Download el triunfo biosphere reserve, mexico

EL TRIUNFO BIOSPHERE RESERVE, MEXICO
Total Protected Area:
294,367 acres (119,177 ha)
Ecoregions Represented:
Central American Pine-Oak Forest, Chiapas Depression Dry Forests,
and Sierra Madre Moist Forests
Partner Institutions:
Instituto de Historia Natural y Ecología de Chiapas (IHNE)
Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo - Comisión Nacional de Areas
Naturales Protegidas, México (CONANP)
El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is one of the most biodiverse forest reserves in Mexico and
worldwide. The reserve straddles the Sierra Madre mountain range in the southern Mexican
State of Chiapas, protecting cloud forest, tropical forest, oak-pine forest and hydrologic systems.
Home to many endemic plants and vertebrates, the site harbors percent of all the species of
fauna in Mexico and 43 percent of the species in the state of Chiapas. The site protects 10 of the
19 vegetation types registered in Chiapas, including large areas of cloud forest. El Triunfo’s
drainages capture 10 percent of the rainfall for all of Mexico, distributing water to all the
economically important regions of the State and one of its watersheds, the Rio Grijalva,
provides 70 percent of the hydro-electricity in the country. El Triunfo was first decreed as a
state park in 1972 and as a federal protected area in 1990, and in 1993 the reserve was
designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere site.
Ecological significance
Because in Chiapas the Sierra Madre is a transition zone between the Neoarctic and Neotropical
biogeographical regions, the area’s flora and fauna are enriched by the northernmost and
southernmost range extensions of many species. The area where the El Triunfo is located has
been identified as a Pleistocene Refuge, where numerous species survived the climate changes
and extinction of the Pleistocene epoch. Covering 10 vegetation types, including some of the
best remaining stands of Central American cloud forest and the last expanse of Pacific Coast
tropical evergreen forest, El Triunfo is literally a last refuge for dozens of endemic, rare and
endangered species of plants and animals, including the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus
mochinno), azure-rumped tanager (Tangara cabanisi), horned guan Oreophasis derbianus), emerald
toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus), puma (Felis concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), tapir (Tapirus
mexicana) and spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi). In total, 378 bird species, 55 reptile species and
82 mammal species have been recorded throughout the biosphere reserve. There are more than
2,000 known genera of flowering plants alone, with 22,000 known and over 30,000 expected
species.
Socioeconomic context
The area’s original inhabitants were Mames (Maya-Quiche nation), who were fishers-gatherers,
and later practiced agriculture, including cocoa production, and commerce. The different
immigrants, including Aztecs, Spaniards, Chinese, Japanese, and Germans, introduced new
products to the area, such as coffee, which became important in the region. The construction of
the railroad in the early 1900s and later the Panamerican highway in the 1950s fragmented the
watershed and promoted migration to the area. The original inhabitants have virtually
disappeared, and the production models, such as large plantations, brought in by immigrants
from diverse backgrounds have replaced traditional models that evolved with local conditions,
causing ecological disruptions in the watershed. Currently there are 221 settlements in the
reserve, with a population of 14,217 people. The main economic activities in the reserve are
coffee production, cattle ranching, timber extraction, and small-scale commerce.
Partners
The Conservancy’s primary partners in El Triunfo are the state-affiliated organization, Instituto
de Historia Natural y Ecología de Chiapas (IHNE) and the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve
Management through the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP). IHNE
is a natural resource management agency and research institute created by the Chiapas
government in 1942 to oversee the conservation and study of the state’s natural wealth. Since
1972 IHNE has provided important on-site protection and conservation programs at El Triunfo
and several other protected areas in the state.
Threats
There are several primary threats to ecosystems at El Triunfo, most of them relating to current
development demands by the area’s growing population. First is the deforestation stemming
from the expansion of the agricultural frontier. Immediate causes include clearing for coffee
plantations, subsistence agriculture, cattle ranching, and forest fires. Another ecological threat is
the contamination of soil and water courses by agrochemicals and coffee pulp. Poorly planned
construction projects, particularly roads, increase and facilitate further incursion into the
Reserve. Lastly, social-agrarian problems such as poverty, marginalization, scarce agricultural
resources, and high population growth increase pressure on the area’s natural resources.
Date of initial threats analysis for site: 1994
Date of most recent update:
2000
Source of threats analysis presented below:
PiP Consolidation Indicators, Threats
Analysis, results from the workshops held in 1997 and 2000.
Participants in analysis presented below:
Reserve staff, INE, IHNE,
representatives from various sectors, TAC members.
Scheduled future update(s):
None scheduled.
The five major threats at the site
Target/
Threats:
System/
1st Line: Impact/Stress
Resource
-2nd etc: Sources of Stresses
Cloud forest
Stress: Deforestation
-Source: Expansion of
agricultural frontier (coffee
production)
- Source: Social-agrarian
problems (poverty,
marginalization, scarce
Rank
M
H
Partner/Site Strategy



