Mountains and Creative Mexican Maps: From Seminar to Survey

Latin American Studie

Spatial Targeting of Agricultural Support Measures: Indicator-Based Assessment of Coverages and Leakages

This article evaluates the targeting strategy of a national-level program in Mexico that distributed agricultural support based on seven criteria that prioritized poor smallholder farming communities at high risk of cropland failure. The findings highlight the continued lack of financial support for smallholder agriculture in Mexico, despite program rules and priority statements that stress the vulnerability of this sector. The article also illustrates the important role of spatial targeting in better aligning agricultural support payments with stated policy priorities

Committing to ecological restoration: Efforts around the globe need legal and policy clarification

At the September 2014 United Nations Climate Summit, governments rallied around an international agreement—the New York Declaration on Forests—that underscored restoration of degraded ecosystems as an auspicious solution to climate change. Ethiopia committed to restore more than one-sixth of its land. Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, and Colombia pledged to restore huge areas within their borders. In total, parties committed to restore a staggering 350 million hectares by 2030.Fil: Suding, Kathering. State University Of Colorado-boulder; Estados UnidosFil: Higgs, Eric. University Of Victoria; CanadáFil: Palmer, Margaret. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Callicott, J. Baird. University Of North Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Anderson, Christopher Brian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Baker, Matthew. University Of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Gutrich, John J.. Southern Oregon University; Estados UnidosFil: Hondula, Kelly L.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Lafevor, Matthew C.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Larson, Brendon M. H.. University Of Waterloo; CanadáFil: Randall, Alan. Ohio State University; Estados Unidos. University Of Sidney; AustraliaFil: Ruhl, J. B.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Schwartz, Katrina Z. S.. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Estados Unido

Characterizing Agricultural Diversity with Policy-Relevant Farm Typologies in Mexico

The effective targeting of agricultural policy interventions across heterogenous agricultural landscapes requires an integrated understanding of farm diversity. One pathway to this understanding is through farm typologies—classification systems that synthesize farm complexity into a limited number of ‘types’. Farm typologies are typically constructed at local or regional levels and seldom demonstrate policy relevance through example. This study has two objectives: (1) to construct a policy-relevant farm typology that characterizes agricultural diversity in Mexico, and (2) to demonstrate, through case study example, how the typology could be used to target policy interventions. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster (HAC) analysis is used to group municipalities (n = 2455) based on farm characteristics (n = 10) and cropping patterns (n = 10). Two clustering solutions were chosen based on statistical goodness-of-fit measures and topical relevance. The first set of clusters (Typology A) grouped municipalities into one of three types: (A1) southern lowland farms, (A2) northern midland farms, and (A3) southern-central highland farms. The second (Typology B) grouped municipalities into 12 sub-types illustrating lower-order distinctions. Each typology was described, validated, and mapped at the national level. The typologies were then used to illustrate the targeting soil erosion interventions across Mexico. Here, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used to examine relationships between the typologies and two priority targeting criteria. Farms of the southern lowland region (Type A1) and two of its subtypes (B1 and B12) were identified as priority areas for interventions. In sum, this study: (1) creates a series of new, typology-based conceptualizations of regional agricultural diversity in Mexico, and (2) demonstrates how such typologies can serve as actionable tools for agricultural policy

