Campaign manager: Ana González 
Partner: CONANP (Mexico’s national park service)

The 140 mile-long Ameca River runs through the arid valleys of the Mexican state of Jalisco. As it winds its way westward through a patchwork of forests and fields just north of the coastal town of Puerto Vallarta, it passes through the Rio Ameca Natural Protected Area. Established in 1949, this protected area is among Mexico’s oldest and includes both species-rich cloud forest and one of the few remaining bastions of protected pine-oak forest. 

Tragically, these forests are rapidly disappearing. Nearly one-third of the mammal species in the region are endangered, with habitat loss among the greatest threats. Some of the heaviest destruction is caused by human-lit forest fires. Traditional farming practices that include burning remaining crops at the end of each growing season (known as razing) often spread fire beyond the intended reach, destroying precious acres of forest habitat. Fires are also caused by the thousands of travelers whose bonfires, lit along their pilgrimage routes during religious festivals, are not properly managed and consequently burn out of control. Over 28,000 acres have been damaged by fire in the region in the past 17 years.

CONANP staff member Ana Gonzalez launched her  two-year Pride campaign in 2008, spending the first several months reaching out to farmers, government officials, and religious leaders to build consensus on which actions would yield the greatest amount of local support and the strongest possible conservation impact. She focused her campaign on protecting the cloud and pine-oak forests within the Rio Ameca Natural Protected Area, designing a program to inspire farmers and pilgrims to adopt more effective fire management practices with the primary objective of reducing the number of fires in the natural protected area by 20%.

Targeting some 30 sites around the municipalities of Mascota and San Sebastian del Oeste, Ana is reaching out to pilgrims on where and how to safely light and extinguish bonfires, while ensuring that farmers and ranchers  understand the potential environmental and economical benefits of alternative fire management techniques (such as developing burning calendars, creating fire breaks, and planting cover crops in place of post-harvest burning.) Success will be determined by the decrease in the number of acres of cloud and pine-oak forest burned within the natural protected area and the decreased number of forest fires occurring within the 30 target sites. 

Progress on the campaign…

  • • A full suite of customized communications materials produced, including: jaguar mascot costume; promotional posters; water bottles, bandanas and other giveaways; a children’s themed coloring book; a puppet show on forest fire prevention; and radio drama spots.
  • • Eight community workshops conducted to date, teaching the importance of the forest and the proper use of bonfires. 
  • • A volunteer team assembled from local municipalities, which is informing pilgrims at designated sites about proper fire management and developing radio spots targeting pilgrims to run in May. 
  • • Agreements reached with local church and government officials to include responsible fire-use messaging in sermons and signage along major pilgrim routes.
  •  

To further explore this campaign, please visit our conservation community at RarePlanet.org.