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- In rebuilding an ecosystem, a Conservation International project showed that \u2018everything is connected.\u2019<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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When one small town saw its livelihood drying up, it had a choice: find new ways to make money, or overcome its fears and enlist an unlikely ally.<\/p>\n
Crocodiles.<\/span><\/p>\n
About a decade ago, the small fishing community of Top\u00f3n in southern Mexico noticed that the shrimp on which its economy depended were dying off.<\/span><\/p>\n
The community suspected that climate change, increased deforestation and overfishing had pushed the ecosystem too far \u2014 a suspicion since confirmed by scientists.<\/span><\/p>\n
An artisanal fisherman from Top\u00f3n. The community has experienced a dramatic drop in shrimp due to deforestation. \u00a9 Flores<\/h6>\n
In the past, the community saw crocodiles as pests at best \u2014 threats, at worst. But a years-long project<\/a> from Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility and the Mexican government has helped change that mindset \u2014 and show that conservation works best when it considers the entire ecosystem.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cEcosystems are a complex and interconnected whole,\u201d said Gustavo Gardu\u00f1o, project specialist at Conservation International-Mexico. \u201cWhen one part gets out of balance, it can have a domino effect. Such is the case with crocodiles and shrimp.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
For Top\u00f3n, that ecosystem starts high in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountain range, where water flows steadily through the Pijijiapan River before spilling into the Pacific Ocean. But just before that, in the brackish waters of the estuary, is where the shrimp that sustain Top\u00f3n live alongside an abundance of life.<\/span><\/p>\n
Roseate spoonbills are one of many species that make this region one of the most biodiverse areas of Mexico. \u00a9 Flores<\/h6>\n
Vibrant roseate spoonbills wade through the shallows to find fish. Reclusive crocodiles and caimans bask in the sun. And towering mangroves \u2014 the largest in North America \u2014 provide refuge for migratory birds, spider monkeys, jaguars and more.<\/span><\/p>\n
Yet deforestation upstream has transformed the estuary. With the trees no longer there to act as a buffer, sediment flows freely, clogging waterways and causing the estuary’s oxygen levels to plummet.<\/span><\/p>\n
The shrimp were effectively being choked out, Gardu\u00f1o said.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a vicious circle,\u201d he added. \u201cWhile deforestation hurts shrimp populations, it is driven by falling incomes for fishermen who are catching fewer shrimp and instead turning to environmentally damaging, but more profitable, activities like cattle ranching and palm oil production.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Chiapas \u2014 where Top\u00f3n is located \u2014 is the poorest state in Mexico, and with little control over deforestation upstream, the community needed to take a different approach to cleaning up the estuary\u2019s water and making shrimping profitable again.<\/span><\/p>\n
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Young fishermen monitor crocodile populations \u00a9 Flores<\/h6>\n
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That’s where the crocodiles come in.<\/span><\/p>\n
Crocodiles are wetlands engineers, said Ram\u00f3n Flores, coastal manager at Conservation International-Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n
When they swim through the water, their movements stir up sediment that has settled at the bottom. This action aerates the water, improving oxygen levels, and keeping minerals and nutrients from settling and clogging the system.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the crocodile, the wetland ceases to exist,\u201d Flores said. \u201cIf you want good fishing, crocodiles must be present \u2014 their decline is one of the main reasons that shrimp numbers have plummeted. Everything is connected.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But crocodiles\u2019 role in the ecosystem was misunderstood \u2014 and fishermen would hunt the endangered species.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very afraid of them and fear made us act against the animal,\u201d said Mario Becerra, a founder of the Top\u00f3n fishing collective. \u201cThere was hunger and there was need. Some killed it, and they\u2019d say, ‘We\u2019re doing something good because we\u2019re killing the crocodile, and we get to eat it too.’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
To change this perception, the project hosted workshops that showed the critical role crocodiles play in keeping the ecosystem healthy \u2014 and ensuring there is an abundance of shrimp to fish. They also organized monitoring brigades to keep an eye on the species and measure progress \u2014 an eye-opening experience for the community, Flores said.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the community joined in monitoring the crocodiles, they realized there weren\u2019t many left,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore, the community typically only encountered them in threatening situations. But witnessing the crocodile\u2019s life cycle \u2014 from eggs to hatchlings to adults \u2014 play out in front of them had a profound and moving effect. Knowledge is power.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
While it is too early to know how the project has impacted crocodile populations in the estuary, Becerra said it has already transformed the community’s relationship with the animal and helped them learn to coexist with it.<\/span><\/p>\n
A river crocodile carrying its young in its mouth is captured on a camera trap that monitors crocodile populations.<\/h6>\n
As for shrimp, the fishermen\u2019s catch has increased tenfold since the project began more than five years ago \u2014 though hasn\u2019t yet returned to the yields seen a decade ago. The local economy is also showing signs of improvement, notably for women and youth. With a new shrimp processing plant, the fishermen hope to connect directly to higher-value markets that support sustainable production.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cNone of this would have been possible without taking this holistic and community-driven approach,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThese are essential pieces to long-term sustainability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
One of the most underrepresented groups within a community is children, he added, and Top\u00f3n was no different: Many of the children there had never seen where their parents fished. So the project organized an environmental festival where each child received a pair of binoculars and bird guides to see the wildlife firsthand, and participate in lessons and activities about the local ecology.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an amazing experience for the children and a powerful lesson,\u201d Flores said. \u201cIf you want to achieve lasting conservation, you must involve people from an early age and establish that link between a community and the nature surrounding it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
Children participate in\u00a0activities like drawing contests and puppet theater focused on the surrounding environment.\u00a0\u00a9 Flores<\/h6>\n
Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n