Sunday, April 18, 10:30am Central Time
“Municipal Actions to Sustain San Miguel’s Ecosystem”
Francisco Peyret García
As people worldwide anticipate celebrations of Earth Day, April 20-22, Francisco Peyret García, Director of Environment and Sustainability for San Miguel de Allende, will be the guest speaker at this Sunday’s UUFSMA online service. Bringing the theme of Earth Day 2021 home to San Miguel, he will present an overview of this region’s challenging municipal and communal efforts to “Restore Our Earth.”
“In San Miguel de Allende, we decided to find solutions for environmental challenges that contain a socio-economic factor,” Sr. García says. “Our mission is to promote the permanence of climate actions over time.” Doing so draws together a diverse cluster of stakeholders, including municipal authorities, local companies and communities, and state-supported communal farms known as ejidos. Working with NGOs and international agencies, these public and private enterprises are implementing this region’s Municipal Climate Action Program (MCAP).
Building strategies around so-called “Ecosystem-based Adaptation,” MCAP promotes regeneration of the soil and reforestation by targeting significant sources and users of water in the countryside. Improving water infiltration and conservation, this sustainable practice also minimizes urban flooding. MCAP’s program demonstrates growing support. Initially providing guidance for management of some 80 hectares in 2019, its techniques will be applied to 1,500 hectares this year. Agave provides the main agent for soil restoration and productivity.
MCAP also focuses on cleaning streams and reforesting riverbanks, such as Arroyo de las Cachinches, southwest of the city, and other green spaces to increase recreation areas and improve life for people, birds, fauna, and flowers. “But there remains a long way to go,” the highly respected member of SMA’s Governmental Cabinet says. “We must expand our work to many other communities and develop an educational program that reaches the city’s wider population.”
An economist and post-graduate student in business administration, Sr. García has been an advisor on environmental programs to the World Bank and Banobras, Mexico’s state-owned development bank. His expertise has also guided conservation programs of Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza at 14 of Mexico’s protected natural areas.
To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 am CST.
Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.
Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search box. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
“In San Miguel de Allende, we decided to find solutions for environmental challenges that contain a socio-economic factor,” Sr. García says. “Our mission is to promote the permanence of climate actions over time.” Doing so draws together a diverse cluster of stakeholders, including municipal authorities, local companies and communities, and state-supported communal farms known as ejidos. Working with NGOs and international agencies, these public and private enterprises are implementing this region’s Municipal Climate Action Program (MCAP).
Building strategies around so-called “Ecosystem-based Adaptation,” MCAP promotes regeneration of the soil and reforestation by targeting significant sources and users of water in the countryside. Improving water infiltration and conservation, this sustainable practice also minimizes urban flooding. MCAP’s program demonstrates growing support. Initially providing guidance for management of some 80 hectares in 2019, its techniques will be applied to 1,500 hectares this year. Agave provides the main agent for soil restoration and productivity.
MCAP also focuses on cleaning streams and reforesting riverbanks, such as Arroyo de las Cachinches, southwest of the city, and other green spaces to increase recreation areas and improve life for people, birds, fauna, and flowers. “But there remains a long way to go,” the highly respected member of SMA’s Governmental Cabinet says. “We must expand our work to many other communities and develop an educational program that reaches the city’s wider population.”
An economist and post-graduate student in business administration, Sr. García has been an advisor on environmental programs to the World Bank and Banobras, Mexico’s state-owned development bank. His expertise has also guided conservation programs of Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza at 14 of Mexico’s protected natural areas.
To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 am CST.
Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.
Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search box. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Miguel de Allende
Apdo 798, San Miguel de Allende 37700 Guanajuato, Mexico Click here to join us on Facebook |