201
difficulties, joining the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (UNDP 2019), Mexico
committed itself to develop actions aimed at generating indicators to measure the
progress made towards sustainable development and to evaluate policies and strategies aimed at that objective (UNDP 2015). Since the former Program of Action for
Development Sustainable Agenda 21, Mexico developed the National System of
Environmental Indicators that includes a set of basic and key indicators that provide
a brief description of the current situation of the country’s environment and natural
resources, the pressures that affect them, and the institutional responses for its conservation, recovery, and sustainable use (SEMARNAT 2015). The system has been
updated according to the Agenda 2030. The Mexican government committed to
implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and move from the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Therefore, the country is committed to include the different social actors including
the indigenous peoples in the implementation of the Agenda, specifically in Objective
1 (without poverty), Objective 10 (reduced inequalities), and Objective 3 (cities and
sustainable communities) (Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2017
1
).
Currently Mexico has developed some disaggregated indicators for state, municipal,
and main cities (Information System for Sustainable Development Goals
2
); however, the rural communities remain without estimates of sustainability particularly in
drylands.
Description of the Case Study
The objective of this study was to measure MEICS index values of three rural indigenous communities inhabiting in the arid zones in the state of Baja California,
Mexico. The results provide local level information needed for indigenous communities and external decision-makers—jointly—to analyze, reorient, and evaluate the
actions necessary to make advances towards sustainability, and to provide elements
for designing and evaluating public policies aimed at local level indigenous issues.
Study Area
The model was developed integrating three of the four indigenous communities of
Baja California: The Cucapá occupy the settlement of El Mayor Cucapá. The
Cucapá territory includes part of the alluvial plain of the Colorado River to the east,
the rocky massif of the Sierra el Mayor, and the Laguna Salada Basin. The Kumiai
people are settled in San Antonio Necua in the municipality of Ensenada. The Pa
Ipai community inhabits the settlement of Santa Catarina that is located southeast of
1 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/.
2 Agenda 2030 http://agenda2030.mx/#/home.
12 Sustainability Assessment in Indigenous Communities: A Tool for Future…
difficulties, joining the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (UNDP 2019), Mexico
committed itself to develop actions aimed at generating indicators to measure the
progress made towards sustainable development and to evaluate policies and strategies aimed at that objective (UNDP 2015). Since the former Program of Action for
Development Sustainable Agenda 21, Mexico developed the National System of
Environmental Indicators that includes a set of basic and key indicators that provide
a brief description of the current situation of the country’s environment and natural
resources, the pressures that affect them, and the institutional responses for its conservation, recovery, and sustainable use (SEMARNAT 2015). The system has been
updated according to the Agenda 2030. The Mexican government committed to
implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and move from the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Therefore, the country is committed to include the different social actors including
the indigenous peoples in the implementation of the Agenda, specifically in Objective
1 (without poverty), Objective 10 (reduced inequalities), and Objective 3 (cities and
sustainable communities) (Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2017
1
).
Currently Mexico has developed some disaggregated indicators for state, municipal,
and main cities (Information System for Sustainable Development Goals
2
); however, the rural communities remain without estimates of sustainability particularly in
drylands.
Description of the Case Study
The objective of this study was to measure MEICS index values of three rural indigenous communities inhabiting in the arid zones in the state of Baja California,
Mexico. The results provide local level information needed for indigenous communities and external decision-makers—jointly—to analyze, reorient, and evaluate the
actions necessary to make advances towards sustainability, and to provide elements
for designing and evaluating public policies aimed at local level indigenous issues.
Study Area
The model was developed integrating three of the four indigenous communities of
Baja California: The Cucapá occupy the settlement of El Mayor Cucapá. The
Cucapá territory includes part of the alluvial plain of the Colorado River to the east,
the rocky massif of the Sierra el Mayor, and the Laguna Salada Basin. The Kumiai
people are settled in San Antonio Necua in the municipality of Ensenada. The Pa
Ipai community inhabits the settlement of Santa Catarina that is located southeast of
1 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/.
2 Agenda 2030 http://agenda2030.mx/#/home.
12 Sustainability Assessment in Indigenous Communities: A Tool for Future…