AIDA Calls for Protection of Mexican Wetlands

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Photo: Marismas Nacionales (AIDA 2006)

A proposed resort three times the size of Cancun is bad news for Mexico’s fragile coastal mangrove ecosystems. Costa del Pacifico (CIP), a mega-resort that the Mexican government is planning to build near Mazatlan, is expected to attract three million visitors by the year 2025. If this project proceeds as planned, it will imperil nearby wetlands that safeguard Mexico’s last remaining mangrove forests and 60 endangered species. AIDA is working to protect these treasured ecosystems.

In June 2009, we submitted a petition to the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention (SRC), an international treaty aimed at wetlands conservation. In this petition, AIDA and five co-signing environmental organizations, called upon the SRC to encourage and support the Mexican government in conducting a comprehensive environmental review of the CIP project, as required by national and international laws.

The proposed CIP resort is located at the edge of Marismas Nacionales and in close proximity to Laguna Huizache-Caimanero, both of which are classified as “wetlands of international importance.” These biodiversity hot spots support an astonishing array of wetlands wildlife including birds, fishes, mammals, reptiles and plants. Many are already threatened or endangered, such as the puma, jaguar, river otter, collared peccary, white-tailed deer, American Crocodile, Boa constrictor and Mexican Beaded Lizard.

To provide water and electricity to resort guests, the Mexican government proposes building a hydroelectric dam in the San Pedro River. This dam would sharply reduce water flow to the Marismas wetlands, directly harming plant and animal populations and disrupting movement and migration patterns critical to many species’ survival. The government also plans to divert substantial amounts of water from the Presidio River for irrigation, an action likely to harm the Laguna Huizache-Caimanero wetlands as well.

As with most golf courses, substantial amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers will likely be applied to the resort’s four courses and extensive landscaping. Toxic runoff from these areas would contaminate the wetlands, potentially poisoning many animal species and causing algae blooms that create oxygen-starved dead zones.

All these different impacts combined would likely cause extensive damage to the forest of mangrove trees that dominate the wetlands. Mangroves are barrier ecosystems that shelter coastlines from the damaging impact of storms. Mangrove ecosystems are also thriving nurseries for breeding fish and migratory birds. Marismas Nacionales, for example, harbors more than 100 species of migratory birds. Mangroves are also vital to combating climate change because they capture carbon 50 times more efficiently than tropical forests.

At AIDA’s request, a SRC technical mission toured the area in June 2010 to gather information. The SRC is expected to make a recommendation to the Mexican government by the end of July 2010 on how to best protect the wetlands. We hope the SRC involvement will result in a thorough environmental review and modifications to the proposed projects. We are also encouraging the Ramsar Secretariat to request a commitment from the Mexican government to evaluate the cumulative impact of all existing and proposed projects near these wetlands.