Last updated: June 2024
The Xochimilco borough of Mexico City is a World Heritage and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System wetland site, with significant cultural and ecological importance in food cultivation and water ecosystem (1). Due to the deterioration of the area and lack of top-down initiatives for the restoration and conservation of the area, a number of grassroots initiatives trying to revive the traditional chinampa cultivation and restore the natural state of the ecosystem function and its native species such as the Xochimilco axolotl through reinvigorating sustainable practices that produce quality food and foster water supply. This NBS introduces 3 such grassroot intiatives: (a) Cooperativa Chinampayolo (b) Restauración Ecológica y Desarrollo A.C. (REDES) with its EcoQuilitl producer-consumer network and (c) Umbral Axochiatl A.C. (local community organisation). (1)
Traditional cultivation practices in Xochimilco borough
Source: http://liiise.org/iniciativa/chinampayolo/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- In-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors
- Green areas for water management
- Other
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Improvements to water quality
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Preservation of historic traditions
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Social interaction
- Environmental education
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Tourism support
- Employment/job creation
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Protection of natural ecosystems, Knowledge creation and awareness raising
Project objectives
- Improving the restoration of ecosystem services and the social-hydrological resilience of the Xochimilco borough in Mexico City by relying on traditional food cultivation (1)
- Revival of the chinampa (floating garden) ancient water-saving agriculture practices used in wetlands using place attachment and cultural heritage (1,2)
- Creation of a value-added market for chinampa cultivators (1)
1) Cooperativa Chinamayolo:
- To recover both traditional agriculture and to generate innovative processes with agroecological and sustainable crops (3)
- To preserve the Chinampera culture through community organization, inherited knowledge, maintaining the Chinampa identity and respect for the present and future life of the lake ecosystem (3)
2) REDES - Network of Ecological Restoration and Development
- Raise awareness and the environmental knowledge of locals on traditional agriculture practices through workshops and volunteer program and eco toursim programs (4)
- Support the ecological restoration of the wetland area of the Xochimilco borough
- Creation of a market for cinampa producers (4)
3) Umbral Axochiatl -
- Conservation and restoration of the lake area by working articulated with different academic institutions, government and external social organizations, local or the chinampera area, maintaining close collaboration with main actors (5)
Implementation activities
The initiative includes three different projects with different starting and ending dates (Ref. 1):
1) Cooperativa Chinampayolo- Weekly market for the traditionally cultivated food products (3)
2) REDES
- Organisation of tours where visitors can see and learn more about the traditional agroecological practice of chinampas (4)
- Organisation of volunteering days focusing on the conservation of native fauna and flora and support for traditional Chinampera and mountain agriculture (4)
- Organisation of workshops and courses on agroecological techniques, small-scale agriculture and on ecotechnics for producers, students and tourists (4)
3) Umbral Axochiatl
- Development of low-cost sustainable agriculture technology, reducing the use of chemicals, easy to manage and safe for people (4)
- Offering a variety of recreational and specialized activities for ecotourism (4)
- Research in a biological station on the reproduction, maintenance and conservation of the Axolotl, native to this area (4)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Restore wetlands and/or coastal ecosystems to dissipate the effects of flooding and/or storms
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Promote environmentally-sound development in and around protected areas
- Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Means for conservation governance
- Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
- Raise public awareness
- Public engagement
- Capacity building
- Protect and apply traditional knowledge and conservation practices
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Non-government organisation/Civil Society
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
- Citizens or community group
- Researchers/university
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
"The groups that have formed to support the protection of the water ecosystem service of the Xochimilco borough have slightly different structures.
(a) Cooperativa Chinampayolo is a producers cooperative initiated by an activist academic
(b) REDES is a civil association created by academics, which houses a producers group EcoQuilitl and other initiatives and
(c) Umbral Axochiatl is a civil association, which is a local organisation and founding member of the Federación Indigena Empresarial y Comunidades Locales de México (Indigenous, Entrepreneurial and Local Communities of Mexico) and supporting producers is one of its core projects. All of these organisations involve producers (chinamperos) and academics with interests in ecosystem restoration." (1 p35)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
- Other
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Increased protection against flooding
- Improved stormwater management
- Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Increased protection of threatened species
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
- Increased market share for green economies
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Protection of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1) 1) Astbury, J. (2018). NATURVATION - Case Study Working Paper: Mexcio City, Mexico
2) Fagan, L. (2019). Ancient Aztec chinampas hold promise for urban agriculture. Sustainability Times. Accessed on April 7, 2021. Source link
3) Source link. (n.a.). Chinampayolo. Observatorio La Rábida de Desarrollo Sostenible y Cambio Climático para Iberoamérica. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
4) REDES. (n.a.). What we do. REDES - Restauración Ecológica y Desarrollo, A.C. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
5) Umbral Axochiatl. (n.a.). Ecology, culture and development with identity. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
2) Fagan, L. (2019). Ancient Aztec chinampas hold promise for urban agriculture. Sustainability Times. Accessed on April 7, 2021. Source link
3) Source link. (n.a.). Chinampayolo. Observatorio La Rábida de Desarrollo Sostenible y Cambio Climático para Iberoamérica. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
4) REDES. (n.a.). What we do. REDES - Restauración Ecológica y Desarrollo, A.C. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
5) Umbral Axochiatl. (n.a.). Ecology, culture and development with identity. Accessed on April 7, 2021, Source link
Traditional cultivation practices in Xochimilco borough
Source: http://www.redesmx.org/productos_en.html