By Juan Jose Consejo | Project leader
Why do we work in Manialtepec? This lagoon on the Oaxacan coast—and the watershed of which it is a part—is a site of special biosocial importance, including fisheries and migratory birds coming from Canada and USA. However, this heritage faces severe threats: land-use changes, illicit exploitation of flora and fauna, inappropriate production techniques, discharge of agrochemicals, trash, and untreated sewage into rivers and streams. Consequently, the watershed is already suffering from deforestation, soil erosion, a decline in wild plant and animal populations, reduced agricultural and fisheries productivity, and the pollution and siltation of the lagoon.
Thus, using water as a unifying element, some years ago, civil society organizations and local inhabitants launched the Manialtepec Representatives Committee. This body serves as a forum for consensus-building, information sharing, consultation, planning, and coordination aimed at protecting the watershed’s biocultural heritage and improving the well-being of its inhabitants. The goal is to establish a clear direction and align the efforts of diverse stakeholders—including representatives of fishers, 40 communities, municipal and agrarian authorities, civil society organizations, local groups, state and federal governments, private sector entities, and educational and research institutions.
The Committee meets every three months in different communities across the watershed. It has proven to be an effective instrument for building a shared vision and reaching agreements on land-use planning and the proper governance of the area's assets, values, and services.
Elders from the Chatino nation, one of the original peoples in the region, recount that the Chatino people originated at the Manialtepec Lagoon. Based in our traditions we are recreating tool to face a better future.
Thank you for joining the effort.
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