged a number o eld visits to aci

knowledge exchange. On several occasions, coconut armers

other states in Mexico have been supported to visit San Crisanto

learn about their experiences with coconut production.

PARTNERSThe ollowing organizations have provided assistance to

Foundations work on a project basis:

The Mexico Secretariat o Environment and Natural Resou

through support o temporary employment;

The National Forestry Commission, through studies

restoration o the area. In 2010 it authorized a ve-year pr

or the conservation o biodiversity in an amount o USD 140

The Conservation Act o the North American Wetlands (2

2002, 2005);

The UNDP implemented GEF Small Grants Programme (200

The International Convention on Wetlands RAMSAR (2006) La Ruta del Chocolate (2009).

Table 1 provides a list o those partners whose support has

undamental to the San Crisanto Foundation since its incep

The table also describes their roles, and the degree to which

oundation has depended on their support.


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1111

Table 1. San Crisanto Foundation partners

Partner Role Support ProvidedDependency of the

project on the partn

Ejido o San CrisantoProvides manpower, materials,

and nancial resources

Is legally responsible or the area in

which the oundation works100%

Cinvestav - Mrida

Perorms participatoryresearch and provides

support through students

who perorm dierent tasks in

environmental conservation

Provides methodology or

environmental education and

support with workshops and training

courses

None

College o the Atlantic

(Maine, USA)

Supports with student

exchanges; students develop

projects and teach English

courses to children and

adolescents

Provides labor and technical

expertiseNone

San Crisanto CommunityCouncil A.C.

Participate in workshops and

courses, support community

involvement in the project

Promotes community integration;

strengthens social ties

Relative; a risk

exists in the case odisappearance or

retirement

Research Center or Scientic

Research o Yucatn

Supports with research on

plants, in particular coconut

palm

Provides methodology and scientic

knowledge

Relative; only regardin

support and at the

request o the group


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Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and

necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

FURTHER REFERENCE

San Crisanto Foundation video (Vimeo) vimeo.com/43198616

San Crisanto Foundation website: sancrisanto.org

Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
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case studies undp: san crisanto foundation, mexico

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