Chinampa Agricultural System of Mexico City Mexico
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CHINAMPA AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM OF MEXICO CITY MEXICO A PROPOSAL FOR DESIGNATION AS GLOBALLY IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE SYSTEMS (GIAHS) GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO CITY AUTHORITY OF THE WORLD NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ZONE IN XOCHIMILCO, TLÁHUAC AND MILPA ALTA MEXICO CITY JULY 7th, 2017 A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION! 1! TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Information Summary 4 Description of the Globally Important Agricultural 11 Heritage Systems I. Characteristics of the GIAHS proposed 11 1. Food security and livelihoods. 19 2. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions 27 27 3. Knowledge systems and adapted technologies 34 4. Cultures, systems of values and social organizations 48 (agri-culture) 5. Remarkable landscapes, land and water resources 56 management features. II. Historical significance. 62 III. Contemporary relevance. 65 IV. Threats and challenges. 68 V. Practical considerations. 69 1. Ongoing efforts to promote GIAHS 69 2. Potentialities and opportunities for sustainability and 70 management of GIAHS. 3. Expected impacts of GIAHS on society and ecology. 70 4. Motivation of the local communities, the national/local 70 authorities and other relevant stakeholders. 5. References 72 VI. Dynamic Conservation Plan 77 1. General Action Plan 81 2. Dynamic Plan of Specific Actions (2017-2022) 89 • Data Sheet for the Supply and Marketing Center in 94 Xochimilco (Muyuguarda) • Data Sheet for the Supply and Marketing Center in 97 Tláhuac (Tlaltenco) • Data Sheet for the Research and Production Center 100 of seeds and planting material of Xochimilco. • Data sheet for the Chinampa Agricultural Park of 103 Mexico City VI. Complementary data 107 1. Evolution of the Mexico City’s lacustrine zone and its 107 chinampa system 2. Treated wastewater supply to the Lacustrine Zone of 137 Xochimilco and Tláhuac A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION"! 2! Annexes! ! Pages! Annex 1. Map of geographical location of Mexico in North America.! !!!!!161! Annex 2. Map of metropolitan area of Mexico City and neighboring !!!!!162! states.! Annex 3. Map of the chinampa agricultural system in the context of !!!!163! the ecological framework of Mexico City. ! Annex 4. Map of Heritage Zone in the context ofMunicipalities. 164! Annex 5. Map of the GIAHS site proposed with its five chinampa 165! zones. Annex 6. Chinampas zone in Xochimilco. 166! Annex 7. Chinampas zone in San Gregorio Atlapulco. 168! Annex 8. Chinampas zone in San Luis Tlaxialtemalco. 170! Annex 9. Chinampas zone in San Pedro Tláhuac. 172! Annex 10. Chinampas zone in San Andrés Mixquic. 174! Annex 11. Accessibility to the site and water network. 176! Annex 12. Building a chinampa. 177! Annex 13. Main plant species grown in the site 178! Annex 14. Species listed under a condition. 179! Annex 15. Ornitofauna identified on the site. 180! Annex 16. Tree species identified on the site. 181! Annex 17. Halophile identified species on the site. 182! Annex 18. Aquatic and underwater vegetation identified on the site 184! Annex 19. Example of a rehabilitation plan for the recovery of 186! potential chinampas. Case Study Xochimilco Annex 20. Example of a restoration plan to encourage the production 187! of active chinampas. Case Study San Gregorio Atlapulco Annex 21. Example of a rehabilitation plan for the recovery of 188! potential chinampas. Case Study San Luis Tlaxialtemalco Annex 22. Example of a rehabilitation plan for the recovery 130130!!!!!!!!!!189! of potential chinampas. Case Study San Pedro Tláhuac. Annex 23. Example of a restoration plan to encourage production of !190! active chinampas. Case Study San Andrés Mixquic. Annex 24. Distribution of expenditure for different flows from the !191! Cerro de La Estrella treatment plant. Annex 25. Local treatment plants that contribute to the Xochimilco !192! and Tláhuac area. Annex 26. Diagram of distribution of wastewater treated from the 193! plant Cerro de la Estrella. Annex 27. Integral Management Plant. 195! ! A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION! 3! Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)! Information Summary Name/title of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System Chinampa agricultural system in Mexico City, MEXICO Requesting Agency/Organization: Government of Mexico City/Authority on the World Natural and Cultural Zone of Heritage of Xochimilco, Tláhuac and Milpa Alta. Country/Location/Site1 In Mexico (Annex 1), in the capital Mexico City or formerly Federal District (150,000 ha in area composed of 16 delegations or municipalities) within the rural area of the city, classified as Area of soil Conservation (85,000 ha with 7 municipalities in southern Mexico City, with the presence of 36 rural villages that are over 500 years old) and within the Natural and Cultural World Heritage Area Site in Xochimilco, Tláhuac and Milpa Alta (7,534 ha with 3 municipalities and twelve rural villages); currently, there is a chinampa agricultural system that integrates five areas of active chinampas, three in the municipality of Xochimilco (Nahuatl: place of flowers) and two in the municipality of Tláhuac (Nahuatl: place of who takes care of the water), which cover a total of 2,215 ha in five rural villages (Figure 1). These areas correspond to the proposed GIAHS site. The geographical coordinates of the site are: 19º 19’ 13.52” y 19º 12’ 37.75” North, y 98º 56’ 25.76” y 99º 07’ 00.83” West. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!See!the!folowing!maps:! a) Map of Mexico (Annex 1). b) Map of Mexico City and neighboring states (Annex 2) c) Site Map in the context of Mexico City and its ecological framework (Annex 3) d) Map of the site (Annex 4). e) Maps of the five chinampas zones and its active chinampas (Annex 5 to 10). ! A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION"! 4! Figure 1. Map of the heritage zone with the location of chinampa agricultural system in Mexico City. Chinampa agricultural system Twelve rural towns Agricultural zone Wetlands A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION! 5! Attainability of the site to important cities: The site is located in the center of Mexico City, to 18 km south of his historic center, it can be reached by car (about 45 minutes) or from every place by the most used urban mains of transportation, which are varied and frequent to access the site (Annex 11). Approximate surface area: 75.34 square kilometers (7,534 ha). It corresponds to the declared by UNESCO as a World Natural and Cultural Heritage Zone in Xochimilco, Tláhuac and Milpa Alta, and it is also part of a Protected Natural Area, including 2,600 has. that has been declared as a Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance (Figure 2). According to the chinampas cataloging system in this heritage area, five chinampas zones are located with strictly rural characteristics, preserved around the still prevalent rural villages, covering an area of 2,215 ha: three in the municipality of Xochimilco (Xochimilco, San Gregorio Atlapulco y San Luis Tlaxialtemalco) and two in the municipality of Tláhuac (San Pedro Tláhuac y San Andrés Mixquic). Around this area still remains an extensive canal network covering more than 406 km long that provides water for chinampas agricultural activities (Gonzalez-Pozo, 2014). Agro-ecological zone: Tropical high, temperate with vegetables and ornamental. Topographical features: The land is predominately flat; due to it is located on an old lakebed into the endorheic Valley of Mexico closed basin. The site is part of the lake area and represents the last stronghold of the 5 lakes that formed this Cuenca. The elevation of this site is between 2,242 and 2,236 meters above sea level. Climate: Yearly rainfall is about 700 mm. having a sub humid weather. Average annual temperatures is of 16, 2º. Approximate population: The population living into the site is of 255,000 inhabitants (González- Pozo, 2014), distributed in twelve locations, which, since Aztec times, have been linked to the agricultural production on the chinampas2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2! Xochimilco," Santa" María" Nativitas," Santa" Cruz" Acalpixca," San" GrEgorio" Atlapulco," San" Luis" TlaxialtEmanco,"Santiago"TulyEhualco,"San"Francisco"TlaltEnco,"San"PEdro"Tláhuac,"San"Juan"Ixtayopan," San"Antonio"TEcomitl,"San"Nicolás"TEtElco"y"San"Andrés"Mixquic.! A"PROPOSAL"FOR"GIASH"DESIGNATION"! 6! Main source of livelihoods: Agriculture (vegetables and ornamentals) tourism and urban employment. Ethnicity/Indigenous Population A majority, about 60 % of farmers are descendants of the original indigenous inhabitants. Between 5 and 10% of them still understand or speak the language Nahuatl of the Aztec, which is one of the most researched ancient civilizations in the world (Rodríguez-Alegría y Nichols, 2016). Summary Information of Agricultural Heritage System: Chinampa is the Aztec name for an ancestral agro-productive system, which consists of plots of land in the middle of the lake. It is an island surrounded by three or four small channels, which work as a water body and drainage. It is a kind of agriculture that allows five crops per year. Also known as floating gardens, the chinampa agricultural system is nowadays used for floriculture and for vegetables planting, agroproductive systems comprising 36% (1,294) and 64% (2,292) of the total chinampas (3,586), respectively (González-Pozo, 2014) (Annex 5). The main features are: (I) Formed by a diversified agriculture, which includes horticulture, floriculture and the production of basic crops for its regional consumption as well as the consumption by many metropolitan residents. (II) Biodiversity,