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From October 6-13, the ninth annual World Wilderness Conference was held in the city of Merida, Yucatan. The conference was a great experience for the representatives of the Sierra Gorda project with the variety of themes, the quality of the speakers at the plenary sessions. The main theme of the Congress, the conservation of wilderness areas, was extremely inspiring. The last wilderness areas are—to a greater or lesser extent—areas in which the natural environment and species still continue providing environmental services and safeguarding them is indispensible.

In the plenary session on the value of wild nature, Sierra Gorda´s Director Ruiz Corzo contributed the extensive experience accumulated in the Biosphere Reserve on a panel about “Payment for Environmental Services” with Dr. Sally Collins, Director of the Office of Environmental Services and Markets of the Department of Agriculture in the United States, and Mr. Pavan Sukhdev, Director of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), United Nations Environment Program.  Also, Roberto Pedraza presented "Valuing the natural infrastructure as a conservation tool" and "The role of education and capacity-building in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve," in two sessions of the Congress which gave Sierra Gorda excellent exposure.

A private natural reserve with the specific objective of protecting salamanders, tree frogs and toads in Sierra Gorda Querétaro is under evaluation.

Thanks to mutual allies, such as the Netherlands Committee of IUCN, Robin Moore, a scientist at Conservation International and Amphibian Conservation Officer in this prestigious organization, found out about the Sierra Gorda project activities and, therefore, contacted us to visit field sites for potential conservation land purchases, with the objective of protecting amphibians species. At the same time, Robin Moore is an excellent photographer and a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

He visited the private nature reserves of the Hoya del Hielo and the Valle Verde area in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve on October 14 and 15, and during his short stay, Robin Moore had the opportunity to see for himself the beneficiaries of the private reserves as sanctuaries: three salamander species, mossy cloud forests with centuries-old oaks and cedars, a quiet rattlesnake, a pair of turtles, a brocket deer, and a fresh territory marking of a jaguar, whose presence speaks of the state of wilderness in our forests. We hope to be working in the near future with a new ally and to establish the first private reserve with the specific objective of protecting  salamanders, tree frogs and toads, a group that is particularly vulnerable to climate change and intrusions into their habitat. Some of Moore´s impressions about the Sierra Gorda can be found at: http://blog.conservation.org/2009/11/a-family-affair/.

Prestigious photographer sees an opportunity to raise awareness around the world by telling the story of the Sierra Gorda.

As the winner of a photography contest sponsored by the Mexican Government´s Ministry of Tourism, the prestigious British photographer and independent producer Jonathan Clay had the opportunity to visit the state of Querétaro and, thus, also to visit the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve to photograph different tourist attractions and the eco-diversity of the Reserve.  We hope his proposals and photographs are well received by the British Broadcasting Corporation for a future collaboration because this would be an important way to recognize Sierra Gorda as a unique place on a global level among natural protected areas for its biological wealth and active civil participation in conservation activities.

An initiative of Global Redesign marked by the voices of public, private, and civil society stakeholders convened by the World Economic Forum in Dubai.

Director Ruiz Corzo attended the second meeting of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum to participate in the Global Redesign Initiative November 19-22, 2009. The purpose of her participation was to contribute to the document that defines the Council on Biodiversity and Degraded Ecosystems of the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Redesign Initiative and to have the chance to meet with key people in order to publicize the successful outcomes of the battle against climate change and poverty in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve.

As a member of the Council, Director Ruiz Corzo participated together with a number of personalities from around the globe in generating a document and proposal to the World Economic Forum with the purpose of making the recognition of REDD a priority (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries) and REDD+ as urgent implementation mechanisms for halting biodiversity loss and deforestation globally. She had post-event interviews with Abdul Aziz, who is known as the Green Sheikh in Dubai; Habiba Al Marashi, Director of the Emirates Environmental Group; Tony Arrowsmith, Editor of the DMG World Media; Mathis Wackernagel of the Global Footprint; Nicholas Heard, Manager of The Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund; and Ginn Carreón Jory, Communications Manager at Shell, who—as always—was an invaluable ally for the Sierra Gorda project and arranged for a number of the appointments.

Cristina Montoya Carranza, founding member of the holistic cattle ranching project and the start-up company Highlander By-Products S. P. R. promoted by the Sierra Gorda Ecological Group and the Biosphere Reserve, received the Social Development Award granted by the University of the Valley of Mexico for her business entrepreneurship. Cristina competed among over 232 candidates, of whom only 34 were selected, with the Qualifying Jury considering the novelty of the proposal, its replicability, and its potential for growth. This prize provides important recognition and reaffirms the project´s potential and innovation and the fact that holistic cattle ranching is possible with minimal environmental impact and with good economic return, the complete opposite of traditional extensive cattle ranching practices. For more information see: http://www.premiouvm.org.mx/.

There are spokespeople and then there are speakers:  The difference is the passion that the Sierra Gorda conveys together with the tools of The Climate Project.

Roberto Pedraza, Technical Assistant for the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, was trained along with 350 other people in late September by Mr. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and recipient with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Pedraza has joined the community of presenters on climate change that is being formed worldwide, and he already has made several presentations to a variety of audiences. Acoording to the office of The Climate Project in Mexico, Pedraza is one of the most active presenters in our country and one of the few who has fulfilled the commitment to give five presentations by November 30. Each of Pedraza´s presentations on the effects of Climate Change has been met with great surprise and concern among those attending, wich has included a broad audience ranging from medical personnel to students, County governments and visitors from abroad-all concerned about the seriousness of the problem and the urgency for developing real and timely measures for mitigating the effects of climate change, wich certainly is a troubling reality whose effects are just beginning to be felt. Several more presentations are already on Pedraza´s agenda for December.

Photo of the Month.

Probably several hundred years old, the proud oak (Quercus laurina) protected in one of our private nature reserves sustains in its trunk and branches an incredible diversity of epiphytic plants and micro-habitats for a variety of vertebrates and insects. The cloud forest is part of what turns out to be an indispensable "sponge" that filters rainfall into aquifers that feed an important current in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, benefiting a large number of people.