Ben & Buffy Lenth

As Peace Corps Volunteers in Mexico we work with Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, a local non-profit organization that co-manages the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve with Mexico´s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas.

The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve covers nearly one million acres in eastern-central Mexico and is the most eco-diverse protected area in the country, encompassing old growth cloud forests, high elevation pine-oak forests, semi-deserts and lowland tropical forests. Unlike most protected areas in the United States, the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve is over 90% privately owned. This means the conservation of this exceptional wealth of species and ecosystems relies on the willing participation of its nearly 100,000 landowners, most of whom live in poverty. We are working with Grupo Ecológico to develop innovative ways of turning conservation and restoration activities into economically viable livelihoods through Payments for Environmental Services. Healthy forests naturally provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and protection of wildlife habitat. We are working to quantify these ecosystem services, and to convey their global importance to potential investors so that local landowners may be compensated for their work in maintaining this natural green infrastructure.

One of the Sierra Gorda´s most successful environmental services projects is the sale of carbon credits sequestered through reforestations. Buffy coordinates these transactions between international clients and local landowners on the international voluntary carbon market. She has assisted with the sale of over 22,000 tons of CO2 equivalent providing 69 families in the Sierra Gorda with additional income. Ben is quantifying the social benefits of this and other programs in the Reserve using a Social Return on Investment analysis that demonstrates to donors and the public a more holistic picture of the benefits of their work.

Together we are also working to quantify the values of the Reserve´s forests in terms of water infiltration, soil conservation, and habitat protection for threatened species like the jaguar. Every few weeks we travel to remote areas of the Reserve to monitor jaguar activity using cameras traps which are triggered by the motion and heat of passing wildlife, and to measure runoff and soil erosion from forests and disturbed slopes. These values will be bundled with carbon sequestration to create a product of integrated ecosystem services generated within Reserve´s best-conserved forests. With funds from Peace Corps and USAID´s Small Project Assistance program (SPA), we will train and equip the landowners of these forests to monitor biodiversity on their lands, giving them the skills to measure the impacts of their conservation activities, ensure the health of their forests and receive financial support for their stewardship. Our experience working in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve with Peace Corps Mexico has been a great opportunity to explore a fascinating language and culture as well as to gain a high level of professional experience as ecologists. We look forward to a life-long relationship with Mexico.