BY JUDITH JOFFE-BLOCK/The Heraldo Mexico
El Universal
Sábado 03 de febrero de 2007
Environmentalists across the country rejoiced on Thursday, Feb. 1, when President Felipe Calderón signed into law a strict provision that will protect
the country´s mangroves.
Two new amendments will be included under the National Wildlife Law to prohibit any destruction or alterations to the nation´s mangrove ecosystems,
including waterways that interact with the mangroves. Despite pressure from the tourism industry that opposed the measure, Calderón approved the
amendments after they passed overwhelmingly in both chambers of Congress.
"We are very happy that the president did the right thing and approved this important law," said Alejandra Serrano, the director of the biodiversity
program at the Mexican Environmental Law Center (CEMDA).
The new law, which went into effect on Friday, Feb. 2, World Wetlands Day, is the first environmental decision by the new government and marks a clear
victory for environmental interests.
Mangroves are a kind of vegetation that grow in saline coastal areas and create a unique wetlands ecosystem. Mangrove forests are found in almost all
of Mexico´s coastal states, especially along the Pacific Coast and the Yucatán Peninsula. According to Osires Gaona, a researcher at the National
Autonomous University of Mexico´s (UNAM) Institute of Ecology, mangrove forests act as an anchor during hurricanes providing a barrier against the
storm surge, preventing erosion and offering shelter to birds and other animals. Due to their unique water filtering capacity, they create an ideal
habitat for many marine species to reproduce and are important to the health of coral reefs.
But mangroves are under threat.
"Ten years ago, Mexico ranked sixth in the world as the country with the most mangroves, but because of human interference, our ranking fell below
tenth place," said Ganoa.
Researchers at UNAM´s Institute of Ecology calculate that if mangroves continue to be destroyed at current rates, by 2025 mangrove populations will be
reduced to 40 to 50 percent of 2000 populations.
There might be a high price for this loss. According to Serrano of CEMDA, after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, places in Cancún where mangroves had been
removed suffered more destruction than sites where mangrove forests were still intact.
Araceli Domínguez, of the Cancún-based environmental organization Grupo Ecológico del Mayab (GEMA) explained that in Quintana Roo the demand for golf
courses and hotels right next to the beach can lead developers to destroy mangroves.
"They will cut down the mangrove trees and fill the area with limestone and then build on top of it."
Under the new law, the only type of development projects that can legally alter mangrove ecosystems are mangrove conservation or rehabilitation
projects.
OPPOSITION TO THE LAW
News of the new law was not universally celebrated.
Sixteen of the 17 governors from coastal states actively opposed the legislation. On Feb. 1, the day that Felipe Calderón approved the new law,
governors of all the coastal states, with the exception of the governor of Yucatán, published ads in national newspapers urging the president to veto
the proposed amendments.
According to the governors, the stringency of the new law would make it impossible to go forward with necessary projects in sectors such as energy,
fishing, and tourism.
The fiercest opposition to the law surged from the tourism heavy state of Quintana Roo, home to some of Mexico´s most stunning beaches and coral
reefs. Representatives of the tourism industry there have charged that the new amendment will cripple tourism development in the region, one of the
country´s most important sites for tourism and economic growth.
Sigfrido Paz Paredes, the Quintana Roo representative to the National Council on Tourism Business, called the new law "unbalanced and excessive."
"The law does not take into account economic implications," he said.
Paz Paredes claims that news of the law put a thorn in recent negotiations between Quintana Roo tourism officials and European investors at the FITUR
tourism trade fair in Spain for a project that would yield 10,000 new hotel rooms and 40,000 new jobs.
Domínguez of GEMA is hopeful that the new legislation will establish environmental protection as a key part of development.
"The climate already went up one degree. The sea level already has gone up. We have a problem right now. Protecting the ecosystems is the only thing
we can do to ensure that tourism will continue."
But the law´s opponents may already be gearing up to challenge it. "We have to go back to Congress and discuss this again," said Paz Paredes.surfer jim - 2-21-2007 at 04:48 PM
I would be much happier if they just stop dumping sewage in the Tiajuana river.....Capt. George - 2-21-2007 at 05:02 PM
yeah right...
thay still gillnet a worlwide protected zone!
there views toward enforcement :moon:bajajazz - 2-24-2007 at 12:38 AM
Does anyone know if this new law will throw a kink into the plans to develop El Mogote in La Paz?Don Alley - 2-24-2007 at 07:57 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajajazz
Does anyone know if this new law will throw a kink into the plans to develop El Mogote in La Paz?
The Gringo Gazette (add grain of salt here) discussed that. Apparently the El Mogote project's permits have been approved and the new law does not
invalidate existing permitted projects, so the new law will not affect the development.flyfishinPam - 2-24-2007 at 10:58 AM
Now how will zffect Loreto Bay's proposal for the "Agua Viva" neighborhood which is supposed to create waterways and plant new mangroves? How can new
waterways be created without destroying existing shoreline? The plot thickens....
-----oh, hell/ I won't edit dat, just read it with a french accent!
