Recovering scenery with wetlands

The University Water Program is starting up trying to contribute to solve serious world problems like: the perturbation of natural water, nitrogen and phosphate cycles, exploited tourism, biodiversity and economy loss and rural appropriation.

Based on suggesting, setting up and improving water management in our institutional policies, through academic alliances, technical improvements and design, environmental education and communication campaigns.

This solution is taking on restoration by remediating water and soil of rural university linked places that can become eco-touristic and therefore be maintained by locals. Using constructed wetlands and ornamental gardens that attract pollination in the surroundings of environmental hotspots with a participatory method that strengthens involvement.

Our academic work dates from 2002 and operates 4 water treatment plants, 2 of which are wetlands; these plants provide 18% of the treated water used for our gardens; linked are many projects that give benefit public parks, vulnerable communities and local fauna.

Without water nothing would exist. The University Water Program is responsible for the appropriate and holistic management of water in all the campus activities.

Ecosystems across the world, particularly wetlands, are in decline in terms of the services they provide. Between US$4.3 and US$20.2 trillion per year worth of ecosystem services were lost between 1997 and 2011 due to land use change (Constanza et al. 2014).

Up to 129 countries are not on track to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030. Water treatment in the world is accounted for 70% in developed countries, 35% in middle-income countries and 8% in poor countries, in México every year we have more water bodies exploited (UNwater, 2021).

The scale of the problem in our university community and state can go from 42,000 to 90,000 people including specific communities in possible attractions sites, many of them are in vulnerable situations that force then to immigrate.

Some factors that contribute to these problems are unmanaged ecology hot-sites caused by low job opportunity, inadequate public handling and unwary legislation. This non-renewable resource needs an integrated management that include transboundary cooperation.

The local university community of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí in the state of San Luis Potosí in Mexico relies on its Water Program whose findings are tested and followed up with the technological modifications made in infrastructure which extends beyond the university walls from urban to rural contexts; some of these principles are bioremediation, landscape ecology, wetland value and social appropriation.

Spatially distributed systems with landscape design mixed with other biological systems can offer low maintenance remediation of water and soil by a correct association of plants that both have ornamental and cleansing purposes. Though the technology involved has happened in natural bioprocesses since the beginning of times, the analysis of how, for example, microbial consortium can be designed for specific remediation purposes in a biotechnological approach. Adding the planned landscape of pollination gardens with the acceptance of the model by the community ensures the permanence and yield needed to assure an economic growth and a cultural value obtained by eco-tourism. Taking in account a diagnosis and the improved management of the water can enable the use of eco-technics in installations like bathrooms that also impulse ecotourism, the gardens landscaped for tours and scenery.

The University community is shaped out of earnest students who can reach to accessible quality education from all over the country, working community that surrounds the university and specific vulnerable communities linked by research. Each population can be impacted from different angles and nuances from applying learned knowledge to obtain a healthy environment that also reflects in a sustainable business. Implementing technology added with education and strengthen participation may change people’s perception, add value to their education and the way they perceive their surroundings that can return to be a heritage worth taking care of and protect and restore water-related ecosystems.

Our local and regional solution attends a global challenge by wetland and garden systems promoting eco-tourism can be easily scaled and continuo to be nurtured and replicated.

The impact can be measured by testing water quality, soil fertility, number of site visitors, balance sheets of the community and life quality of locals. Follow up is always a need as the support granted by a well linked network.

Prototype is selected as the stage of this solution because the University Water Program has mainly focused of the research and though there are many examples of applied knowledge testing is still needed particularly in the business model component.