1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Approach

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

DESIRE (EU-DES!RE)

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD (Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD) - France

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IIAF) - Mexico

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

SECRETARÍA DE MEDIO AMBIENTE Y RECURSOS NATURALES (SECRETARÍA DE MEDIO AMBIENTE Y RECURSOS NATURALES) - Mexico

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

1.4 Reference(s) to Questionnaire(s) on SLM Technologies

2.1 Short description of the Approach

Land reclamation with local agave (to produce Mezcal) associated with trees, shrubs and grasses planted through participative actions for economic benefit.

2.2 Detailed description of the Approach

Detailed description of the Approach:

Aims / objectives: Rehabilitation of degraded land is achieved by using native agave (Agave inaequidens) and trees, shrubs and grasses which creates, over the medium-term (7-10 year), a sustainable production of an alcoholic drink (mezcal) and/or pharmaceutical products and/or fodder for cattle and/or wood. Further objectives are water conservation, biodiversity, generation of permanent employment (plant reproduction, planting, alcoholic drink/ pharmaceutical production), carbon sequestration, generation of higher family incomes and a reduction in the amount of livestock and number of animals and uncontrolled grazing (the main cause of soil erosion). These positive impacts of the approach contribute to preventing the rural population from emigrating to the cities or abroad.

Methods: Coordination, cooperation and systematic participatory process among stakeholders are the basis of the approach. Promoting participatory processes occurs through workshops, interviews with community leaders, field visits conducted with owners of the land to recognize the problems and identify areas of opportunity, training courses, exchange of experiences with other people who are developing similar projects at different stages. Technical advice and the links with scientists, technicians and public officials in charge of project beneficiaries is given under a two-way process of mutual learning and seeking to strengthen self-management capabilities that inspires innovation at the different stages. The key to success of a participatory approach lies in liberating and developing community leadership and self-organization processes.

Stages of implementation: The project is part of a regional planning context and a basin scale approach of intervention. The watershed of the site project is included in a special programme of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico which gives the opportunity of developing and financing a medium- to long-term project. The participatory process is delivered from planning, organizing, programming and implementing to financing, training, monitoring and disseminating the results. The strategic perspective of the project includes capacity-building of land owners for greenhouse and nursery management, the technical assessment for the improvement of the agave forestry system, guidance with quality production of mezcal and marketing support to diversify products and sell them in order to make the project financially self-sustaining and profitable. All these stages range from short- to medium- and long-term.

Role of stakeholders: The government finances the project through grant resources, promotes the participation of beneficiaries and monitors it, seeking the management of resources and intersectoral participation. Scientists and academics share their knowledge, techniques and methodologies for implementation, improvement, evaluation and monitoring of each stage, and they support capacity-building of the community. The owners of the land and the community implement and develop each of the activities from building and maintaining the greenhouse and nursery, planting agaves, trees and shrubs, to the use and production of mezcal and other commercial products.

2.3 Photos of the Approach

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied

2.6 Dates of initiation and termination of the Approach

2.7 Type of Approach

• Traditional, innovative and project based

2.8 Main aims/ objectives of the Approach

The Approach focused mainly on other activities than SLM (registered alcohol production, cattle fodder, medicine uses, biodiversity conservation, wood)

Rehabilitation of degraded land is done using native agave (Agave inaequidens), trees, shrubs and grasses which creates, over the medium-term (7-10 years) sustainable production of an alcoholic drink (mezcal) and/or pharmaceutical products and/or fodder for cattle and/or wood.

The SLM Approach addressed the following problems: Social and economic problems: Agriculture and livestock in the region are primarily for subsistence. The level of poverty and marginalization of the people of the project site is medium to high with low education levels. People need to migrate to the cities or outside the country to supplement the family budget. Prices of farmer productions are too low and do not allow economic survival. Therefore, only 10 to 20% of the total incomes are derived from agricultural products! This explains why the children of farmers do not want to become farmers and lands are less and less cultivated. In correlation, as the livestock price is good and animals can be raised with little input of time. Thus the number of animals is increasing and as they are grazing everywhere, they have a strong soil erosion impact.

2.9 Conditions enabling or hindering implementation of the Technology/ Technologies applied under the Approach

3.1 Stakeholders involved in the Approach and their roles

3.2 Involvement of local land users/ local communities in the different phases of the Approach

	Involvement of local land users/ local communities	Specify who was involved and describe activities
initiation/ motivation	self-mobilization	Balance alternatives and take decision to test the agave forestry
planning	interactive	Planning, organizing and programming the project, defining responsibilities, time and initial investment. Identification of agave seeds and a proper place to install the greenhouse and nursery.
implementation	self-mobilization	Building and maintenance of greenhouse and nursery, selecting the sites for the plantation and planting. Training of land users by other land users to produce mescal according to quality rules for a recognized product.
monitoring/ evaluation	self-mobilization	In each field: monitoring plant growth, status of the protection against cattle grazing, indications of soil erosion.
Research	interactive	Monitoring by some land users of some parameters defined by scientists.

