Rescuing the Sierra Gorda While Promoting Community and Human Development

After a long period of negotiation, Pati Ruiz and a citizen effort spearheaded by the Sierra Gorda Ecology Group (Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda) have won protection for Mexico's most eco-diverse region through creation of the one-million acre (383,567-hectare) Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. Thanks to their leadership, this unique environmental treasure is protected, and damaged areas are beginning to recover.

At the same time, the Sierra Gorda region has become Mexico's leading model of active participation – and heightened awareness – by rural residents in both conservation and community development. This is a truly remarkable achievement for a remote region that has suffered generation after generation of destructive socioeconomic development. The Sierra Gorda is a region of extreme poverty and population pressure on the natural resources is heavy, inefficient and oftimes inappropriate.

The successes in the Sierra Gorda are inextricably intertwined with the remarkable story, and character, of Pati Ruiz. Before tackling the problems and opportunities of the Sierra Gorda region, Ruiz remade her own life, and the life of her family, by abandoning a comfortable upper-class lifestyle in the city for a self-sufficient, rural existence in the Sierra Gorda.

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The Sierra Gorda:    
A Biological Jewel

From deep sink holes to cloud forests – a rich, enchanting land

Protecting and Renewing Soil, Plants, Forests and Wildlife

Creating a Sustainable Culture: Environ- mental Education and Job Skills Training

Strengthening the Community: Training for Self-Sufficiency

A Force of Nature: Pati Ruiz's Story