Biosphere Regions
sonoran DESERT BIOSPHERE REGION
The purpose of the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region (formerly Organ Pipe Cactus Biosphere Reserve) is to promote increased understanding, conservation and celebration of the natural and cultural resources of the Sonoran Desert and to foster communication and productive collaboration dedicated to this purpose.
The Organ Pipe Cactus Biosphere Reserve (ORPI BR) was a first-generation UNESCO biosphere reserve designated in 1976 for the conservation of the unique resources representing a pristine example of an intact Sonoran Desert ecosystem. At the same time, the newly created ORPI BR was also established as a United States Designated Wilderness area, and this combined with its inclusion as a unit of the US National Park Service, provided some of the highest levels of protection afforded any US Federal lands. As a biosphere designated primarily for conservation, there were no identified buffer zones (core, buffer, and transition) listed at the time of ORPI BR inception. However, in recent years there has been significant progress in the expansion of the ORPI BR to engage with other Department of the Interior (DOI) managed lands and the communities of Ajo, Why and Lukeville, Arizona. This expanded approach to collaborative conservation and sustainable development in the region is coordinated under the framework of the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region (SDBR) which is recognized by the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme as the successor to ORPI BR. The SDBR is coordinated by a local working group that includes The International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Ajo District Chamber of Commerce and the Cabeza Prieta Natural History Association. This working group consults with a wide range of affiliates including tribal partners, land managers, universities, researchers, non-profits, advocacy groups and law enforcement agencies. The SDBR maintains a close working relationship with Alto Golfo de California & El Pinacate Biosphere Reserve, an adjacent UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Sonora, Mexico.
ISDA’s vision, to “establish the region as a showcase for environmental excellence and an international center for arts and culture with a prosperous and sustainable economy offering opportunities for all its residents,” aligns well with the vision of the Man and the Biosphere Programme. In fact, the organization has closely followed a Man and the Biosphere trajectory over its 30-year evolutionary history. Started as a way to convene stakeholders, particularly stakeholders that had been historically dis-enfranchised, around natural and cultural resource concerns, ISDA leadership came to embrace the philosophy that substantive and resilient resource preservation was impossible without simultaneously engaging the needs and aspirations of the peoples living within the environment. This philosophy is clearly reflected in ISDA’s projects and program offerings.
Current projects
SDBR Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy: With the expansion of the scope and perimeter of the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region, more small and geographically isolated Sonoran Desert Communities are embracing their connections to adjacent public lands and, increasingly, exploring economic development opportunities related to that adjacency. The SDBR recently completed a bio-region-wide branding process to identify and further develop shared values, language, and imagery for the greater biosphere region. The International Sonoran Desert Alliance is working with the US Economic Development Administration to create a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the region that will center sustainable development principles to highlight, not degrade, the natural and cultural richness of the region.
Quitobaquito Springs: Quitobaquito Springs (known as A’al Vaipia in the O’odham language) is a sacred site for the Hia C-ed O’odham, the Tohono O’odham, and the Akimel O’odham. It is also a refuge for two endangered and several other at-risk species. The International Sonoran Desert Alliance is working with the National Park Service Staff at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along with other biosphere partners to restore the retention pond at Quitobaquito and to include adaptive redesigns toward greater resilience in the face of climate change and improved access for O’odham ceremonies. Learn more about the project here.
Cabeza Prieta NWR Expansion: Recognizing the wild nature of the BLM managed lands around the communities of Ajo and Why, Arizona, and recognizing that the undeveloped nature of these areas is integral to outdoor recreation opportunities (both for the local community and for a growing visitation economy built around eco- and cultural tourism), the International Sonoran Desert Alliance is exploring strategies to safeguard these areas against incompatible development and unsustainable usage. To this end, ISDA is requesting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) explore expansion opportunities for the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge to include some tracts of land currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. We are also requesting that such an exploration include robust opportunities for community input on any proposed changes to access or allowable usage. Learn more about a potential expansion of the wildlife refuge here.
REsources
Alto golfo de California & el pinacate biosphere reserve
Alto Golfo de California & El Pinacate is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that encompasses a UNESCO World Heritage Site (El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar) in the state of Sonora, Mexico. A sister park to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the El Pinacate section of the biosphere reserve was first designated a “protected area” in 1979. In 1993, it was declared a Mexican Biosphere Reserve, along with the Gran Desierto de Altar, by then president Carlos Salinas de Gortari. It was subsequently included in an expansion of the Alto Golfo de California Biosphere Reserve and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. The biosphere reserve is managed by Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), in collaboration with the Sonora state government and the Tohono O’odham people. ISDA organizers were influential in the creation of the Pinacate Biosphere.
In May 2019 ISDA convened the Borderlands Geotourism Workshop and Training via the National Park Service through Southwest Border Resource Protection Program (SWBRPP) regarding more intentionally connecting protected areas in the U.S. and Mexico through the lens of visitation and tourism. ISDA and other SWBRPP-supported groups are actively working on plans to provide greater access to protected sites on both sides of the US/Mexico border, while connecting their values and stories in ways that support local communities and long-term conservation. Central to this work is continuing to grow the relationship between the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve and the Sonoran Desert Biosphere Region.