Watershed Management Process

Earlier this month, Dan Wiens, the director of Water and Agricultural funds for MCC, approved our proposal to begin a process of watershed management planning in the community of Zacango. This process builds on the previous work in the community involving the promotion of cisterns and dry latrines as well as the continuing computer and English classes. The following, written by MCC worker Bruce Friesen-Pankratz, provides a brief explanation of our current work in Guerrero.

In their ongoing search for extraterrestrial life the North American Space Agency (NASA) focuses its efforts on finding liquid water on planets and moons. Water is essential to life as we know it. However, despite being an essential resource for life we continue to contaminate much of the Earth’s limited supply of freshwater. We as humans are also responsible in part for the recent prolonged drought which has occurred in western North America since at least 1999. This drought has negatively affected the livelihood of many people including the subsistence farmers of rural Guerrero, Mexico.

The management of water and other natural resources has traditionally followed a top-down approach. This approach has many faults including the fact that those in the “top tier” often have limited understanding of the reality of those in the effected communities. Recently in Canada, the United States, and Mexico there has been a movement to bottom-up approaches to resource management. The development and implementation of community-led integrated watershed management plans (CIWMPs) is one such approach that attempts to fully engage community members and other stakeholders in managing their watershed.

Although CIWMPs are developed and implemented by communities the process frequently involves support (e.g., technical) from outside agencies including non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As an NGO with capacity building and creation care mandates the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) appears to be in a position to support communities interested in the CIWMP process.

MCC has worked in rural Guerrero on water related projects (e.g., dry latrines and rainwater collecting cisterns) for over five years. Through this work MCC has established relationships and a history of trust with communities. These relationships and trust are essential if MCC is to successfully accompany communities through the CIWMP process. MCC workers in Guerrero will start to work with the community of Zacango on their CIWMP process. MCC has a strong relationship with Zacango which currently includes an education program, and MCC service workers living in the community.