1. Importance of local communities empowerment Lucia Madrid Ramirez lmadrid.rmz@gmail.com http://www.ccmss.org.mx/

2. CCMSS’s PROJECT IN CENTRAL MEXICO Location: Amanalco-Valle de Bravo watershed that provides 7,000 liters per second to Mexico City (water supply for more than 5 million people through the Cutzamala System)

3. CONTEXT Conflicting interest around land and natural resources: – a) rural families and communities (in Mexico 60% of the land is collectively owned by ejidos and communities) – b) real estate and tourism businesses – c) new private land owners – d) fresh water provider (CONAGUA) Collective land sales, urbanization and loss of rural activities Degradation of natural resources: mainly soils and water As a response we have designed an integrated land management model with financing from a mechanism of payments for environmental services.

4. The integrated community landscape management model Funding from a PES Community landscape “planning-implementing- evaluating” process Transparency, accountability, improved collective administration -Land restoration -Best management practices (agriculture, forestry, etc.) -Protection of High Conservation Values -Products and services -Access to markets -Certification -Commercial networks and alliances Strengthening governance and social capital Implementing landscape management Integrating value chains 1.Strengthened communities 2.Permanence in the rural areas 3.Reasons to protect and conserve natural resources 4.Sustainable economies 5.Less dependence on subsidies 6.Improved provision of environmental services

5. Why strenghtened local communities matter? Local communities should guide and control the process of rural development. It cannot be an externally managed process, because that creates highly dependent, not robust and weak rural models. Farmer families are the stewards of land, forests, water and bio-cultural diversity; so their development is linked to the provision of environmental services for the rest of the society (including food provision) The shift towards industrial agriculture production (agrochemicals, irrigation, etc.) is linked to a series o environmental problems (water pollution and availability decrease, soil erosion, desertification, climate change)and at the same time it is linked to the loss of local knowledge and rural cultures. Community lead initiatives to manage forests and rural landscapes protect land against risks created by other uses such as mining, high impact tourism, industrial cattle raising, urbanization, etc. Community governance structures make “sustainable land management” possible through: – Continuous construction of a shared landscape vision – Development and enforcement of rules of use and management of natural resources – Maintenance of deliberative spaces to solve conflicts and build shared strategies

6. How communities can get stronger and empowered? Capacity building for improved land management

7. How communities can get stronger and empowered? Better organization processes: – Efficient and participative deliberation spaces – Operative structures

8. How communities can get stronger and empowered? Turning landscape management into a planned, consensual and deliberative process

9. How communities can get stronger and empowered? Profitable and sustainable rural production systems

10. How communities can get stronger and empowered? Transparency and accountability Re-valorization of local knowledge and biocultural diversity

11. Some conditions for success Secured land tenure rights: especially around collective lands Legally recognized rights to manage community resources (i.e. forests) Adaptive institutional framework Public policies that recognize how rural economies are diversified and land uses interact

12. Lessons learned Improved cpacities to manage land Profitable rural production systems Improved rural livelihoods Conservation of natural resources and provision of environmental services Strenghtened community governance Sustainable landscape management Small holders Agriculture Environmental services provision Community forestry Water management Cattle raising Soil protection

13. THANK YOU Lucia Madrid Ramirez lmadrid.rmz@gmail.com