The principal goal of this project is to enhance community involvement in the protection of the
Rio Grande River Watershed. The riparian forests within the Rio Grande watershed have deteriorated through habitat degradation and deforestation. Much of the land clearance has been by farmers who typically clear most riverside trees, leaving favored species such as fig. However Hurricane Iris, in 2001, also destroyed huge swathes of lowland forests, including trees that had been spared by farmers. Re-growth was then prevented in many areas by famers using the land for traditional Milpa agriculture or grazing cattle.