noticias de interés

Versión en Español

A Priority, To Protect the Biodiversity in Mexico

Date: (23/10/2009)

Facultad de Ciencias Forestales

Mexico is a country with hundreds of protected spaces, beautiful landscapes and with great ecological value areas.

Dr. Cesar Cantu in a prickly thicket in Tamaulipas.

By Mayra Silva Almanza

Humans need open spaces –because of our biological nature- for finding the internal balance, besides the benefits and services they provide us.

That is why we have to conserve wild ecosystems and green areas in the cities, because they are a deciding factor for guarantying our physical and psychological well-being.

Dr. Cesar Cantu work –with a Doctorate Degree Major in Zoology by the University of Vienna, Austria and a Pos Doctorate Degree in Analysis of conservation’s omission by University of Idaho, USA- in most of his research in the UANL, on conservation priorities identification.

This research is about identifying natural spaces by knowing its physical and ecological characteristics, mainly, for including them in the legal protection regime such as protected natural areas, which are considered –internationally- as the most important conservation tools.

“A protected area has a legal aspect, because it is in Mexico’s legal framework locally and nationally. A protected area is established as a space for nature protection for its biodiversity – strictly- or landscape protection for leisure activities,” said Cantu Ayala from School of Forestry (FCF, Spanish abbreviation).

Doctor Cantu, National Systems of Researchers has been carried out studies –at continental level) identifying how the protected natural areas include in their boundaries:

“Different environment dimensions, ecological units such as eco-regions and types of vegetations. Each of them represents different characteristics, where flora and fauna species are associated, so it is possible to identify which are best represented and which ones are not.”

According to the data provided by Dr. Cesar Cantu, actually, there is coverage of land continental area of 12 percent in the world. There is also coverage of protection of 12 percent in Mexico. Our country is considered too diverse and a proof is the 96 land eco-regions in which, its territory id divided.

“The achievement I am looking for in my study area is to identify through studies and digital geographical and field studies, all the conservation necessities in Mexico. I had worked also in Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Durango, because conservation objectives change depending on the scale.”

So, he wants to identify the main regions for including them in the conservation regime.

So, productive activities are restricted and included to the sustainable development logic and is focused on the people through ecological conservation principles for respecting ecosystems’ capacity carrying. All this regulated by a managing program.

“A very important aspect is to identify the regions which have the biggest species’ riches. The number of organisms and know if they are only in that area, and that makes them more valuable, because one of the most essential principles in the conservation is to protect the biodiversity in all its scales: genes, species or ecosystems less changed by human influence.”

An example provided by the researcher is about protected areas of Nuevo Leon. “We have the biggest park of Mexico “Cumbres” from Monterrey and the shortest “El Sabinal” in Cerralvo municipality with eight 338 hectares.

“Furthermore, Nuevo Leon is important because more than one third of its 3338 thousand hectares are from protected natural areas; it is in Monterrey metropolitan area,” said Dr. Cesar Cantu.

He also said that the “Cumbers de Monterrey” national park was established as a protected area in 1939 during Lazaro Cardenas’ period of six years, having 245 thousand hectares at the beginning.

Sixty one years later, in 2000 the park was reduced to 177 thousand hectares, because it lost 3 hectares everyday during that period because of human pressure, above all, popullation’s interest for develping those spaces thanks to its amazing environment condition and excellent climate.

Recently, Cesar Cantu participated with 700 scientists more in “Capital Natural de Mexico” book publication, which was organized by the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO, Spanish abbreviation).

This is the second study in Mexico in which a description and a diagnosis for biodiversity is carried out and Mexico is highlighted as one of the countries that has worked the most for protecting its natural resources.

On the other hand, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas is carrying out all process and studies of managing for protected areas. There are three areas managed by a federal manner.

We invite you to keep reading an interview with Dr. Cesar Cantu Ayala named: Units for Managing and Conservation of Mexico’s wild Flora and Fauna.

**Dr. Cesar M. Cantu Ayala, is a Biologist by the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon School of Biological Sciences (1982). He studied a Doctorate Degree Major in Zoology in the University of Vienna, Austria School of Natural and Formal Sciences in 1988 as well as a Post Donctorate Degree in Analysis of Conservation’s Omisions in the University of Idaho, USA in 2001. He is acknowledged by the National system of Researchers, Level I.

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