Preserving life; protecting cultural identity

The Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (established 1988) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1987.?

This gorgeous territory is mostly located between the limits of Colima and Jalisco. I’m from Jalisco, and five years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Manantlán for the first time. Manantlán means “place of watersheds.” Joking with me, a close friend filled my bottle with water from a nearby river, and I drank it without noticing.?

This reserve provides water for almost half a million individuals, is home to seven different vegetation zones with over 3,000 species of vascular plants, nearly 400 birds, and approximately 300 mammal species.?

But the most remarkable feature of this region is the existence of Zea Diploperennis, known as ‘Teocintle’ or ‘Teosinte’, a wild relative of corn. A large amount of scientific interest exists in conferring beneficial teosinte traits, such as insect resistance, perennialism, and flood tolerance. I want to stress this: perennial crops, such as Teonsite, don't need to be replanted each year; this can help us achieve food safety.?

Can you dimension the impact of farming perennial maize? How important would this advancement be in our race, as humanity, to achieve food safety in the near future?

This company, founded by a friend of mine, is a good example that it is possible to use ancestral maize:

There is a shortlist of places where Teosinte is present, Manantlán is one of them. Virtually all populations of this teosinte are either threatened or endangered. What can we do?

Preliminary results (Cárdenas & Gerritsen, 2015) have identified areas in the southern portion of the reserve as the most impacted by adjacent human communities. The reserve’s administration faces several challenges:

-Manage use zone designations within the reserve (approximately 140,000 hectares)

-Detect the potential for disease outbreaks?

-Identify areas for the dispersal of target species

The reserve's core area includes protected areas, reference points on the natural state of the ecosystems represented by the biosphere reserves. The reserve’s buffer zone surrounds the core area. Activities in the Buffer zone are organized, so they do not hinder the conservation objectives of the core area but rather help to protect it: agricultural land, education, training, tourism, and recreation facilities. Enforcing proper use of the Core and Buffer areas is daunting.?

Satellite images have been used to study the impact of forest fires, livestock grazing, and industrialized practices. There are at least three caveats related to using satellites: image collection is sparse, the resolution is low, and there are limitations in the collected data.?

Drones have been successfully used for telemetry for many years. High-resolution cameras can capture RGB, multispectral and thermal images that can help producers manage their crops. A considerable number of preprocessing steps must be executed to extract valuable information from these images. For instance, a single multispectral image generates five matrices of pixels; by applying algebraic operations among them, you can calculate the amount of chlorophyll in the crops.?

We can fit an RX1R-II camera into a Wingtra. Flying at 355 meters, we can get a resolution of 5 centimeters by pixel. With a single battery, the Wingtra can cover the limits between the core and buffer zones of the over 1,200 hectares of the reserve.?

The high quality of images generated by the Wigntra and the ability to execute on-demand flights can enable better management of the designation of zones and capture evidence about violations. This same technology can help us track a pretty fascinating social event.?

In the Sierra de Manantlán, there are many rural indigenous communities. The community of Ayotitlán is divided by the Marabasco river, which centuries later became the defining place of the territorial division between the now-formed States of Jalisco and Colima.

Their indigenous cultural heritage has blended with catholic traditions in an unusual way. These communities carry saints’ images across the mountains, in the wilderness, and these images are transferred between these communities. Huge celebrations take place in each transition. There is a particularly significant moment when everyone is situated on the ground.?

An elder asks everyone to touch the grass with their left hand and give thanks; then, the elder asks to touch the land with the right hand and ask for forgiveness.?

This video shows more about this tradition:

Can you share other ways in which we can use technology to preserve life and identity?

Comments?