Mangrove felling and the Jabalines creek lining is ecocide that will not prevent flooding of neighboring settlements, the Mazatlan Ecological Council (Cemaz) warned.
The stream that discharges the city’s rainwater became a threat because its channel has been modified with the consent of the authorities without considering hydrological or ecological studies and because it is used as a garbage dump and sewage dump, said its members.
During a press conference, Council members recalled that the lining of the stream carried out in 2018 by the State Government, did not have environmental impact studies.
In the first stage concrete slabs were placed on a stretch of 580 linear meters, from Bugambilias street to Circunvalación Avenue. On July 16, 2018, during the official start of the work, it was reported that the project contemplates the lining of three kilometers in total to avoid floods and sources of infection.
Against mangrove felling
A year later, the environmental organization once again ruled against the mangrove felling that has been carried out since last Friday, considering that the environmental damage is not justified because it will not solve the underlying problem.
Martín Guerrero, president of Cemaz, said that the measures undertaken so far are ecocide because the natural environment has been destroyed and its loss is irreparable in the section that was already covered.
For his part, Sergio Valle Espinosa said that the authorities should consult the specialists and the population instead of making authoritative decisions.
To the extent that appropriate preventive and mitigation measures are not implemented, they warned, flood risks for the inhabitants of the colonies near the stream, and all of Mazatlan will remain latent.
Photo: Raquel Zapien
They remove mangrove, but the trash stays
While the mangrove and some trees were uprooted from the ground during the morning of Thursday, August 29, a group of green iguanas sought refuge. The noise of the yellow bulldozers scared away the herons, which at a distance, watched as the sides of the stream were naked.
Without the foliage, in the slopes, the discharges of pestilent waters, the marks of the heavy machinery and garbage, much garbage were better appreciated.
What could have been
Instead of being used as a recreation and rest site, as a natural linear park with a water mirror or for subsistence fishing, this natural space is becoming a storm drain and sewage channel.
The construction of a dam in Miravalles has been one of the alternatives proposed to control runoff in the upper part of the basin.
On the other hand, various actors have long stated that it is necessary to expand the mouth of the Infiernillo estuary, given that over the years it has been reduced based on fillings.
Jabalines stream characteristics
Sergio Valle said that the Jabalines stream is born north of Mazatlan, at the height of the Puertas de Canoas town, where it is called the Armadillo stream; subsequently, upon arriving at the community of El Conchi, he receives the tribute of the Las Higueras stream. In the urban area, the El Venadillo stream joins it and its channel runs through the city from north to south until it connects with the El Infiernillo estuary, which in turn communicates with the Urias estuary at the height of the Juárez bridge and finally to the Pacific Ocean.
The stream is a habitat for a wide variety of wild flora and fauna, including migratory birds. It is also a center of reproduction and growth of fish and crustaceans.
Main threats
In its Internet portal, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), recognizes that human activities constitute the main threat to mangroves, whether due to habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation of resources and their modification hydrological
Mangroves are also displaced by the lack of urban, industrial and tourism development planning, as well as agricultural, livestock development.
The four most common mangrove species in Mexico are subject to special protection according to NOM 059 SEMARNAT-2010
Source: sonplayas
The Mazatlan Post
