Tourism industry joins in efforts to restore Guanajuato’s forests

Published September 6, 2023

Like most of central and northern Mexico, one of Guanajuato state’s major issues looking ahead to the future is water.

According to a 2021 article in El Sol de Irapuato, 19 of the state’s 20 aquifers are currently over-exploited and lack the water necessary to supply Guanajuato’s cities and local agriculture. According to the nonprofit Reforestamos México, the forests of Guanajuato, which filter 72% of all water consumed in the state, have been reduced by 12% in the last 20 years. That’s why, one year ago this month, Reforestamos México teamed up with Guanajuato’s Environment and Land Management Ministry (SMAOT) as well as the Guanajuato Tourism Ministry (Sectur) and the German sustainable development company GIZ to develop Proyecto Emblema.

The Emblema project is asking local tourism companies to support the restoration and rejuvenation of 20 hectares in the center of the state, called the Cuenca de la Soledad. This land, which SMAOT describes as a sub-basin of the Guanajuato River, is just a tiny part of a more expansive natural corridor that Reforestamos México has identified as environmentally critical for fighting the effects of climate change in this part of Mexico.

For the past 21 years, Reforestamos México has worked to protect and restore Mexico’s forests, with projects in Chiapas, Coahuila, Puebla and other states across the country.

“In the end, lack of water will greatly affect tourism,” says Mariel Mogul of Reforestamos México in regard to teaming up with Sectur’s sustainability arm, which works to promote projects to make the tourist industry more resilient to climate change.

“The main benefit of the program is for their businesses, so that tourism [in the state] won’t be negatively affected by climate change. Through this program we can combat some of those effects and in this way reduce the future risk.”

Read more […]