Promoting the Conservation of Biodiversity through climate-smart agrosilvopastoral practices in landscapes dominated by livestock in three regions of Mexico.

Context

Traditional and extensive cattle ranching has facilitated, through deforestation processes, the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, enhancing the negative effects of climate change, causing a decrease in productive indices and negatively impacting the livelihoods of livestock families.

Small and medium-sized farmers have little access to technical assistance and in almost all cases lack the necessary funds for the implementation of agrosilvopastoral systems, which translates into low production rates, few environmental indicators of the activity and effects on the media of life of livestock families.

Our focus

The BioPaSOS project seeks to promote the implementation of agrosilvopastoral systems and other good practices so that (1) they favor processes of restoration of degraded areas, (2) they contribute to increase the productivity of the system, (3) they maintain and / or increase the generation of services ecosystems, (4) reduce vulnerability to climate change and (5) contribute to re-establish and / or increase connectivity in livestock landscapes.

In addition, the implementation of BioPaSOS will facilitate the creation and operation of learning communities oriented at knowledge management to improve their skills, establishment and management of agrosilvopastoral systems with climate-smart benefits.

This is supported by the proposal of a political and institutional framework to facilitate the implementation of sustainable, profitable livestock practices adapted to climate variability.

Objectives

The objective of BioPaSOS is the promotion of systems and practices of sustainable livestock production that promote the conservation of biodiversity, while contributing to improving the livelihoods of livestock families. To achieve this, the project will implement an intervention model based on the implementation of agrosilvopastoral systems and good livestock practices. The intervention will be carried out at different levels and scales, which are all vital to conservation of biodiversity.

In addition, BioPaSOS will generate information that will make informed and timely decisions for the design of public policy instruments that integrate elements of sustainability, reduction of climate effects and that will facilitate exploring the options available for the marketing of differentiated products, thereby contributing to strengthen the participation of the livestock sector in value chains. This strengthening also includes the promotion of partnerships with actors from the private sector, academia and other partners.

Multiplier effect

BioPaSOS seeks to enhance its results beyond the project execution phase by generating cutting-edge tools for monitoring impacts, identifying practices and technologies that improve production rates and the provision of ecosystem services in the livestock sector, designing proposals for policy makers based on inputs or evidence from applied research and facilitating public-private partnerships that will help design financial and non-financial mechanisms for the adoption of agrosilvopastoral systems through the promotion of added value.

Territories of intervention

The project has actions in three states of Mexico that are shown in the following map.

Contact: csepul@catie.ac.cr

https://www.catie.ac.cr/en/