Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hello, very good afternoon
Climate changing is affecting us
we are already seeing big troubles in climate changing
that's why the international program of climate changing
made some triangle
where it try to search which are the big risks.
The first apex of this triangle are the extreme events
we have had big tornadoes, big hurricanes, big droughts in all over the world.
The second apex of this big triangle is the exposition
Patently in the cities
where there's higher exposition because there's higher people amout
per square foot
And the third apex of this big triangle
is the vulneravility.
Vulneranility is
that bit where the ecosystem reacts to an extreme climate event
or a big city.
In the intersection of this three is where there's cities's risk
In the intersection of this three is where we have to occupy
but as we cannot modify the extreme events because they're already over us
and we cannot either modify the exposition
because at the end we can't undo the cities, throw away the people of the cities
remains us just the vulnerability
remains us just..
to know how we do for the ecosystem to work better
in front of an extreme event.
And this vulnerability links up directly
with the conservation zones.
The conservation zones help us a lot
to try to reduce this vulnerability.
They work as a shock absorber
if there's drought, they keep up water.
if there's a hurricane, they stops the hurricane somehow
And in latin america we have started to generate every day more and more reserves.
One of the most greatest is the Araucaria's reserve close of here
A second example is that we're wanting to do in Mexico city
what is the water woods, two hundred and fifty hectare
that give us water to more than 24 millions of people.
In Bogotá, north of Bogotá is one of the most tiny reserves made a little years ago
and it suffers a lot because the urbanization pressure
The ecological reserve of Pedregal of San Ángel, also in Mexico city
it's very important because it's the only reserve 100% managed by a University
It's tiny but it gives us water to a lot of population from the south of Mexico city
And finally reserves in little cities like Tarija, in Bolivia
In the "Bosques de Aranjuez" one which has just been published and it have to be one of the most...
..people's protected.
Now, precisely one of the fundamental points is it's has to be protected by the people.
The responsibility of have reserves it's not just of government,
it's about the society,
it's about us,
it's about the academics by one side, but also with the citizens
and this is a very impressive photo, because childrens are who are taking care of Tarija's reserve
against the land speculators.
Now, it's not easy.
How we do to do this?
And i will give you an example that happen in Mexico city.
To understand what happens in the Mexico city's reserves
we have to start by remember that Mexico city was a lake.
Maybe the best way to expose it
is in Guadalupe Trigo's quote, one of the most beautiful songs about Mexico city that's called
"My city is chinampa in a hidden lake".
The city is a lake that had five big sub-lakes all over the city
and we have draining it, bit by bit
in a dramatic way,
in a furtive way along the years, from the colony
Now, the worst wasn't from the colony
the worst have been in the last 40 or 50 years.
We have in 1950 or 60
Mexico city was this yellow spot
the remainder was lake. The remainder was the drained lake.
1980.
1990...2000
If you put attention we have grown in a dread way along the last 50 o 60 years
in the Mexico city.
The only and last remainder of lake now... It's just right here
Is this little red plot
it's called "Xochimilco".
Xochimilco, probably many of you recognize it because it's an tourist attraction of México city
but it's not just a tourist attraction.
Xochimilco was the reason why the mexicans live in Mexico city
Was the granary of Mexico city
in Xochi-.. Why?
Fundamentally because the "chinampas".
Chinampas is one of those hard-to-explain terms, but basically
are islands made by the Aztecs from the rock bottom of the lake, square ones
which was always fertiles.
lake's fertility was a lot, so the aztecs could make civilization
that's the reason why, they made this great civilization
because Xochimilco gives him to eat constantly.
Chinampas works,
well, they are still working until today, but they worked perfectly until the years 40's or 50
and they still given to eat all Mexico city.
And this is an example about how in that time they still was. That are the cornfields
and also the channels formed around the chinampas
served as a way of comunication.
Now, from the 50's to here we have entered in a perverse circle.
The perverse circle works with a strong communication of the water, which
do: bad harvest. And then the chinamperos can't sell their products.
The fact of lost the money makes chinamperos leave their ground
and leaving their grounds, generate urbanization
and at generate urbanization, we go back to the big problem of contamination.
So, we have a perverse circle that make us that Xochimilco
urbanizes according our estimates to the 2050
and 2050... Indeed, we are already one step of it, aren't?
so, close to 2050. I think about my sons and i say:
"Well, my daughter is going to 55, 60 years old in 2050"
I think mi daughter won't see Xochimilco at the end.
How we do to change this?
It's not an easy problem, it's a complex problem that covers quite variables
How we do to modify this perverse circle?
We think in a virtuous circle, this is upside down.
Improve the water quality,
improved the water quality what we gonna do is attract more chinamperos and produce.
we going to be able to sell this product with added value and we're doing it now
by example, a national university selling chinamperos products.
But to improve the water quality, we need an ally
a friend and the friend is the axolote
the axolote is a salamander
very important for Mexico's center. I dare to say it's the most important animal in the country
culturally speaking is fundamental
but the axolote's population is reducing, it's losing like the chinampas
Those are the last census that we have done.
If we follow that way for the 2015 to 2020, the axolote is going to be extinct in Mexico city
Now. Why is so important the axolote?
It was the twin brother of quetzalcoatl, it has very important regenerating capabilities
The axolote is a fundamental piece in us
How we do to improve the axolote and improve the water's quality?
Generating shelters
Around chinampas are the channels, around channels we can generate shelters
where the axolotes can survive much better
with better water quality, away from the exotic species
away from all threats
This are the shelters we are generating
and, which is the advantage of this?
That then produce a much better quality, in production terms,
organic
If we can change this virtuous circle, from the axolotes
we can improve, salvage and conserve an wetlands as important as is Xochimilco
Then what we are doing is a "i help you, you help me"
I axolote need from you chinampa.
I chinampa need from you axolote to survive
and not only to survive, but to grow
First we have to contain the urbanization and then we have to grow
a little more. Our dream is just that Xochimilco instead being reduced start to grow
In other words, what i mean is in latin america we have a great cultural richness
to make conservation of nature, we have to use this cultural richness that's in pre-columbian culture
and that already is in our biodiversity richness.
Biodiversity is intimately linked to cultural richness.
if we turn to see, we can conserve the nature
and remember, nature is who will reduce our vulnerability in the face of the climate change
which is already over us.
thank you, very much!