Medicinal Snow as a Public Good: Indigenous Communities, Merchants, and Justice in Colonial Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract In colonial Mexico (1521-1821), all territories and their natural resources were considered personal possessions of the Spanish Crown, integral parts of the royal estate, or Real Hacienda. The Crown managed these resources through the imposition of monopolies designed to generate revenue, which often came at great social cost. This paper examines how the Crown managed and controlled one of its lesser-known monopolies—the sale of snow—and how the enterprise affected the most vulnerable members of society, in this instance marginalized indigenous communities and poor, sickly residents in the city of Veracruz. In this tropical seaport, snow was a prized commodity used in the treatment of yellow fever, which first appeared in the New World in 1647 and plagued Veracruz for centuries thereafter. Through transcription and analysis of unpublished colonial documents, we illustrate how the Crown was torn over whether to manage its snow monopoly as a profitable colonial industry or deploy it as a public good. Findings reveal how and why the Crown chose the latter option; namely, a form of governance that focused more on the equitable distribution of resources than it did on simple profit maximization. Resumen En el México colonial (1521-1821), el territorio y todos sus recursos naturales eran considerados como parte de la Real Hacienda de la Corona española. Generalmente, la Corona manejaba estos recursos a través de monopolios con el fin de generar ingresos, pero ésto engendraba un gran costo social. Este artículo examina como la Corona administró y controló uno de sus monopolios menos conocidos—la venta de nieve—y como esta influyó a los sectores más vulnerables de la sociedad; especificamente, comunidades de Indios marginadas y los pobres y enfermos de la ciudad de Veracruz. En el Veracruz tropical, la nieve era muy cotizada ya que entre otros usos servía como tratamiento para la fiebre amarilla (vomito negro o prieto), una temida enfermedad que llegó en el Nuevo Mundo en 1648 y infectaba a Veracruz despues. A través del análisis de documentos coloniales no publicados, en este artículo relatamos como la Corona dilucidó su conflicto sobre si controlar el comercio de nieve como monopolio o como bien público. Los hallazgos revelan porque la Corona sustentó un estilo de manejo basado en la distribución equitativa de los recursos a los más vulnerables y no en la simple maximización de los beneficios para la Corona

Effects of Hillslope Trenching on Surface Water Infiltration in Subalpine Forested Catchments

Concerns over freshwater scarcity for agriculture, ecosystems, and human consumption are driving the construction of infiltration trenches in many mountain protected areas. This study examines the effectiveness of infiltration trenches in a subalpine forested catchment in central Mexico, where public and private organizations have been constructing trenches for ~60 years. We rely on empirical data to develop rainfall-runoff models for two scenarios: a baseline (no trenches) and a trenched scenario. Field measurements of infiltration capacities in forested and trenched soils (n = 56) and two years of meteorological data are integrated into a semi-distributed runoff model of 28 trenched sub-catchments. Sensitivity analysis and hydrographs are used to evaluate differences in total runoff and infiltration between the two scenarios. Multiple logistic regression is used to evaluate the effects of environmental and management variables on the likelihood of runoff response and trench overtopping. The findings show that soil infiltration capacity and rainfall intensity are primary drivers of runoff and trench overtopping. However, trenches provided only a 1.2% increase in total infiltration over the two-year period. This marginal benefit is discussed in relation to the potential adverse environmental impacts of trench construction. Overall, our study finds that as a means of runoff harvesting in these forested catchments, trenches provide negligible infiltration benefits. As a result, this study cautions against further construction of infiltration trenches in forested catchments without careful ex ante assessment of rainfall-runoff relationships. The results of this study have important implications for forest water management in Mexico and elsewhere, where similar earthworks are employed to enhance runoff harvesting and surface water infiltration

Targeting Irrigation Expansion to Address Sustainable Development Objectives: A Regional Farm Typology Approach

Sustainable water management is a core sustainable development goal (SDG) that also contributes to other SDGs, including food and water security, ecosystem health, and climate adaptation. To achieve these synergies, policies must target efforts to regions that best correspond with development objectives. This study designs a targeting strategy for irrigation expansion in southern Mexico—a region long considered to have strong potential for sustainable irrigation development. We use an integrated farm typology and decision tree approach to identify priority municipalities for irrigation expansion. We use multivariate statistics to examine the relationships among farm characteristics in 933 municipalities, classifying each according to four farm types: lowland, midland, midland-irrigated, and highland. We then partition municipalities into 11 farm-type subgroups, each ranked by priority level for receiving irrigation interventions following Mexico’s National Water Program guidelines. Results identify a ‘highest-priority’ subgroup of 73 municipalities comprised mostly of midland and highland farm types. These types are characterized by low irrigation use, small farmland areas, high vulnerability to climate, high marginalization (poverty), strong representation from indigenous communities, low maize yield, and high rates of subsistence production. Findings provide a crucial first approximation of where irrigation expansion would best address water policy priorities and sustainable development objectives in southern Mexico. This study also provides a useful framework for scaling organizations tasked with targeting development efforts across large spatial scales