The management teams of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve and the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area were trained in climate change, adaptation and ecosystem-based adaptation.

The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the participants’ capacities and knowledge on issues related to the management of natural protected areas (NPAs) in a climate change context, as well as about the institutional mandate for implementing CONANP’s Climate Change Strategy for Natural Protected Areas.

 

Photo: Alejandra Calzada Vázquez Vela. Workshop assistant participating in an exercise on climate change concepts.

 

In addition, the workshop was designed to ensure that participants learned about the anticipated results of the Costas Listas project and were involved in its implementation, particularly in their role as liaisons with local communities that rely on the ecosystem services provided by NPAs.

As part of the training, participants applied the concepts presented in the workshop in two participatory exercises. In the first exercise, the participants described the local climate and the biological, ecological, social and economic processes that occur throughout the year in each NPA, as well as some of the climate changes perceived in recent years. Later, they identified the ecosystem services that can be harnessed and strengthened to promote climate change adaptation in the communities inside the NPA.

 

Photo: Valeria Petrone Mendoza. Landscape drawing of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve that identifies elements of biological, social and economic importance, climate change impacts and the ecosystem services provided by the NPA.

 

The Costas Listas project is implemented by WWF Mexico and is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Through its implementation, the project will contribute to the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water. It seeks to manage, protect and restore the region’s coastal ecosystems with the ultimate goal of avoiding the negative effects of climate change.

The workshop was held at the Cuyo field station located in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve on February 22, 2019.

 

Photo: Valeria Petrone Mendoza. Participants of the workshop training on climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation for the implementation of the Costas Listas project.

 

This article belongs to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Its content is the sole responsibility of the autor.