Los Cabos, BCS. November 10, 2023. The Rancho Cacachilas is located at the base of the mountains that rise to the southeast of the city of La Paz. This site is an example of resilience in water managementThis resource is very limited in this area where rainfall is too scarce.
Anne McEnanySenior Program Officer in iAlumbra Foundation, y Gabriel PatrónThe participants in this year's meeting, which took place at the Water Resilience Demonstrations in Rancho Cacachilas and the Los Planes WatershedThe participants explained the actions that have been carried out at this site to turn it from a desert into a productive areaby making responsible use of this resource.
"This is not a conservation project, this is a development project in which Christy (Walton) has invested over 17,000 hectares, 35,000 acres of land, and during that period, she has been investing in techniques to be able to create water, but not to create water for water's sake, create water so that we can be responsible developers, be able to create more water than we use," explained McEnany.
Gabriel Patrón detailed that in Baja California Sur It rains only 180 millimeters per year on average, far below the national average of 760 millimeters, but in this area of the peninsula the situation is worse, since it only rains an estimated 80 millimeters per year.
"It is basically a desert, there is very little water available and what we are looking for is, through this development, to create the right conditions so that there is enough water to be able to use it for the ranch's activities," he commented.
How to take advantage of the little rain?
Location, Rancho Cacachilas allows small works to be carried out, with less investment, to slow down the velocity of the water so that it has more time to infiltrate, explained Patrón.
Baja California Sur, being such a thin peninsula, the water that rains saturates the soil very quickly, so it runs off very fast to the sea and does not have time to infiltrate.
As a solution, what they have done is to build gabions that retain the sediment that erodes from the upper parts and create a sand sponge that allows the water to run more slowly and have time to recharge springs, wells and especially the aquifer in the lower part of The Planshe explained.
In addition to allowing greater water filtration, the gabions help combat soil erosion, he stressed.
The project of land restoration, erosion control, and watershed managementwhich is supported by iAlumbra FoundationThe project includes holistic livestock management, as this area has been impacted for 300 years by overgrazing.
"In this area of the ranch we have been able to restore an important part through fencing, not eliminating the cattle, the cattle are managed in a holistic way, what we do are paddocks, the cattle are rotated through these paddocks throughout the year so that they eat enough and do not deteriorate (the vegetation)," he explained.
By feeding on the branches and eating the seeds of the plants, the cattle excrement serves as fertilizer, in addition to the fact that their hooves break the hard bark of the soil and make it easier for rainwater to filter through, he said.
Having a restored area, with responsible use of water and adequate livestock management, has allowed the company to Rancho Cacachilas develop a ecotourism vocationThe area is visited by people who like to see the highlands, the desert, the low deciduous forest and sleep under the stars, without noise pollution, visual pollution and sleeping in glamping tents.
Who is...?
Anne McEnany. She is Senior Program Officer at Fundación iAlumbra. She leads a cross-cutting impact team in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has 25 years of experience in integrated conservation and community development. She leads impact investments to reduce illegal fishing and prevent plastics from reaching rivers and oceans.
Gabriel Patrón Coppel. He is a Researcher in Water Management Engineer in Electronics and Communications from Tec de Monterrey, with a Master's degree in Water Administration, specializing in Water Services Administration, Engineering and Water Management from UNESCOIHE Institute for Water Education.