THE MANGROVE PROTECTION Vs. TURISM DEVELOPMENT A mangrove is a tree and bush species group that possesses adaptation abilities, and that colonizes flooded lands that are impacted by saltwater intrusions. The term mangrove includes several species that possess similar adaptation abilities (as the high-level tolerance of salinity, their air roots that stabilize the tree in soft lands, the floating seeds, structures specialized that permit the entrance of oxygen and the exit of carbon dioxide), but belonged to different families. 1 A century ago, the public realized the mangrove fast and progressive destruction. In spite of offering environmental services; great part of the goods and services provided by the mangrove are not traded in the markets; likewise the beneficiaries of these ecosystems services are not the ones who have the decision power on the land use. According to CONABIO cartography, the surface occupied by these ecosystems in Mexico is around 655.667 hectares. 2 1) The relation between the tourism growth and the mangroves. a) The tourism importance for Mexico. With its natural resources and its megabiodiversity, Mexico is a privileged country. With two oceans on each side, Mexico takes advantage of 11,000Km coastal seaboard, with species and habitat important reserve (mangrove zones, estuaries y reefs among others). The coastal natural wealth shares space with different economic activities (hydrocarbons extraction, tourism and industrial activities ). The economical advantage done by the tourism in Mexico does not reflect this "privilege". In fact, according to a study, 3 France is the most visited country in the world with 75 million visitors per year (and is four smaller times than Mexico and with only 2,000Km of seaboard); the second is Spain (52.5 million visitors). Despite so much seaboard, history and culture, Mexico comes seventh with only 18.7 million visitors per year. The economical opportunity of the tourism sector is enormous: Spain accumulates 33.000 million dollars, France 30.000 million dollars and Mexico less than 9.000 million dollars. In spite of knowing these facts, nowadays the Mexican legal norms relating to the environment: Mangrove, beaches, coasts, forests, etc; suffer from a disorder; an efficient legal and technical plan does not exist. The natural resource exploitations and the rapid growth of some economic activities do not coincide with a sustainable development model, which bring environmental saturation and contamination 1 Página Internet Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, http://www.jbnerr.org/educacion/hojas_educativas/hojas_educativas_pdf/manglar.pdf 2 Página Internet CONABIO-Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y el Uso de la Biodiversidad-, Manglares de México http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/manglares/doctos/manglares.html 3 Le tourisme en France: http://geotourweb.com/nouvelle_page_3.htm
problems, such as natural resources exploitation and conflicts of space and resources competence. These issues are damaging the tourism area. b) The mangrove deterioration in Mexico. - Environmental services offered by the mangroves. The mangrove can attract important incomes, as well as diverse environmental services and goods for personal use. The advantages to preserve the mangroves are numerous and various, such as: 4 The protection of fisheries (commercial importance of the fishing species reproduction- around 70 percent of the Mexican coastal fisheries depends on the mangrove). 5 The recreational services such as the tourism. The biodiversity protection (medicinal plants and habitat protection of some reptile species and migratory and resident birds). The capture of carbon (the mangrove releases less carbon than other forest ecosystems because the mangrove land have low decomposition averages and therefore the carbon storage in the ground can be higher than in the freshwater forest systems). The coast protection (coastal line protection against the erosion, mangrove can serve against hurricanes- depending on the storm severity and of the conservation forest). It filtered residual water (decrease of organic water matter used in the natural processes). Timber and not timber forest uses (Great variety of forest resources for industrial and personal use. The direct products with greater importance for the local population are: the firewood, the charcoal, the material for the habitat constructions, the green guarantee, the cellulose for paper, the traditional medicine, etc.). - The mangrove dramatic decrease. Although their impacts are different according to the countries; the human activities constitute the main threat for the mangrove. In 1980, the mangrove surface was around 19.8 million hectares in the world coastal zones. At the beginning of 2000, the mangrove global surface had been reduced to less than 15 million hectares. Therefore, in the last 20 years, near than 25 percent of the mangrove surface disappeared. 6 In Mexico, the mangrove deforestation is fast: In 2025, half of the 900 thousand hectares will be lost; which means that, each year, between 1 and 2.5 percent of the 4 Una descripción del valor de los bienes y servicios ambientales prestados por los manglares, Enrique Sanjurjo Rivera y Stefanie Welsh Casas. IMACMEXICO. 5 MEX-15: Manglares, entre la basura y la contaminación, Héctor Ángel Castro Ochoa Periódico Noroeste - Mazatlán, Sinaloa. http://www.premioreportagem.org.br/article.sub?docid=26086&c=m%c3%a9xico- Golfo%20de%20California&cRef=Mexico-Gulf%20of%20California&year=2007 6 Manglares de México; Comisión Nacional Para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; CONABIO; México, 2008; p.9.
