They are well cared for, healthy, and free from bleaching, highlights Semarnat
The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), María Luisa Albores González, announced on Tuesday night that next September, an extensive area of 4 million hectares of coral reefs, mostly located along the Campeche coast, will be declared a Protected Natural Area (ANP).
Accompanied by Governor Layda Sansores San Román, the federal official detailed that it is a coral reef system covering millions of hectares between Campeche and Yucatán. This is significant because the preliminary study showed that it is unique and, moreover, well cared for, healthy, and free from the bleaching that other reefs suffer due to climate change.
“We are finding this jewel where we have living corals, so this is an announcement where we say that it is not only the green sea of the Gran Calakmul conservation expansion, but that more than four million hectares will be declared a Protected Natural Area before the end of September,” emphasized Albores González.
The head of Semarnat explained that the disease known as coral bleaching affects Australian reefs more significantly, but in Mexico, they have observed similar problems in the Sian Kaa’n Reserve in Quintana Roo. Therefore, the importance of “this jewel” found in Campeche and part of Yucatán.
A Reef Jewel in Campeche
For her part, Governor Sansores San Román emphasized that this decree will confirm Campeche as a major reference in Mexico’s environmental protection, adding to the Gran Calakmul project, the second-largest tropical rainforest reserve on the planet, only behind the Amazon.
The Campeche governor expressed that one of the main concerns in her state is the use of glyphosates in Mennonite communities, as well as the devastation of the jungles.
“However, we are living in an important moment because there is a willingness from everyone to put a definitive stop to this problem,” she declared.
“On the other hand, I believe that life always gives us something in compensation, and the good news is these reefs that we are finding here in the Campeche area, which are truly spectacular, beautiful, and that we are also obliged to protect,” emphasized Layda Sansores.
Source: La Verdad
