Chayotepec, Oaxaca

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Thursday, August 5, 2010 | 5 photos

Mexico has protected reserves that are in danger of being destroyed. Several international organizations seeking to preserve areas that have not yet been cleared to preserve them. The state of Oaxaca has been implemented in several rural communities of these programs, called areas for voluntary conservation, where people decide to transfer part of its territory to keep it without destroying or create crops to survive. On a trip to investigate how viable this project, we found a reserve that has an eco-tourism park, trying to survive by protecting their region through tourism.

In these images, I try to describe the importance of these sites, and the concept of conservation. Because the inhabitants of these regions can survive only by the crop or livestock, and get water from the rivers that descend from the mountains, the survival of communities depends entirely on the conservation of these areas.

Our system of conservation has not been effective. People displaced from other regions of the federal reserves invades and destroys the reservation hunting, felling trees and creating pastures. diminishing wildlife and causing less rain.


My name is Jose Carlos Beutelspacher. I am a graphic designer and photographer. I am from Mexico. I belong to a group of caving and participated in research projects at The College of the Southern Border (ECOSUR), documenting the investigations. My interests are the conservation of nature reserves and improve the quality of life for residents through sustainable development and designing more effective models of adaptation to achieve a balance between the ecosystem and human population.