SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN A CATTLE FARM: A UNIVERSITY MODEL IN MEXICO

An important issue for any university in Mexico is the capacity to teach students in the field to complement classroom lessons. The College of Animal Husbandry and Ecology of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua owns a cattle farm called Rancho Teseachi. With an area of approximately 12,000 hectares, the ranch has been used traditionally for student field practices in disciplines such as livestock production, agro-ecology, agro-forestry, ecology, watershed management and others. The results from the Teseachi studies are shared with local inhabitants and communities to increase regional productivity. Nevertheless, a sustainable production approach is new in the region and the College wishes to lead this strategy. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present the proposal to establish the Teseachi farm according to management regulations for natural conservation and sustainable management of natural resources (soil, water, air, flora and fauna). As a consequence, the University´s farm will be recognized as a research center and a model for the sustainable management of natural resources on a livestock ranch in northern Mexico. The ranch will offer environmental services to neighboring rural communities and also will have the legal faculties relating to resources, institutions and organizations for protected natural areas. In this way, the College will encourage sustainable production directly in the field instead of just as classroom theory.