An extension of the highly successful platform in Brazil, Alianca da Terra (AT) in Mexico is a new grass-roots movement for sustainable ranching and habitat conservation, by means of a transparent evaluation and monitoring platform. AT is revolutionizing sustainable ranching by conducting extensive ranch evaluations, then asking ranchers to commit to improve where they are perhaps behind the curve. The information is shared online so that the consumer can view the sustainability evaluation and goals, striving to comply with all social and environmental regulations (if not already fully compliant) and working constantly to improve their ranching practices (often receiving help and support to do so). The first phase is a pilot project involving two ranch corridors in the Mexican borderlands. Pilot site 1 - Cuenca Los Ojos, Sonora. A Mexican non-profit organization which, through a long slow process of restoration, has dramatically improved the vegetation of 7 ranches (42,000 hectares). Pilot site 2 - Serran�as del Burro, Coahuila. A coalition of ranchers with a long history of conservation and careful management using Savory?s "Holistic Management" framework in 5 ranches covering 37,000 hectares. Leaders and technicians from the Brazilian platform have come together with local ranchers and representatives and field staff from Fondo Mexicano para la Conservation de la Naturaleza AC, and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, to adapt the program to Northern Mexico. The team spent time together in Brazil reviewing the procedures, and then the platform was translated into Spanish and adapted for Mexican laws and ecosystems. Comprehensive site visits included water monitoring, facilities inspections, observations of management practices, restoration efforts, water management, and biodiversity conservation efforts. It is hoped that the pilot program will quickly offer an irresistible network for all ranchers wanting to advance their readiness to supply high quality products for the 21st century sustainable markets.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.