Mainstreaming Proven EbA Solutions with Small-Scale Cattle Ranches to Increase the Resilience of Livestock Supply Chain in Northeast Mexico

Northeast Mexico plays an important role in cattle production, contributing to food security and providing livelihood benefits for more than 230,000 people. The region’s grasslands and scrublands support livestock production but are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The region has seen increased severity and frequency of fire and drought, with drastic changes in temperature affecting the productivity of pastures and crops.

This project strengthened the capacities of small-scale ranchers from three ejidos within two Protected Areas (Maderas del Carmen and Ocampo located in northern Coahuila) by introducing Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA) approaches for sustainable livestock management. As a result, ranchers are now better able to understand climate vulnerabilities and identify strategies to manage their impacts.

The project promoted the implementation of the following three EbA measures on the lands of four small-scale ranchers and their families: rotational livestock grazing, seed banks, and conservation areas. To promote monitoring of the EbA measures and their results, a digital Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system was developed to enable ranchers to track the implementation and results of the EbA measures. The project also shared lessons learnt with local and state authorities to support the mainstreaming of the EbA approaches in public policies and instruments.

Key activities included:

• Held a workshop with small-scale ranchers to build and strengthen their capacities related to climate change and EbA.
• Developed a participatory vulnerability assessment with the ranchers to identify climate hazards, environmental and socio-economic impacts, and adaptation strategies.
• Developed a digital platform to assess the ranchers’ vulnerabilities to climate change at a ranch scale.
• Held a workshop with small-scale ranchers to design results chains for the selected EbA measures and define potential indicators to be used in the M&E system.
• Designed and developed a digital platform integrating the identified indicators for each of the three EbA measures.
• Shared project lessons with authorities to support EbA mainstreaming in policies and instruments at the local and state level.
• Supported four small-scale ranchers in implemented rotational livestock grazing, seed banks, and conservation areas.

Project Achievements

1. Enhanced Capacity of Small-Scale Ranchers to Address Climate Vulnerabilities: Small-scale ranchers identified their specific vulnerabilities to climate change and determined potential solutions, strengthening their understanding of climate risks and improving their ability to integrate EbA into livestock production.

2. Implementation of EbA Measures Across 1,743.5 Hectares in Two Protected Areas: The project supported the application of three EbA measures (rotational razing, seed banks, and conservation areas) across ranches in the Maderas del Carmen and Ocampo Protected Areas.

3. Strengthened Conservation Through Dedicated Areas for Biodiversity and Seed Banks: A total of 420 hectares were conserved through the establishment of biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation areas and 207.5 hectares were conserved through the creation of seed banks.

4. Creation of a Livestock Sub-council to Support Governance: A new Livestock Sub-council was established under the Advisory Councils of the two Protected Areas. The creation of this group will allow the Protected Areas managers, ranchers and other interested actors to discuss and address key sustainability challenges and climate change adaptation practices related to livestock production.