Development of adaptive capacities to climate change in urban and rural communities in southern Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

This paper is a systemic approach to the study area that is covered by urban and rural areas of the municipalities of Zapotitlan de Vadillo, Tuxcacuesco, Zapotlan el Grande, Tuxpan and Gomez Farias, Jalisco, Mexico. Making manifest the ecological, social, economic, political and cultural aspects that to be modified are intended through formal and informal Environmental Education and raising awareness of the vulnerabilities, risks, threats that affect these municipalities to different degrees, as well as the impact they are taking into the climate change and global warming.

Through developing adaptive capacities, the many climate changes in urban and rural communities through Environmental Education in five municipalities of the Southern Jalisco region.

The study area is located in the south of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. In three different hydrological basins (Armería Basin, Lerma-Chapala Santiago Basin, and Coahuayana. In addition, in three regions, Sierra de Amula, South and Southeast Region, which have different socio-environmental characteristics with particular microclimates. However, they have common environmental, social, economic, political and cultural aspects, and above all a significant degree of vulnerability to different types of poverty according to the classification of vulnerability to climate change in the municipalities of Mexico (National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, 2013). The interactions of one affect the other municipalities, for example, water scarcity in a region will directly affect three or four neighboring municipalities.

The main lines of action for the development of the project was: Environmental education for sustainability, adaptive capacities for contribution to climate change, contribute to the resilience of ecosystems in the region under study, strengthening environmental management and basic production systems good practices.

For the development of the processes of social learning and collective action that guided the construction of integral adaptive capacities were through: Problem-Based Learning (PBL), playful learning, development of experiences, proactive participation, workshops, congresses, conferences, panels, work tables and mass cultural events, Water Fair, Tilapia Fair, environmental calendar: highlighting the celebration of World Wetlands Day, World Water, Earth and Environment Day, regional, national and international meeting of indigenous communities.

For which, educational and communication materials were used in the development process were outdoor classrooms, auditoriums, working guide, guided visits, direct observation, oral, mimicry and written communication, presentation of educational videos, power point presentation, electronic materials and pre-instructional, coin-instructional and post-instructional teaching techniques, posters and interactive dome.

However, the importance of this work is in recognition of the vulnerability of the aforementioned municipalities and their impact on the socio-environmental corridor of these. When performing this work georeferencing vulnerable critical points that have social groups to become more sensitive to the negative effects of climate change sought were.

In conclusion, there is some degree of viability can contribute to the resilience of the region to contribute to the remediation of climate change because, it is a global problem which can contribute to local actions of good practice in the use and exploitations rational use of ecosystem goods and services in the region; by developing adaptability skills through formal and informal environmental education, which strengthens and promotes the values of sustainability.

In this work they involved 1,978 people, who are students of basic education and higher secondary education, as well as the five municipalities mentioned above agricultural, forestry and tourism producers and 50 members of the Nahua indigenous community: students telesecundaria the  Zenzontla, from the Municipality of Tuxcacuesco, Tuxcacuesco High School, Zapotitlan de Vadillo, Ciudad Guzmán, Tuxpan and San Sebastian del Sur High School, Jalisco State Baccalaureate College (COBAEJ), Industrial and Baccalaureate Center for Technology and Services (CBTis ) between ages 13 and 18. Which showed high availability to continue contributing to formal and informal environmental education with their family, friends and social circles in their environment.