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My friend and colleague Jaime Rojo has been working with giant Sabinos (Taxodium mucronatum) since many years ago. These trees constitute one of the most important ecosystems in the upper watershed in the San Pedro Mequital River. Undoubtedly is one of the most interesting species along the River due to its longevity and noble bearing. Wherever there is a water source, even semi-permanent, or alternatively a very shallow water table, it is very likely to find a sign of this plant community, so important for landscape connectivity.

Photo by: Octavio Aburto

Jaime’s work has been use to support several initiatives to protect these forests. He has said that delving into these forests of the San Pedro Mezquital is like to enter to a magical world where willow, poplar, ash and giant Sabinos whisper their secrets to the wind. Sabinos are also the most corpulent and long-lived tree in Mexico, as well as the national tree of the country. Ahuehuete, the other name by which Sabinos are known, comes from Nahuatl, where atl means “water” and huehue, “the old or grandfather” hence its popular name of “old from the water”. Considered the longest standing species of Mexico, the ancient ahuehuetes safeguard the banks of the San Pedro Mezquital, one would think to accompany it in the feeling and encourage it in the prelude to the most prodigious feat of this river: cross the mountains and thus connect the highlands to the coastal plains.

Photo by: Octavio Aburto

After our work in the Pine forests ecosystems, now we have finished the documentation of Sabino forests. Has been exciting crossing canyons, waterfalls, and camp in several areas; some of them almost pristine. Now we are moving to the deserts of Durango. In this region, the River flows underwater suppling all the water for large valleys that produce almost the majority of Mexico’s agriculture.

NEXT: The Quite Birthplace of an Untamed River

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We use video, photography, and animation to illustrate, in a simple but visually attractive way, the value of our natural capital and the inadequate ways we use it. Simultaneously, Natural Numbers will use social media to help capture the attention of decision-makers, teachers, scientists, conservationists, and the public, in order to raise awareness of these important issues and encourage action in support of solutions.

The data that show how we impact nature are out there but rarely reach decision-makers or the public because of their complexity or difficulty to access. Yet, by not including scientific data in public policy, we exacerbate the environmental problems faced by societies around the world.

Our first production, Sardines, tackles a very controversial topic: ‘what is the best way for society to benefit from the huge schools of small pelagic fish found in the ocean?’  Far from being sustainable, the sardine fishery in the Gulf of California, Mexico, has collapsed several times resulting in serious economic crises and the loss of thousands of jobs. Shockingly, in 2010 this fishery was certified as sustainable even though it did not have a management plan or any fishery regulations.

Ten and-a-half million tons of sardines were caught in Mexico over the last 20 years. Yes, you read that right: ten and-a-half million tons of sardines!  The removal of that massive natural asset means that it could not be used to feed other commercially valuable fish, migratory seabirds, and endangered marine mammals that use the Gulf as a critical feeding ground for survival. Instead, billions of kilograms of sardines in Mexico go to feed chickens, pigs, cows, and farmed fish. It takes 10 kilograms of sardines for every kilogram of chicken or pork. Not a very efficient use of healthy ocean-generated protein.

In fact, Mexico could use all these fish to feed millions of people, which would also generate much higher revenues for fishermen, allowing them to catch fewer fish.  This is just one example of how businesses that rely on our natural capital risk misusing or even destroying the very resource they depend on.

People need to be aware of the type of decisions being made when it comes to natural capital use, because nations and societies are losing money as a result of bad decisions. Our initiative, Natural Numbers, is meant to engage decision-makers, authorities, and the public in environmental issues. We understand that the public is constantly bombarded with huge amounts of information and grabbing people’s attention calls for creative and innovative communications.

Why is our natural capital being wasted? Isn’t it time to change the approaches used in fisheries management? Isn’t it time to have a serious discussion about safeguarding the oceans’ highly valuable resources, like these sardines, that transfer energy within entire food webs?

Join us as we reflect on why the health of the oceans is important for our lives and economies. Please share this video and follow us in Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thenaturalnumbers) and Twitter @TNaturalNumbers

It was still dark when we arrived at the top of the mountains. The mist was covering the entire valley, but we could still make out the silhouettes of  the pine trees covering the canyons and growing along the path that the River has carved in the Sierra. The sun started illuminating the back cliffs and almost two hours later it finally reached the River. We walked for a long time through one of the canyons until we reached the most internal, pristine part of this incredible place.

It was noon when we arrived to our destination. The sun was warming the entire place, but the shadows from the canopies of several conifer trees such as firs, pines, and oaks kept us cool as we explored this ecosystem. We flew the quadcopter, looked for underwater life, and photographed birds. We searched caves and took video of the water flows and were also able to capture how the light illuminated the cliffs as the day went by.

It wasn’t easy to reach the most intimate part of the San Pedro Mezquital River. However,if we don’t know this part of the story, we cannot understand how this River connects the different ecosystems in the Sierra with those along coast: although they are two worlds apart, they share one soul.

Photo by Octavio Aburto

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Octavio Aburto is a National Geographic WAITT grantee embarking upon an expedition to document and preserve the last untamed Mexican River: The San Pedro Mezquital.

Jaime and I started our trip in the Pine forest ecosystems.We wanted to describe these high lands, and the canyons where the freshwater starts its magnificent journey all along the watershed. One of the most important tools to document our findings is a small quadcopter that we use to take aerial footage in each of the stations that we chose previous to our trip. So far this technique has been a success for our objectives. However, in our third day of working, I was driving the quadcopter to explore a canyon in Tres Molinos, Durango, when a strong winds coming from opposite directions hit the device and I lost control of it. Fortunately, the quadcopter got trapped into the branches of a tall tree. One of the local persons helped us to recover the device.

We lost two blades, but we will be able to continue using the device in the next stations of our expedition. Soon, we will post other videos with this great aerial technique.

Photo by Jaime Rojo

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Winner of the 2012 Photo Contest

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Octavio Aburto is a National Geographic WAITT grantee embarking upon an expedition to document and preserve the last untamed Mexican River: The San Pedro Mezquital.

As a function of its relatively pristine state, the San Pedro Mezquital crosses and nurtures unique ecosystems with rare floral and faunal assemblages, as well as singular traditional cultures ranging from the Huichol People in the high sierras to the Meztitlán swamp fishermen in the mangroves of Marismas. Because of its sheer inaccessibility, it has received relative protection from the anthropogenic threats experienced by other riparian ecosystems in Mexico. With the help of several NGOs such as WWF-Mexico and SuMar, we will be able to make this incredible journey. This expedition is of immediate importance for both science and conservation of the San Pedro River, and will serve to further future collaborative efforts of conservationists, academics, and the Mexican government in the protection of an untouched land-ocean connection.

In collaboration with Jaime, we will be posting our adventures, with images and videos, and important scientific findings that we will get during our expedition.

Photo by Octavio Aburto / WWF

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Winner of the 2012 Photo Contest: Octavio Aburto