Preface -- 1 A land of illusions and thin air -- 2 The cosmovision of the ancient inhabitants of the desert, a look through the cave painting -- 3 Life in Cuatro Ciénegas, a historical tour of the Coahuila desert between the XVI and XIX centuries, its people, and their relationship with the environment -- 4 Water as a socializing element. Hydraulic culture in New Spain between the 16th and the 18th centuries -- 5 Environmental conservation, water and wetland governance in Mexico -- 6 Cuatro Ciénegas, an aquifer at risk of overexploitation -- 7 Demise of Churince -- 8 Plants as a canary in the mine: A wetland response to ecosystem failure -- 9 Can bacterial populations go extinct? Evolutionary biology and bacterial studies in Cuatro Ciénegas shed light on the extinction process -- 10 Children can save the world, CBTa 22, Rural High school as a social experiment for a sustainable future -- 11 Conservation of the most diverse oasis of the world and the future of our path in the deserts: Lessons from Cuatro Ciénegas to the world -- Index.

This book takes readers on a journey through the history of water in the Coahuila desert. It starts by describing the beauty and mysteries of the landscape, and then explores the rock art of the original desert cultures in Coahuila, offering readers a glimpse of the sacred nature of water in the desert, as well as the rituals surrounding it. Moving on to the colonial times and the post- independence development of the region, it discusses early water management, and explores how water is managed in modern times, as well as the legal complications of the law, and how these faulty laws, designed for less arid regions, have affected a highly diverse wetland, the Cuatro Ciénegas oasis. The book then examines the biological consequences of the water loss for the aquatic plants and animals in Churince - a now extinct system within Cuatro Ciénegas. Further, it addresses how even bacteria can become extinct in this hyper-diverse microbial oasis. Lastly, after this despair and sense of loss, the book provides hope, offering suggestions for how we can transform the future, from a social and educational point of view as well as through good science and changes in policy.