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Sustainable Development

Campo Santa María - A Diversified Management Model

Campo Santa María

Background

Located on the border of the states of Coahuila and Nuevo León, Mexico, Campo Santa Maria (10,000 hectares area), lies in the "ecotone" of two major northern Mexico ecosystems: the Tamaulipan thornscrub and the Chihuahuan desert. This position gives the area unique topography, vegetation, and diversity of animal species.

The primary economic activity and land use practice in the region is ranching. As a result of more than 100 years of intensive overgrazing, much of the land has suffered from reduction of native grasslands, and increased soil erosion and desertification. The viability of traditional family ranching has declined due to the economic squeeze between rising costs and pricing pressure from a globalized supply chain for beef and other domestic livestock. Furthermore, rangeland depletion and greater fragmentation of land has increased the problems of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.

Habitat Restoration Work

For more than a decade CEMEX has implemented a diversified economic management model at Santa Maria and has demonstrated how traditional cattle ranching and wildlife can co-exist in an economic and ecological balance. The model works by first stocking the correct number of cattle in accordance with the carrying capacity of the land, combined with management practices clearly focused on sufficient habitat and water distribution for viable wildlife populations.

CEMEX has been working on rangeland and wildlife habitat restoration at Santa Maria since 1995. This model is based on the use of the Lawson Aerator for treating the land and has successfully accomplished the restoration of both native grasslands and wildlife habitat previously heavily impacted by overgrazing practices.

In 2003, CEMEX began to transfer its experience to SEMARNAT, the Federal Government Environmental Ministry for Mexico, and to PRONAT URA, a leading NGO working for conservation in Mexico. As a result, several other ranches across northeastern Mexico have implemented this restoration model.

Recovering these sensitive semi-arid lands means bringing back biodiversity through natural vegetation, water resources and wildlife. These practices bring new methods for landowners to have a diversified and sustainable economic balance between ranching and wildlife. At Santa Maria, we call this, "Ranching the New Way".

Restoration of semi-arid areas, particularly grasslands, demonstrates several ecological benefits, including aquifer recharge, biodiversity restoration, and carbon sequestration. These ecological services can attract important international funding, that in turn creates new incentives for increased restoration work by local communities.

Field Laboratory for Scientific Research

Santa Maria has a proud history of serving as a field laboratory for scientific work. Students from several countries have conducted research projects on the effects of the habitat and wildlife restoration work, as well as biological and ecological studies on deer, turkey, black bear, and other species.

Last Update: April 2009