BIOHUB PIXQUIAC

Biosocial Innovation Hub for the Cloud Forest RIIA – Transiciones de Separación a Unidad A.C. | Xalapa, Veracruz, México

1. Why This Place Matters to Me

I grew up in the cloud forest. Not near it — in it. The Pixquiac watershed, in the hills above Xalapa, Veracruz, was where I learned to read the world: the sound of water moving through liquidambar trees, fog coming down from the Cofre de Perote every afternoon, the smell of wet volcanic soil after rain. This place shaped me before I had words for it.

I left for a while. When I came back and looked at the river — really looked — I understood something had shifted. The water was different. The forest at the top of the watershed was thinner. People in the communities downstream were getting sick in ways that didn't used to happen. And most of the people living in Xalapa, a city of half a million, had no idea that 38.5% of their drinking water comes from this one watershed — enough to fill 19.5 Olympic swimming pools every single day.

The cloud forest of Veracruz is extraordinary in ways that are hard to overstate. It covers less than 1% of Mexico's territory but holds around 12% of the country's plant diversity. Researchers have documented more than 20 endemic bird species in this region alone — species that exist nowhere else on Earth. It is one of the most biologically rich places on the planet, and it sits, largely unprotected, on the edge of a fast-growing city.

That's why I'm here. That's why this project exists.

2. What We See on the Ground

The middle watershed of the Pixquiac faces a convergence of threats that, taken together, compromise the hydrological and ecological balance of the entire region.

Water contamination. The lower reaches of the Pixquiac River have gone from being a river to an open-air drain in several stretches. Research from the Universidad Veracruzana documents microbial contamination throughout the watershed, with E. coli levels exceeding the legal maximum for human contact by up to 500 times. Households, commercial developments, and municipal water infrastructure discharge waste — directly or indirectly — into the waterways. More than 30% of rural homes in Veracruz are not connected to the sanitation system.

Agrochemicals from potato farming. In the upper watershed, the rapid expansion of potato cultivation with heavy agrochemical use has introduced new diffuse pollution sources. Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers filter into springs and rivers, affecting water quality and generating documented health problems in watershed communities. Academic studies have identified chronic cadmium contamination in the Pixquiac microcatchment.

Deforestation and loss of hydrological balance. According to INECOL and the Regional Ecological Land-Use Program, the cloud forest is the most deforested ecosystem in the Xalapa area over the past 40 years. Today only 19 relatively intact cloud forest fragments remain in the municipalities of Xalapa and Tlalnelhuayocan. Logging in the upper watershed reduces water capture, accelerates erosion, and compromises the flows that supply downstream communities. In 2011 and 2012, the Pixquiac ran completely dry.

Over-extraction. Recent studies show that the Medio Pixquiac diversion dam extracted the river's entire water flow for at least seven months during 2022–2023, leaving the channel completely dry and collapsing the riparian ecosystems that depended on that flow. All of Xalapa's water sources lost volume between 2018 and 2020.

Cultural disconnection. Behind each of these problems lies a common root: the disconnection between people and their territory. Most residents of Xalapa and Coatepec don't know where their water comes from, don't know the watershed that sustains them, and have no real channels for participating in decisions that affect it. This disconnection is the core of the problem — and the point where we must intervene.

3. Our Approach: The Biohub Pixquiac

The Biohub Pixquiac is a biosocial innovation hub for the defense of the cloud forest and water health. It is not just a physical space or just an educational program — it is an agile, intentional learning model that creates the conditions for civil society, government, and the private sector to organize, coordinate, and act together.

Our premise is that territorial problems are not solved by isolated projects but by culture. We work simultaneously on three dimensions:

A. Knowing the territory. We cannot defend what we don't know. We will establish water quality monitoring stations in the middle watershed, measuring physical, chemical, and bacteriological parameters, in direct partnership with Global Water Watch / Amigos del Pixquiac — the first community-based volunteer monitoring group in Mexico, with more than 200 monitoring events accumulated since 2005. Data will be public, accessible, and usable by communities, academia, and government.

B. Community water culture. Through the Biohub as a physical meeting space, we will generate awareness experiences for schools, families, and local organizations — workshops, watershed walks, exhibitions, and cultural events that rebuild the bond between people and their territory. We use the Agile Learning Centers model — experiential, autonomous, action-oriented learning — so that awareness translates into concrete habits and commitments.

C. Legal advocacy and interinstitutional coordination. With monitoring data and an organized community voice, we will advance legislative proposals, protection mechanisms, and public policy. We already have allies including Territorios Para la Vida, an organization specialized in legal land defense, and working relationships with municipal and state government bodies that share our goals.

