Better Alliances, Better Forests (MAMB)

The MAMB initiative seeks to reduce the Fragmentation of the forest landscape that puts at risk the connectivity of the territories and hydrological basins, where the natural resources that surround the cities are and are necessary for a healthy human life. The criteria to consider for the execution of a project are: Mapping of metropolitan areas according to their number of inhabitants, geographic location and annual growth. An average investment of $ 500,000 MXN is calculated based on GDP. The location of Natural Protected Areas is determined under any conservation scheme near the urban area. The connectivity potential between the Natural Protected Areas is analyzed. Once the territory is identified, the incidence analysis is carried out: Areas that are within the indicated perimeter, taking the city as a starting point (50-75 km). Analysis of environmental services Analysis of layers and connectivity (cover, water, soil) This analysis framework allows us to act in alignment with the priority objectives in terms of ecosystems and to implement actions for the restoration and conservation of ecosystems.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Forests provide much of the drinking water for more than a third of the world's largest cities. Forests absorb the equivalent of approximately 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. The rate of deforestation in Mexico is one of the most intense on the planet, each year 500 thousand hectares of forests and jungles are lost. The main cause of deforestation is the change in land use. Illegal logging is also a serious problem, with an estimated 70% of the national timber market having illegal origin. It is estimated that between 2001 and 2018, in Mexico an average of 212,070 hectares of forest cover were lost per year, so Reforestamos México has promoted The MAMB initiative as a territorial governance platform to contribute to the integrated management of the landscape and the connectivity of forest ecosystems. Actors from various sectors participate in it through alliances to articulate efforts towards the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forests and jungles that provide ecosystem services. In this sense, MAMB contributes to reversing the loss of forests, providing sustainable livelihoods for people who live in forests. 

The MAMB initiative starts from the identification of cities based on demographic data, growth and geographic location, as well as nearby Natural Protected Areas (ANP) that have the potential to favor connectivity with other ANPs. Subsequently, the territorial information is reviewed to determine the potential area of incidence, analyzing various thematic layers, the situation of environmental services and connectivity, linking land cover and water resources. Together with government actors and with the involvement of people from ejidos and communities, Reforestamos México determines the actions that will be carried out to act in line with national objectives and priorities. The private sector participates through companies that are generally located in the cities near the ANP where it will intervene, providing financial resources and volunteering for reforestation activities. Local youth organizations are trained to participate as guides during the reforestation days, helping to spark their interest to implement other actions and projects in favor of forests. Reforestamos provides technical support for three years to project beneficiaries thanks to the fact that part of the resources contributed by the private sector are used to carry out forest maintenance activities. These activities are carried out by the community forestry brigades themselves; In addition, social projects are supported in which forest resources are used sustainably to trigger sources of employment at the local level. To monitor the impacts achieved, MAMB has environmental, social and economic indicators that allow the identification of contributions to the SDGs.

Local communities will be able to diversify their income and improve their livelihoods from employment alternatives in the short and long term through restoration and forest management actions. They will receive better environmental services and will strengthen their resilience to climate change from the increase in quantity and quality of forest cover.

The MAMB initiative is based on the creation of multi-stakeholder strategic alliances, where ejidos and communities are the main beneficiaries because they are those who live in and from the forests. Other key actors are governments as regulators of ANPs, as well as the private sector in mobilizing financial and human resources for the execution of activities aimed at the restoration and conservation of the protected natural areas. 

The MAMB initiative is based on the fact that in the same way that we are all beneficiaries of the ecosystem services that forests provide us, we also have a role in their conservation, restoration and sustainable use. Also, some actors play a key role in these activities, which makes their direct involvement necessary. Thus, the alliances that MAMB promotes can be replicated in other contexts based on the identification of the key actors that influence the conservation, management and use of forests as well as their associated resources. The relevance of replicating appropriate practices that promote integrated landscape management and connectivity between natural areas, as the MAMB has done for 9 years in operation, in 18 different states of Mexico, working with up to 34 ejidos/communities.

Reforestamos seeks to generate more information and analysis of the territory, to have a greater scope in the generation of alliances and implementation of the program, integrating technology for the analysis of the territories and for the implementation of restoration actions.

120
people  in the western region of Mexico
in 2020

140 people in the same region in 2021

287 people in the following regions: North, Bajío, West, Center and South-Southeast where
the Program has already been operating for five years

The results of evaluation and monitoring are based on the criteria of the Theory of Change; that is a causal chain between Problems-Solutions-Products-Results-Impacts, with the aim of being able to identify the effects, changes and learning in the target population at a social, economic and environmental level, as well as to establish processes to optimize the desired impact. 

For this, there are three stages: 

Phase 1. Definition of goals and implementation times. The plan contemplates the raising of a baseline (at the beginning of the actions) and annual evaluations, in order to know the generated changes, improvement actions or necessary adjustments during the implementation process. 

Phase 2. Implementation of the instruments for evaluation and measurement of indicators. The indicators will be measured with the use of evaluation instruments to measure the expected impact. The indicators will be grouped into three categories: • product indicators. • Results indicators. • Impact indicators.

 Phase 3. Analysis of the information and preparation of the Report of results. The collected information will be analyzed and based on it, annual reports will be prepared where we will describe the results found during the evaluation. The additional purpose of the methodology is to serve as a tool for detecting to areas of improvement, generating recommendations, and establishing priorities for both the supporting organizations and the people in charge of the selected projects.

# of communities, ejidos benefited
# of Hectares restored
# of hectares conserved

11

We are a multidisciplinary team with experience in social, technical and environmental areas, which has allowed us to generate comprehensive solutions from various approaches. All of this has helped us to understand the primary needs and interests of our various stakeholders. In addition to this, our presence on the ground has allowed us to establish bonds of trust with our group of beneficiaries who are involved in designing solutions.

In the same way, the work team contributes to the development of plans and strategies that allow us to be much more efficient.

The team is made up of men and women (49% of our work team are women). Our diagnoses of the territory include the participation of the community, including women and children with whom we seek to develop skills that lead them to make better decisions and to have an active participation in the care of the forests. We are currently providing inputs for the formation of a fire brigade made up 100% of women.

Solve's objectives are aligned with the institutional objectives of Reforestamos.  We seek to generate technology-based solutions that help communities restore, maintain and benefit resilient ecosystems. So that, the award would help us with the fulfillment of our mission and vision as well as optimize our impact and results.

Financing: Money for the acquisition of Agras T20 equipment, with this start to carry out the programming of activities: reconnaissance flights, seed collection, pre-germination treatments of the seeds, select the area to intervene, plan the flight strategy for such activity.

Mit 

We have more than 19 years of experience by linking sectors (government, private initiative, civil society and communities) to address deforestation problems.

 Our close link with the communities that live in forests gives us the trust of their inhabitants and the understanding of the needs at the landscape level.  In this way, we connect with other actors that are also interested in the problem of deforestation but who do not have a presence on the ground  to generate comprehensive solutions with greater impact.