Home | Mexico | Borderlands | Copper Canyon | Mexico Travel Directory | Sonoran Desert | International Sonoran Desert Alliance

The International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA) is a unique process - it reflects the conviction that inclusion of the diverse border region inhabitants of the United States, Mexico, and Native Communities in framing the future offers the best alternative for solving some of the complex economic and environmental issues of the region.

The Alliance is a group of residents, business leaders, federal and state admin-istrators of natural resources, civic organ-izations and scientists from Mexico, the United States and the O'odham Nations.

Members of the Alliance cooperate to identify and implement activities appropriate to an arid desert climate, activities that promote sustainable economic development for rural communities, protect the valuable biological resources and guarantee a respect for the cultural heritage of the Sonoran Desert.

The Alliance works closely with the Sonoran Institute, Friends of PRO-NATURA, Inc. and non-governmental organizations in the region and draws upon researchers and scientists from universities on both sides of the border.

The western Sonoran Desert in the US - Mexico border region is one of the largest primarily intact arid ecosystems in the world. This historically isolated, but rapidly growing region includes, in the United States, over one million acres of Congressionally designated wilderness within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, the 2.8 million acre land of the Tohono O'odham, the Air Force's 2.6 million acre Goldwater Aircraft Range, and the Arizona communities of Ajo, Gila Bend, Lukeville, and Why.

In Mexico it encompasses the Biosphere Reserves, formally designated in 1993, of the Pinacate - a fragile volcanic complex of nine gigantic craters, 400 cinder cones, and a volcanic shield, and also the Upper Gulf of California - a biologically rich, but threatened resource. As well, it includes the growing Sonoran communities of Sonoyta, Puerto Penasco, Caborca, and San Luis Rio Colorado.

The region has a rich biological and cultural history. Being situated in one of the most diverse deserts on earth, over 1000 species of plants occur in the region. This diverse biological community supports many endemic species of arid land organisms such as the rare Mexican rosy boa, burrowing tree frog, desert pupfish, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep, lesser long-nosed bat, several unique cacti, and many marine fish and mammals.

Ancestral inhabitants included the Hohokam, Patayan, Pinacatenos, and the Arenenos. The latter two are clans of the Tohono (Desert) and Hia-Ced (Sand) O'odham (People), once known as the Papago. The O'odham still live and work in the area, respecting their traditions and sacred sites.

The designation of Pinacate and the Upper Gulf of California as Biosphere Reserves underscores the importance of this region and opens an opportunity for increased tri-national exchange(;it also establishes the potential for creating....) (and the creation of) an International Sonoran Desert Biosphere Cooperative System that would involve local communities, non-governmental civic organizations and scientists in the management and development of the region.

The International Sonoran Desert Alliance Activities:

• Regional Profile & Economic Analysis - will synthesize existing environmental, economic, and social data and develop a regional plan outlining a sustainable economic development strategy for the region.

• Regional Resource Center - creation of an International Sonoran Desert Regional Resource Center that will house biological, historical, scientific, and popular information about the region in Spanish and English.

• Roots, Raices, Youth Program - is working to encourage youth in the region to take initiative in changing their communities through projects that develop leadership abilities, promote environmental awareness, and communicate the importance of cultural diversity within their region. Their activities include various community service projects, native tree planting, and intercultural activities.

• Juntos: Students and Teachers - an environmental education curriculum for elementary school students that focuses on the unique cultural heritage of the region, human impact on the natural environment, and land use changes.

• Community Outreach - to obtain information from the diverse members of the regional community so that their concerns can be understood and encourage citizens to participate in the meetings so that their voices are heard and contribute. (To listen to the diverse concerns of the residents of the region, and encourage citizen participation so that they become active contributors)

• International Border Forums - convened each year to develop a consensus for a strategic plan of action, and to reinforce the cultural heritage of the region. The results of these meetings are applied to develop concrete responses to the diverse concerns of residents.

PLANETA.COM GUIDES

Home | About | Advertise! | Books | Central America | Ecotourism | Headlines
Learn Spanish | Mexico | Media | Site Map | South America | World Travel | Updates