Brian Kermath, UWSP

Benito Juárez, a community of the GEM-TIES project in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte.

Brian Kermath, UWSP

La Nevería, a rural mountain community in Oaxaca, Mexico, depends on agricultural products like the aquatic herb “berro” (Nasturtium officinale) to generate income, but water quality problems could threaten the crop. Through simple water monitoring and land use management techniques, the crop’s quality and human health are being assured.

Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte is a mountainous region with scattered Zapotec and Chinantec communities. The village of La Nevería has 27 families. Residents say there are nearly as many unoccupied dwellings as occupied, due to migration to the cities and the U.S., or what they call el otro lado (the “other side”).

In summer 2006, the GEM-TIES team completed reconnaissance and participatory planning activities in the upper reaches of the Río Grande watershed, and held community meetings and workshops in La Nevería on water monitoring and to assess surface water quality. Although most samples confirmed clean water, one potable water tank and the spring that feeds it revealed elevated levels of coliform bacteria. The cause was believed to be a small livestock operation. A simple treatment of cleaning the tank and establishing a living fence to keep the livestock away from the tank and the spring resulted in acceptable levels of bacteria.

Surface water quality is important in La Nevería because the community’s principal commercial food crop is berro, or watercress (Nasturtium officinale), an aquatic herb grown in streams and eaten uncooked. Eighteen of the community’s 27 families sell berro in Oaxaca; thus, guaranteeing a safe crop is critical for maintaining sustainable livelihoods in the community.

USAID provides support to the UWSP-ERA-ITESM-UACh Training, Internships, and Scholarships (TIES) partnership for “Healthy Watershed Management Training in the Sierra Norte Region of Oaxaca” project.

This partnership began in 2005, and thus far has resulted in capacity building that will allow a dozen communities in the upper Río Grande watershed to continue water quality assessments after the project has ended.

Plans for the duration of the project include implementing citizen-led initiatives for a healthy watershed and sustainable incomes. The success of this partnership can be attributed to the use of a collaborative, participatory, local capacity building process that addresses community needs. This model has the potential to succeed elsewhere in Mexico.