4. The Change We Are Creating

In 6 months: The Biohub Pixquiac will be operating as a physical space: equipped, open, and active. The first water monitoring stations will be installed and producing data. At least 10 allied organizations will have formally joined a coordination table with monthly meetings. The first 300 people will have participated in awareness activities.

In 12 months: We will have continuous water quality data at 3 points in the watershed. More than 1,000 people will have participated in workshops, events, or monitoring brigades. At least 2 joint initiatives between allied organizations will be underway. At least one protection mechanism proposal will have been submitted to municipal or state authorities.

In 24 months: 2,000 people and 33 organizations will have participated actively — not just attended, but taken part in at least one concrete initiative: a monitoring session, a reforestation brigade, a legal working group, or a cultural program. Each participant is registered by name, organization, and initiative. The Biohub will be recognized as a regional reference hub for water governance and cloud forest stewardship.

5. SMART Objectives

IndicatorTargetHow It's MeasuredPhysical space operationalMonth 3: Biohub open, capacity 30 peopleActivity logWater monitoring3 active stations with physical, chemical & bacteriological data (month 6)Public monitoring databaseInterinstitutional network10 orgs. integrated (month 9); 33 by month 24Signed meeting minutes and commitmentsCommunity participation2,000 people with active participation (month 24)Registry with name, org. & initiativeLegal advocacy1 mechanism submitted to government (month 18)Official document or presentation recordEmerging programs3 active programs, 50 families documented (month 18)Follow-up file per family

6. Timeline

Months 1–3: Launch

Fit-out and opening of the Biohub physical space
Signing of collaboration agreements with founding allied organizations
First interinstitutional coordination table
Team training in community monitoring techniques (Global Water Watch)

Months 3–6: Monitoring and first programs

Installation of 3 water monitoring stations in the middle watershed
First awareness workshops in 3 local schools
Launch of the interpretive watershed walks program
Publication of the first water quality data bulletin

Months 6–12: Community scale

Network consolidation: 10 organizations with active commitments
1,000 people participated, documented on record
First public event presenting data to authorities
Launch of 2 emerging programs with local communities

Months 12–18: Advocacy

Submission of at least 1 protection mechanism to municipal or state government
3 emerging programs active, 50 families with documented follow-up
Systematization and publication of the Biohub model for replication

Months 18–24: Consolidation

2,000 people and 33 organizations with documented active participation
Impact evaluation and narrative of change
Complementary funding secured for continuity

7. Our Community and Allies

We don't arrive alone. The Biohub Pixquiac is built on more than two decades of territorial work by organizations already in the river, in the forest, and in the courts defending this place.

Global Water Watch / Amigos del Pixquiac — the first volunteer community monitoring group in Mexico, with more than 200 monitoring events on the Pixquiac since 2005 and continuous data spanning over 18 years.
Asociación de Vecinos del Pixquiac-Zoncuantla — grassroots community organization with deep roots and local legitimacy in the territory.
Territorios Para la Vida — organization specialized in legal land defense, with experience in environmental strategic litigation.
400 Árboles — native cloud forest species reforestation initiative.
Agile Learning Centers Network — international educational innovation network providing the Biohub's pedagogical model.
10+ additional organizations from civil society, municipal government, and state government participating in our coordination table in formation.

Together, these allies represent decades of experience in monitoring, restoration, education, legal defense, and public policy. The Biohub is where all of that knowledge converges and multiplies.

8. Requested Budget

Ma Earth funds will be used exclusively for project-specific costs, not general operations. Payroll and space rental are covered by RIIA A.C. through a combination of in-kind contributions from allied universities and government partners, and support from the Agile Learning Centers Network.

Line itemUSD%Water monitoring equipment (physical-chemical & bacteriological kits, containers, reagents)$6,00040%Workshop materials & logistics for awareness events and community programs$5,00033%Basic Biohub space equipment (modular furniture, projector, audiovisual equipment)$4,00027%TOTAL$15,000100%

9. Why Now

The cloud forest of Xalapa has already lost 80% of its historic coverage. The Pixquiac River ran completely dry for months in recent years. The communities that depend on this watershed are increasingly disconnected from it, and every year without collective organization is another year of deepening degradation.

But there are also reasons for hope. More than 15 organizations in this territory want the same thing. There is a 20-year tradition of community monitoring. There is accumulated scientific knowledge. What is missing is the space and the methodology for all of that to converge into coordinated, sustained, transformative action.

That is the Biohub Pixquiac. And this is the moment to build it.

RIIA – Transiciones de Separación a Unidad A.C. | Xalapa, Veracruz, México | 2026