Our earth, our life. The Zoque Jungle of Santa María Chimalapa

This project is designed to illustrate the importance of the Zoque Jungle of Santa María Chimalapa – one of the largest jungles that México has. The team, led by 2018 Arctic alum, Tao Hernández Arellano executed scientific research in this area so that the plants and animals living in this jungle, and their availability as resources to isolated communities, are better understood and documented. Providing this kind of important information and research can assist in the protection of this traditional homeland, support (eco)tourism, identify food resources, and most importantly, contribute to a better quality of life for the people who live there.

Photos provided by Tao Hernández Arellano.

About Tao Hernández Arellano

In his professional career Tao is a Biologist and has more than 18 courses and workshops in the marine, freshwater and ethnobiological field, as well as a diploma in Methods of identification in criminalistics focused on the animal and human issue. Tao has six years of experience as a Field Biologist, four in an animal research laboratory and two months in total in national and international research vessels. He has specialized in Ichthyology, the search for animals and plants in jungles and seas, preservation and photography of small and medium animals; and he has finished a small course in marine and Antarctic Science with the University of Tasmania. He has published two science articles about two new species founded in Oaxaca, Mexico and one article about conservation in the Zoque Jungle (Santa María Chimalapas) Oaxaca, México.