Characterization of the Biocultural Richness of the Municipality of Mulegé, Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur (BCS) is a Mexican region known for the uniqueness of its culture and the singular beauty of its landscapes. Its geographic isolation, arid climate, and rugged terrain have shaped a biocultural diversity that is as valuable as it is underappreciated. This is particularly true in Mulegé, a municipality home to ancient rock art, colonial missions, oases, fishing communities, ecological regeneration activists, and biodiversity hotspots.

This project aims to document and characterize Mulegé’s biocultural richness from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will identify and document 20 representative cases through interviews with individuals who are stewards and knowledge holders of biocultural heritage.

The research network includes scholars from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, the Collaboratory of Social Sciences for Sustainability, the UNAM Center for Research in Environmental Geography, and the field station of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CBMC).

This initiative is closely linked to CBMC’s special project “Story Telling Lab” and to the Participatory Atlas of Biocultural Richness in Baja California Sur, whose final version will be presented as a web-based map—unique at the national level. In this way, the efforts focused on Mulegé contribute to a broader, state-level initiative with regional impact and national relevance, offering a model for communicating the biocultural richness of the Gulf of California and of Mexico.