Mexico's Megalopolis as a Model for the Key Role of Watershed Protection to Sustainable Cities
- Project status
- Closed
- Programmes
- Cities & Infrastructure
- Departments
- International
Mexico City, Puebla, Toluca and Cuernavaca form a megalopolis that supports 30 million people. In this project, the key research issues to be addressed are:
1) to establish the 2 status and trends of both the native grassland/forest cover (1950s to present) in terms of distribution and species composition in the 350,000 ha of volcanic montane watershed;
2) to analyse the relationship between changes in this watershed ecosystem and hydrological balance, in particular as related to aquifer recharge;
3) to analyse the impact of different management policies and practices carried out by indigenous communities and municipalities;
4) and to propose robust scientifically-based guidelines for sustainable long-term native grassland/forest watershed management, to promote urban resilience and serve as a global model.
Principal Investigator: Dr Diana Bell, University of East Anglia
Co-Investigator: Professor Roger Few, University of East Anglia