Connecting farming to conservation “In a forest there is a lot of diversity and yet there is no chemical fertilization, there is no contro...
Connecting farming to conservation
“In a forest there is a lot of diversity and yet there is no chemical fertilization, there is no control, there is no use of insecticides or herbicides, and a forest is super productive and resilient,” says Alejandro Hernandez, TNC’s Chiapas coordinator, who has worked on conservation issues with communities in the region for more than 40 years. “We are copying the forest model and applying it using agroforestry systems.”
Chiapas is Mexico’s second-most biodiverse state and provides 30% of the country’s freshwater, so using agroforestry here becomes especially important, Hernandez tells Mongabay. He notes that greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico’s industrialized north come mainly from industry and motor vehicles, while in the south the main emitters are agriculture and cattle ranching. This is abundantly apparent in Chiapas, where 55% of the state’s forests having been cleared for farmland and pasture.
Hernandez says inefficient production systems are pushing farmers and ranchers to either abandon their fields or cut down more forests for more land. This doesn’t solve the problem, he says, as continuing these bad practices only increases the need for more land after just a few years, putting pressure on the remaining forests.
The solution requires seeing farmers and ranchers as allies rather than as threats, Hernandez says. By working together with conservationists to find models that are economically attractive to producers, he says, food and water security issues can be addressed while agricultural expansion into forests can be stopped and lost forests can be restored.
“I think that generates more empathy between both sides, because then we aren’t fighting,” Hernandez says. “If we do this right, we’re going to free up for restoration areas in marginal zones that are not suitable for agriculture.”
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