mangrove surface in the country are destroyed. The perceptible factor is the tourist infrastructure construction, replacement by cultivation and pastures fields, human settlements and petroleum activity, etc. The deforestation rate is 22 thousand hectares of mangrove each year. 7 2) The legal issue in relation to the mangrove. The Mexican Law defines the mangrove as a "tree and bush community of the coastal regions that possesses characteristics like air roots, filtration and fixation of some toxics". 8 Due to its environmental, economical, and social value, the mangrove has always been object of debates, regulations, Mexican Official Norms, lawsuits, reforms, and deep controversies. a. The legal confusion Few years ago, the mangrove management was regulated by the Mexican Official Norm NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003, which establishes the specifications for the sustainable preservation, conservation, benefits and restoration of the coastal humidity in the mangrove zones. 9 The NOM guarantees the mangrove preservation in the way that a land alteration should followed certain conditions (integrity of the ecosystem, etc.). Nevertheless, some channel works with mangrove destruction in exchange with a reimplementation can be authorized. The legal confusion began with the very controversial legal addition in May of 2004, into the NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003 which remains the following: 10 4.43: The works and activities prohibition stipulated in 4.4 and 4.22 and the limits established in 4.14 and 4.16 will be excepted if there is in the preventive report, or in the environmental impact demonstration, compensation measures for the benefit of the wetlands and the obtaining corresponding land use change authorization. 11 Many environmental organizations interpreted the compensation establishment as mechanisms of financial compensation. El establecimiento de la compensación se interpretó por muchas organizaciones ambientales como mecanismos de compensación económicas. The introduction of point 4, 43 in the 7 MEX-15: Manglares, entre la basura y la contaminación, Héctor Ángel Castro Ochoa Periódico Noroeste - Mazatlán, Sinaloa. http://www.premioreportagem.org.br/article.sub?docid=26086&c=m%c3%a9xico- Golfo%20de%20California&cRef=Mexico-Gulf%20of%20California&year=2007 8 NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003, Que establece las especificaciones para la preservación, conservación, aprovechamiento sustentable y restauración de los humedales costeros en zonas de manglar. 9 Publicación en el Diario oficial el 10 abril de 2003. 10 EX-15: Manglares, entre la basura y la contaminación, Héctor Ángel Castro Ochoa Periódico Noroeste - Mazatlán, Sinaloa. http://www.premioreportagem.org.br/article.sub?docid=26086&c=m%c3%a9xico- Golfo%20de%20California&cRef=Mexico-Gulf%20of%20California&year=2007 11 Diario Oficial Acuerdo que adiciona la especificación 4.43 a la NOM-022-semarnat-2003: Que establece las especificaciones para la preservación, conservación, aprovechamiento sustentable y restauración de los humedales costeros en zonas de manglar. Publicación en el D.O.F el 3 de Mayo de 2004
NOM-022, consenting environmental impacts whenever it is compensated pecuniary, generated a series of reactions, proposals and projects: - In February of 2005, the Chamber of Representative presented an Agreement urging the SEMARNAT to abrogate the addition 4, 43; arguing that "its application impacts negatively on the mangrove and its ecosystems". - In July of 2005, the Congress presented an Agreement against this addition; asking the SEMARNAT to suspend the modification application of this Norm, until its submission on a review process. - In April of 2005, the PRD presented the Initiative of General Law of Sustainable Conservation and Restoration of Wetlands and mangrove before the Chamber of Representatives (rejected) pursuing the objective to define the general lines for the politics in this matter, involving diverse actors. - In August of 2006, the SEMARNAT presented a modification project of the NOM-022 before the Federal Commission of Regulatory Improvement (COFEMER). The project proposed to changes the content and nomenclature looking to establish specifications for the sustainable preservation and conservation of the mangrove communities 12 and the measures of applicable restoration measures to the ecosystem (pending in the COFEMER). b. The addition of article 60 TER. Before this situation, in February of 2007, an article was added: 60 TER of the Wildlife General Law (la Ley General de Vida Silvestre). 13 It pursues "to perfect the range of legal instruments that are at the disposal of the environmental authorities and the individuals to develop projects of protection, preservation, not extractive of the mangrove forests in the country. 14 Article 60 TER: It remains prohibited the removal, extract, refill or any work or activity that affects in a direct or indirect way the mangrove. The objective of that prohibition is also to avoid the affectation in the natural load capacity of the ecosystem for the tourism projects, in the reproduction, refuge and diet zones or that cause changes in the ecological services. c. The reactions. Considering that the current norm paralyzes the seaboard development, a coastal states governors group is strongly opposed to that new legal disposition. In consequence, the current problem is that if the application actors of the norms (the Governors) are not implied in the execution of the norms; they will not be efficient. 12 Zonas adyacentes y de transición a la comunidad de manglar con capacidad de ejercer influencia para la supervivencia y conservación de la propia comunidad de manglar. Manifestación de Impacto Regulatorio, Punto 3.8 del Anteproyecto de Modificaciones a la NOM-022. 13 DECRETO por el que se adiciona un artículo 60 TER; y se adiciona un segundo párrafo, artículo 99; todos ellos de la Ley General de Vida Silvestre. Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 1º de febrero de 2007 14 Tomada de la exposición de motivos de la iniciativa.
