Karst water resource management and sustainable educational practices in nine Yucatec Maya Communities

The karst landscape of Yucatán, Mexico is dotted with thousands of sinkholes that provide access to fresh water. These features, called “cenotes” in Spanish and “dz’onot” in Yucatec Maya, range from subterranean caverns with well-developed speleothems to open-air sinkholes. While there is a variety of cenote types, all are connected to the subterranean freshwater aquifer. The interconnectivity of cenotes magnifies the impact of cenote contamination. Because of their significance as water sources, cenotes were conceived by ancient Maya peoples as important portals to powerful supernatural forces and guardians of rain. Today, cenotes remain culturally important and are located near the center of most Maya communities, although wells have replaced them for access to potable water. Many cenotes are now developed for tourism and serve as important economic resources. Despite their cultural and economic importance, cenotes are increasingly endangered by contamination caused by industrial and agricultural run-off, trash dumping, chemical and waste contamination, and unsustainable recreational use. One approach to mitigating these threats is through community-driven educational programming aimed at mobilizing young people to study and conserve cenotes in their communities. In 2018, InHerit: Indigenous Heritage Passed to Present, an applied anthropology program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill collaborated with students and faculty at the Universidad de Oriente in Valladolid, Yucatan, along with teachers at nine public secondary schools in Maya communities to develop sustainable experiential education curriculum materials related to sinkhole conservation, water quality monitoring, and cultural heritage. Supported by funding from a National Geographic Society grant, students and teachers at nine middle schools participated in implementing this project. Here we discuss the goals and methods employed, as well as how this project has resulted in transforming students’ ideas about water conservation, increased validation and application of Indigenous knowledge for cenote conservation