by Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo

On Wednesday January 15th we had a working breakfast with the Municipal Presidents and State Environmental authorities in the offices at Centro Tierra Jalpan de Serra. The objective was to deal with the serious issues that are present in the area.

One of the pressing issues which affect communities on a regional level is waste management and related issues.

Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda achieves good levels of social participation and in coordination with local councils operates a network of 113 recycling centers managed by women from local communities. Mountains of glass, cardboard and plastic (900 tons of PET annually) are collected for recycling.

The poor management of landfills, the lack of municipal facilities and the proliferation of illegal dumping is of great concern, therefore, we made the decision to integrate a regional proposal to access federal resources that allow us to combat the poor management of solid waste in the Reserve.

There is a problem of untreated sewage in Pinal de Amoles and the upper basin of San Pedro Escanela which runs into the Jalpan reservoir. The sewage treatment plant in Ahuacatlán does not have sufficient capacity and is leaking untreated sewage into the river and reservoir. This poses a serious risk to human health as well as being very off putting to tourists and people trying to enjoy a visit to the reservoir who are met with a terrible smell.

It is embarrassing to promote Sierra Gorda as a tourist destination whilst there are issues with sewage and waste management. Recently we went through an external evaluation process and the evidence caused a bad impression on the consultants, who are looking for sustainability in the region for tourism purposes. However, there is great interest in solving the sewage issue and we hope to solve this serious problem soon.

We also discussed the pending task of the use of 4X4 quad bikes by tourists, who disrespectfully invade the community of Bucareli, causing damage when crossing the river and leaving no benefit to the residents or landowners. The use of 4X4 quad bikes in a Natural Protected Area is completely out of place. The problem has been documented by external consultants, hired by GESGIAP to evaluate the problems and propose solutions.

The document and its results were presented during a meeting convened by The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) to start the management of this activity and come up with solutions. Today the ball is in the court of the state-level Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR), who we hope will draw up and implement controls. For example, we hope that they will form a network of community members who could act as 4X4 guides providing quad bike tours, ensuring the new controls are adhered to and putting an end to the current negative impacts on the environment and the residents of Bucareli.

The Sierra Gorda is made up of civil society who are proud to take care of their territory, which is a national treasure of natural life. Greetings.

For more information, please contact camillabarnes@sierragorda.net

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