The Governor of Colima, Silverio Cavazos Ceballos, said: This law is completely prohibitive and does not leave alternative, it would generate a great backward movement in the development processes, with all the respect that the mother nature and the environmentalist groups deserves us, I believe we should understand that the sustainable development is not a concept to inhibit." From an environmental point of view, the law acts in order to oblige all the government levels to protect the coastal zone. However, the coastal cities in Mexico need an urban development planning to attract an economic income: the tourism. The laws are not enough if the will to comply does not exist, and in this case, there will be a need to secure the right compliance of them. That is to say an authority that judging between Governor Federal y Gubernators. An authority that assures the legislative compliance is the protection base of the mangrove and not a prohibition which its compliance would be barely respected. 3) Conclusion: The change results. The Decree adding article 60 TER in the Wildlife General Law is recent (a year and a half), therefore, pertinent results do not exist. However, the current situation deserves some comments: 15 - Article 60 TER is not really prohibitive: the execution of projects is permitted but the conditions established by the article have to be complied, and they are not so restrictive (the conditions are not new; but in force since the NOM 022 of 2003). - The reform does not prevent the tourism development projects, but the Semarnat limits them. Since the introduction of article 60 TER, the Semarnat authorized tourism projects. Any tourism project can be managed if they comply the conditions establishes the Wildlife General Law, and if the project does not affect not the hydrologic flow and the ecosystem. 16 - The compensation of each hectare destroyed by another hectare is impossible because the mangrove can not be planted where it did not exist before (the environmental conditions in order for the mangrove to survive are important). The mangrove can not be restored easily. - The mangrove benefits to the coastal communities through environmental services. For instance, the forests and mangrove of the Yucatan Peninsula helped to diminish the force of the hurricane Dean last year. It was expected that the hurricane would cost more than only 59 million of damages (it entered and left for the most conserved mangrove zones in Quintana Roo and Campeche, which has diminished his force). 17 15 Mentiras y Verdades del manglar en México, Observatorio Ciudadano de vigilancia ambiental. 16 Ejemplo: IFAI, Folio 0001600213807 (13.11.07) y 0001600212907 ( 12.11.07) http://www.ifai.org.mx/buscador_ifai/buscar.do?type=all&spell=true&lemmatize=true&fuentes=4&query Str=Folio%200001600212907 17 Noticieros Televisa México, Ascienden a 58.8 mdd daños por 'Dean' http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/659311.html
With the conclusion that the mangrove preservation actions paralysis comes from its interpretation as a tourist development obstacle ; we can analyze the point of view of the 16 Governors. In February of 2007, the seaboard lands Governors published a report in which they declared the nonconformity with the modifications to the Wildlife General Law:" There is the Governors commitment to preserve the environment, therefore we demand to the President that the situations are deeper analyzed and with pertinent modifications in order to continue the development of these zones". 18 Consequently, the critic is not the mangrove preservation but the absence of some opportunities for the local government to develop its economy. In spite of a global total mangrove modification ban, proposals to help the coastal zones would have positive results (fishing regulation, echo-tourism development, focus the tourist interest in another point, etc.). This means other instruments that would contribute to the objectives that originally pursue the reforms, enhancing the execution of extractive activities but without damaging regeneration capacity and structural/ functional integrity of the mangrove. The unclear norms and the discretionality in the decisions for the environmental impact authorizations cause legal insecurity. The success in the mangrove preservation will depend on the federal politics; whether they decide to take into account the municipalities to resolve the problems. Until now, the debates relating to this issue show a Mexican environmental politics advantaging the tourism sector. 19 18 La Jornada, Renovado ataque a la Ley General de Vida Silvestre; El tabasqueño apela a la "sensibilidad" del Presidente; el 3 de Febrero de 2007; http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/02/03/index.php?section=sociedad&article=039n1soc 19 Denuncian iniciativa de desprotección de manglares, Teorema Ambiental, Análisis y Política,, 10/12/2007, http://www.teorema.com.mx/articulos.php?id_sec=52&id_art=4721&id_ejemplar=0