Without regulatory measures and little transparency in construction permits, the ant landfill and the real estate boom violate these ecosystems
Carla González / El Sol de Mazatlán
Mazatlán, Sin. -From 1990 to 2020, the Mazatlán urban area grew by 239%, expanding its territory much faster than the growth of its population, which grew by 68% in the same period.
According to the Municipal Territorial Planning and Urban Development Program, due to this expansion, Mazatlán is losing lagoons, estuaries, marshes, wetlands and estuaries.
Changes in land use are the main causes of deforestation of mangroves and coastal dunes, as well as the loss of vegetation, erosion and contamination of aquifers.
Also, towards the north, there is a tendency to develop closed subdivisions for higher-income populations, particularly on properties adjacent to the La Escopama estuary, an area that lacks infrastructure.
Likewise, Housing and Land Tenure data show that Mazatlán has 66 irregular settlements, a large part of these are located near the banks of the Jabalines stream, Infiernillo, Las Malvinas and Urías estuaries, flood-prone areas.
Vulnerable Ecosystems
According to the Mexican Mangrove Monitoring System, in the port the ecosystems that have been most violated are Infiernillo and Urías, while Yugo and La Escopama, among the four most important in the city, remain with a very low impact.
The ant filling is the main vulnerability, says Ángel García Contreras, a consultant specialized in environment and development. Between the need of families for housing and the collateral effects of the real estate boom, these natural spaces have been strongly threatened.
“There is no regulatory measure to prevent stone waste, instead of being deposited in an authorized place, from ending up as fill material for the invasion of properties,” he said.
Despite being classified as a federal criminal offense that is punishable by a fine of 1,000 to 20,000 minimum wages or 4 to 8 years in prison, impunity is a great ally.
The mangrove is a threatened species, listed in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010.
The process of filling in estuaries and marshes is historic and the most emblematic case is the Estero del Infiernillo, which in the last 50 years has lost more than 50% of its surface.
The filling of the mangroves in the south is for the construction of popular settlements, but towards the north, real estate development, with the construction of subdivisions and residential areas, is expanding more and more.
“There is little transparency and clarity in construction permits, it is a priority that has never been taken into account by any level of government. Having an Ecological Planning Plan, you have greater protection for the area that is considered a priority in that planning instrument “, said.
Mazatlán has an Urban Territorial Planning Program but not an Ecological Planning Program, a policy and environmental policy instrument that aims to regulate land uses outside population centers.
Absent authority
For Dr. Leonardo Moroyoqui Rojo, there is no authority that will stop the degradation of mangroves; on the contrary, they are also participants. Speaking of the tourist real estate boom that Mazatlán is enjoying, he pointed out that in the last 14 years the municipality has lost around 50% of its mangroves due to changes in land use.
“I have gone to the Island (of Stone) and I have noticed how the mangroves are being filled in, there is no authority to put a stop to it, this is how they are going to gain special mangroves, just like in Infiernillo, Estero de Urías. This is how they have been degrading this ecosystem,” he said.
The founder of Manglares Sustentables AC, pointed out that the main factors that have caused the degradation of these ecosystems are the expansion of the population and the lack of government attention.
“There are factors such as population expansion, lack of government action, loss of mangrove land. We all know how real estate companies have been gaining all the land from us, confusing regulations, government agencies without qualified personnel, who are not biologists who They don’t know they are accommodated in many agencies, that also has an impact and finally the lack of knowledge in this case politicians, officials and local communities,” he said.
Ecosystem services
Mangroves support important coastal lagoon and estuarine fisheries, as well as supporting habitat for open ocean fisheries; They are an important biofilter of nutrients and other contaminants; they protect the coastline from erosion; They are buffer zones against flooding.
They are one of the ecosystems with the highest primary productivity in the biosphere; They are an important feeding, growth and refuge area for fry, crustaceans and mollusks; important refuge for migratory birds, as well as threatened species in danger of extinction.
Degradation
Main causes of degradation, external factors:
Clearing, deforestation, extensive livestock farming and agriculture; diversion of rivers and other freshwater supplies by the construction of dams and irrigation canals in the basin; changes in the hydroperiod due to the total or partial blockage of veins along roadsides, canals, interiors, opening, closing of mouths; pollution from receiving urban, industrial and agricultural discharges.
Main factors that have caused the degradation of mangroves:
Population expansion; lack of government attention; confusing regulations; ineffective reforestation techniques; inadequate human and logistical resources; dependencies without qualified personnel; lack of knowledge among political groups, officials and local communities themselves.
Surface
According to the Mazatlán Municipal Urban Development Program, in 2023:
The Jabalines stream and the Infiernillo estuary had a surface area of 337.7 hectares; the Estero del Yugo 10.5 hectares; the Estero de la Escopama 172.6 hectares and the Estero de Urías 386.5 hectares.
According to INEGI 2017, the extent of land use and vegetation in Mazatlán is distributed as follows:
Urban settlements represent 36.49% of the total area; rainfed agriculture 29.11%; secondary vegetation of low thorny deciduous forest 7.60%; cultivated grassland 6.85%; low deciduous forest 5.91%; secondary shrubby vegetation of low deciduous forest 4.56%; rainfed agriculture 3.80%; bodies of water 2.47%; annual humidity agriculture 2.03%; annual and permanent seasonal agriculture 0.77%; induced grassland 0.18%; mangrove 0.14% and bare soils 0.10%.
Source:elsoldemazatlan
