One of the last wild territories in western Mexico is about to disappear.
Since 2016, groups of individuals detached from private interests or government institutions have taken on the task of documenting the fauna of one the most endangered forest in the world. The forest known as “El Bosque de la Primavera” is a wide ecosystem that exists in the municipality of Zapopan, Jalisco. It is worth mentioning that it is the biggest forested area in the world to be so close to a major city. This Forest is known to be largely composed of pine-oaks and bushes, amongst 1000 or so species of other plants, it is home to 29 species of mammals and 135 types of birds, it is estimated to be around 140 thousand years old, but it is calculated that this ecosystem will disappear within just 20 years. This demise is not the act of natural phenomena nor is it incidental; it is due to urban development imposed by investors and developers. Since more than two decades ago, thousands of woodland acres have been burned down by corrupt and intentional means, to lay down the foundation for lavish mansions in what used to be home for its flora and fauna. Turning this land into an island in a sea of urban development. The construction of geothermal energy plants and new roadways that block wild paths are amongst its biggest threats. Our job was to document the existing forest fauna. Since early 2016 we placed photo trap cameras in the hopes of discovering different species of mammals and to our surprise the populations were highly dense. But above all, what struck us most was the image of a mountain lion. The creature looked ravenous, the collapsed belly and ribcage popping out of it 's skin made us aware of the distress it was in. And although it brought us great joy to find out that the big cats still roam the forest, we were also sad and angry to see their critical condition. Since that moment we took it upon ourselves to document and investigate about the deterioration of this forest and to look for ways of defending it.This is how our collective was born, calling it: Sin bosque no hay primavera (without forest there is no spring). What sets us apart from other organizations is that we do not believe in state or institutional funding, we believe that land advocacy must be done outside of red tape or profit. All of the equipment that has been used has been paid for out of our own pockets and this has been very hard for us. This past year we’ve been fundraising with the purpose of setting up our own professional photo trap equipment, each photo trap camera needs a DSLR camera body, lenses, motion sensor, tripod and 2 flashes, amongst other things and sound effect tools used in films. As we all know, photographic equipment of any kind is expensive and it is very difficult to obtain these tools given the condition of Mexican reality, this has been our biggest issue. We are requesting grant support by these means, in hopes to gather the total sum of $3000 dollars, which would help us cover all necessary expenses to continue with our documentation project for years to come. We hope that this type of documentation can help raise awareness in people, to consolidate, inspire and strengthen movements to defend the land and also to point out what the state and developers want to hide. That this Forest is still alive!! We are currently doing workshops, film projection and treks that are based on enhancing the perception of the forest as a living entity interacting with us and not as a museum.
https://www.generosity.com/emergencies-fundraising/support-and-defend-an-endangered-ecosystem/x/17727807
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