3.3 Flow chart (if available)

3.4 Decision-making on the selection of SLM Technology/ Technologies

Were decisions on the selection of the Technology(ies) made:

• all of them

Explain:

It is the result of proposals, visits and discussions between all the stakeholders, so it is a joint decision.

Decisions on the method of implementing the SLM Technology were made by all of them. It is the result of proposals, visits and discussions between all the stakeholders, so it is a joint decision.

4.1 Capacity building/ training

Was training provided to land users/ other stakeholders?

Yes

Specify who was trained:

• land users
• field staff/ advisers

Form of training:

• on-the-job
• public meetings

Subjects covered:

Training focused on explaining which plants to select for seeds, how to create and maintain plants in greenhouses, how to transplant them and how to organise their planting in the field depending on the aim (scattered for production or in rows to create a green barrier formed from trees, shrubs, grasses and agaves)

4.2 Advisory service

Do land users have access to an advisory service?

Yes

Specify whether advisory service is provided:

• on land users' fields

Describe/ comments:

Name of method used for advisory service: Plant (native agave, trees, shrubs, grasses) production advises; Key elements: Plant selection, Management of plants under greenhouse

Advisory service is very adequate to ensure the continuation of land conservation activities

4.3 Institution strengthening (organizational development)

Have institutions been established or strengthened through the Approach?

• yes, greatly

Specify the level(s) at which institutions have been strengthened or established:

• local

Specify type of support:

• financial
• capacity building/ training
• equipment

• transport

4.4 Monitoring and evaluation

Is monitoring and evaluation part of the Approach?

Yes

Comments:

bio-physical aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government, land users through observations; indicators: Biodiversity, water quality, water usage, degradation and soil rehabilitation indicators.

bio-physical aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government through measurements; indicators: Participatory collection of data by landowners, public officials and technicians.

technical aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government, land users through observations; indicators: Indicators of improvement of technical capabilities of the nursery operators, capacity building for the production of mezcal and other products and comparative indicators of different arrangements of agrosystems based on other biophysical and economic indicators.

socio-cultural aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government through measurements; indicators: Migration, poverty, education indicators by surveys and statistical models

economic / production aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government through measurements; indicators: Indicators of profitability, revenue from each stage per person, economic valuation of soil improvement

area treated aspects were regular monitored by project staff, government through measurements

There were no changes in the Approach as a result of monitoring and evaluation

There were no changes in the Technology as a result of monitoring and evaluation

4.5 Research

Was research part of the Approach?

Yes

Specify topics:

• economics / marketing
• ecology
• technology

Give further details and indicate who did the research:

No information exists about the production conditions of this agave species, especially concerning the sugar quantity and quality produced by the plant which will be used for alcoholic drink production (e.g. whether it grows better in the shade or in full sunlight, or more appropriate for mature or young plants).

Research was carried out on station

5.1 Annual budget for the SLM component of the Approach

If precise annual budget is not known, indicate range:

• 2,000-10,000

Comments (e.g. main sources of funding/ major donors):

Approach costs were met by the following donors: government (estimated budget by ha, without alcoholic drink production ): 80.0%; local government (district, county, municipality, village etc): 10.0%; local community / land user(s): 10.0%; other

5.2 Financial/ material support provided to land users

Did land users receive financial/ material support for implementing the Technology/ Technologies?

Yes

5.3 Subsidies for specific inputs (including labour)

• equipment

• agricultural

• construction

5.4 Credit

Was credit provided under the Approach for SLM activities?

No

6.1 Impacts of the Approach

6.2 Main motivation of land users to implement SLM

6.3 Sustainability of Approach activities

Can the land users sustain what has been implemented through the Approach (without external support)?

• yes

6.4 Strengths/ advantages of the Approach

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
The project is done in a participative way where different kinds of stakeholders are involved: administrators, politicians, scientists and the public. (How to sustain/ enhance this strength: maintenance of the interaction between stakeholders from the workshops, present results to other authorities and appropriate fora.)

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
Productive project which generates economic benefits over the medium-term (How to sustain/ enhance this strength: as a result of the money earned, it will be possible to extend the area concerned and subsides will not be necessary anymore )

6.5 Weaknesses/ disadvantages of the Approach and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the land user’s view	How can they be overcome?
Women particularly, are worried about the possibility of the increase in alcohol consumption	since alcoholic drink will be produced in a semi-industrial way for the external market, it is not supposed to be consumed by the communities themselves

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
Selling alcoholic drink is not necessarily beneficial from a health and societal point of view	maintenance of a campaign to reduce consumption and develop a responsible attitude to alcohol

7.1 Methods/ sources of information

7.2 References to available publications

Title, author, year, ISBN:

DESIRE project Mexico partner (IRD 22)

Available from where? Costs?

http://www.desire-project.eu/ free