H


Develop organic and shade coffee
projects with communities.
Strengthen organizations.
Develop alternative productive
projects.
Policy work with state and federal
government.
Enforcement of existing laws and
agricultural resources, high
population growth).
Tropical forest



Stress: Deforestation
- Source: Cattle ranching
H
H
- Source: Forest fires
M
Stress: Deforestation
-Source: Forest fires
M
M
Stress: Contamination
-Source: Coffee processing
M
H




Pine-oak forest
Hydrologic system
regulations.
Agrarian and social support.
Legal security.
Give appropriate information to
PROFEPA.
Intensive cattle grazing projects.
Diversification of activities;
conservation easements,
extension and training, promote
maize production using green
fertilizers.
Fire prevention and control
campaign and workshop.
Organic agricultural production.

Fire prevention and control
campaign.



All strategies.
Watershed conservation project.
Ecologically friendly coffee.
VH = very high, H =high, M = Medium, L = low
Conservation Strategy at the Site
 The Parks in Peril (PiP) project was an important starting point to initiate management
activities in El Triunfo, focusing on procuring field, communications and computer
equipment; channeling resources for basic research; completing a threats analysis,
monitoring programs, and land tenure updates; developing financing strategies and
building the capacity of both reserve and IHNE staff to carry out site conservation activities.
 The reserve currently has a five year strategic plan and management plan for the site (19982002). The management plan was developed in collaboration with different stakeholder
sectors such as community representatives, academic institutions, government agencies,
municipal representatives, conservation organizations, campesino organizations, and ejidos.
To address threats more effectively and provide for long-term security, the plan identifies
sub-components with specific actions in the following six themes: natural resource
protection, sustainable development, environmental education, research and monitoring,
social communication, as well as management and administration. (information from Instituto
Nacional de Ecología,(1999). Programa de Manejo de la Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo, Mexico.
México, D.F., México).
 One of the Conservancy’s conservation strategies in Mexico is to establish a number of
“platform sites” that will serve as a mechanism for increasing the depth and coverage of
conservation efforts. Because of the ecological significance and conservation priority of the
watershed adjoining the El Triunfo and La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserves, we are creating
the Chiapas Coastal Watershed Platform Site, which, in addition to the two reserves,
encompasses a previously unprotected watershed area between La Encrucijada and El
Triunfo. To conserve the forests, watershed functions, and freshwater systems critical to the
biodiversity of the Chiapas Coastal Watersheds, the Conservancy and its partners will focus
on the following strategies:
 Develop a watershed management and conservation model to conserve biologically
significant lands and waters
Objectives:
 Complete a sound site conservation plan for the landscape scale project
 Establish riparian corridor and ridgeline protection and management strategy built
on sound community based conservation programs
 Establish water quality and quantity protection mechanisms
 Establish measures of success and conservation monitoring programs
 Promote the establishment of long term financing and key conservation policies
Objectives:
 Complete the economic valuation study of El Triunfo’s environmental services,
potentially including the full watershed and the wetland services of La Encrucijada.
 Establish a carbon mitigation project for test watershed corridor or ridgeline area
 Establish the legal and institutional mechanisms for water use fees and site based
trust funds
 Support the replication of the watershed conservation model through the promotion
of policy changes
 Establish linkages with regional planning and financing initiatives from public,
bilateral and multilateral sources
 Conservation capacity: Strengthen Partners and TNC Programs
Objectives:
 Strengthen the Conservancy’s site-based technical and project management capacity
 Establish Learning and exchange programs with network sites, while providing
targeted assistance to these site based programs
 Strengthen partner conservation capacities through institutional development
 Develop private lands conservation capacities through a local private organization
 Create a watershed conservation coalition and broad institutional network, using
communication and education programs as key tools