Implementation of a Community Participatory Model in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico

In 2011, I secured funds to implement a community engagement process in a wetland system in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico. The three-year project aimed to promote the conservation of coastal ecosystems supported by active and informed communities. The wetland system, integrated by six hypersaline estuaries, provides a wide range of ecosystem services including nesting and feeding sites for birds, breeding, feeding, and safeguarding sites for marine species, coastal erosion stabilizers, and other. Some of these wetlands support the livelihoods and well-being of hundreds of people in Puerto Peñasco and nearby rural communities in Mexico.

I adapted the Participatory Environmental Management (PEM) model PEM to implement it in these communities. PEM is a tool for wetlands management defined in the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties in 2002. The model intends to engage community members in complying with formal rules that help them improve their well-being while conserving the natural resources on which they depend.  

The model me and my tram implemented begins and ends with incentives. To develop a collective dialogue and understanding between different stakeholders, we offered incentives such as in-kind assistance and financial support to introduce them to and involve them in conservation practices for their resources. The multi-stakeholder workshops and meetings strengthened local knowledge and participation. The stakeholders' involvement in activities such as monitoring their natural resources, aimed to engage them in its responsible use.

Together with the stakeholder, we designed and implemented informal rules – verbal agreements defining conservation and management actions. The engagement and establishment of these rules increased stakeholders' stewardship. Some of the stakeholders agreed on implementing formal rules, which entails the signing of agreements for achieving specific conservation goals linked to current management plans and programs. 

My team established a communication channel between all the stakeholders that helped us adapt the rules and provide advice, vital for compliance success. We defined indicators to measure the impact and effectiveness of the management actions carried out by the stakeholders. We linked to successful management actions to new incentives, such as access to international green markets. 

Incentives helped us link scientific knowledge with hands-on activities bolstering the protection of the environment and empowering community groups as active stewards of their natural resources. Stakeholders – mainly fishermen, oyster farmers, and ejidatarios – are diversifying their economy integrating ecotourism and handicraft activities. We partnered with the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and Fondo Mexicano.