With the aim of promoting the conservation and ecological restoration of beach ecosystems in order to recover their functions and ecosystem services, the National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences (LANCIS) and National Laboratory of Coastal Resilience (LANRESC) are carrying out the project “Community Alliance, Building Capacities for Coastal Dune Restoration” in three different ports in the state of Yucatan.
This alliance of established organizations, made up of women and their families, includes the cooperative “U-Meya Coolelo” (Women Working) in Sisal, the collective “Amigas del manglar” in the community of Chuburná, and “El Club de la tortuga” in Telchac Puerto.
These three groups were chosen because their individual efforts have achieved positive changes in mangrove reforestation, the conservation of the chivita snail, and the conservation of sea turtles.
The project director, Gabriela Mendoza González, of the National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences (LANCIS) at the Institute of Ecology Regional Unit Merida, commented that the initiative arose because coastal dune ecosystems in Yucatan suffer from significant degradation, caused mainly by land use changes, erosion resulting from construction on beach fronts, and a lack of knowledge about the importance of their ecosystem services.
The project has a duration of 24 months, concluding in December 2024, and aims to strengthen the capacities of women in local communities, members of their families, and other volunteers to carry out community monitoring activities, conservation, reproduction of native vegetation, and restoration of coastal dunes.
They will also install three nurseries for the reproduction of native plant species, carry out restoration actions with the reproduced vegetation, establish a community alliance for cooperation and exchange of experiences, and establish communication channels with key actors in the governance of coastal dunes within the impact region.
Mendoza González hopes that the project will continue to promote and strengthen women, who through their capacities contribute to the conservation of coastal dunes and, therefore, the well-being of their communities.
Similarly, it is hoped that in the future they will be able to self-manage their own nurseries, inspiring other women and empowering them to carry out similar projects for the benefit of the environment and their community.
The project is primarily funded by the UNDP Small Grants Programme, and parallel funding comes from other participating entities, including the National Laboratory of Coastal Resilience (LANRESC), which co-finances some activities in Sisal, as it belongs to one of its Coastal Observatories for Resilience.
TYT Newsroom