The federal government declared 20 zones in Mexico as natural protected areas, which will be added to the 182 existing ones, with the aim of preserving the biodiversity and natural resources of the country.
The announcement was made by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his morning conference, where he was accompanied by the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, María Luisa Albores, and the director of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, Roberto Aviña.
The new natural protected areas cover a total of 3.2 million hectares, of which 2.8 million are terrestrial and 400,000 are marine. They are located in 14 states of the republic and include ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, islands, and mountains.
Some of the zones that were declared as natural protected areas are: the Sierra de Tamaulipas, the Sierra de San Carlos, the Sierra de Picachos, the Sierra de Manantlán, the Sierra de Ajos-Bavispe, the Sierra de la Laguna, the Sierra de Vallejo, the Sierra de Zapalinamé, the Sierra de Huautla, the Sierra de Zongolica, the Sierra de Otontepec, the Sierra de Chinantla, the Sierra de Juárez, the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, the Sierra de Alamos, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Sierra Madre del Sur, the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra Madre Oriental, and the Gulf of California.
The president said that these declarations are part of his administration’s commitment to protect the environment and the natural heritage of Mexico. He also thanked the communities and organizations that have participated in the conservation of these areas.
The secretary of environment explained that the natural protected areas are spaces where human activities are regulated to ensure the preservation of the natural elements and the ecological processes that sustain them. She added that these areas also provide environmental services, such as water, oxygen, carbon capture, soil formation, and pollination, among others.
The director of the natural protected areas commission said that the new declarations will benefit more than 1.6 million people who live in or near these zones, as well as the flora and fauna that inhabit them. He also said that these areas will contribute to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, as well as to the sustainable development of the country.
Source: Latinus
