Regenerate the social & natural fabric in Oaxaca

REWEAVING SOCIAL FABRIC TO STRENGTHEN THE GOVERNANCE OF BENITO JUÁREZ NATIONAL PARK

The project “Regenerating the hydrosocial fabric of the Atoyac River basin” is grounded in a holistic and relational vision of territory, where water is understood not merely as a resource, but as a living common good that sustains life, culture, and community. Within this framework, strengthening environmental governance becomes a critical pathway to restore balance between ecosystems and society. The establishment of the Advisory Council of Benito Juárez National Park represents a key milestone in this effort, advancing a multi-actor articulation strategy that reconnects communities, land, and water through a watershed-based approach and meaningful participation. This Council creates a structured space for dialogue and collective decision-making, essential for safeguarding ecosystems that regulate the hydrological integrity of the Atoyac River basin.

The Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) has played a strategic role as both a technical facilitator and a social weaver, enabling processes that go beyond institutional coordination to rebuild trust and shared purpose among stakeholders. Through participatory methodologies, INSO has strengthened governance capacities while fostering local ownership of environmental stewardship. In alignment with principles akin to permaculture ethics and community-centered development, the project emphasizes working with natural systems and placing communities at the center of decisions that affect their territories and waters. This perspective has guided the integration of water sustainability and climate adaptation criteria into the Advisory Council’s agenda, recognizing the park as a vital recharge zone and a living system that connects forests, soils, rivers, and people.

As a result, the formation of the Advisory Council has catalyzed an intersectoral coordination platform with tangible potential to influence integrated territorial management. More importantly, it has contributed to the regeneration of the hydrosocial fabric—understood as the restoration of relationships of trust, cooperation, and shared responsibility around water as a commons. This progress directly advances the project’s objectives by fostering long-term resilience, both ecological and social, in the Atoyac River basin.

For international donors, this initiative represents a scalable and replicable model of community-based environmental governance, where technical rigor is combined with deep social engagement. By investing in processes that rebuild relationships as much as ecosystems, the project contributes not only to climate adaptation and water security, but also to more just and sustainable territorial futures.

Links:

• INSO oficial page
• Foro Oaxaqueno del Agua