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QUINTANA ROO.
In the next 48 hours, we plan extensive sargazo wetlands that will completely cover the coastline of Quintana Roo and its islands, from Punta Cocos to Holbox, in the north of the state, to the community of Xcalak in the south, in the municipality of Othón P Blanc, border with Belize.
According to the Sargasso surveillance network in Cancun, the arrival of brown sea-green macroalgae with a foul-smelling odor will considerably affect the beaches of Cancun, in the hotel zone, from Punta Cancun to Punta Nizuc.
According to the satellite images, the continued arrival of sargassum has a significant impact on the municipalities of Puerto Morelos, Solidaridad (Playa del Carmen), Tulum, Cozumel (east coast), Felipe Carrillo Puerto (Sian Ka Biosphere Reserve & # 39) an) Bacalar and Othón P. Blanco (Chetumal, Mahahual, Xcalak).
Sargazo, the nightmare returns to the beaches of the Mexican Caribbean
It is estimated that this year the coast of Quintana Roo will receive one million tons of Sargassum, a figure that exceeds by nearly 600% the 168 000 tons of 2018.
The entity's government has asked the Federation resources to allow 800 million pesos to attend the emergency, which generates economic losses for the tourism sector, but also represents a problem environment and public health.
Sargassum, which has always existed, but which began to arrive massively in Mexico in 2015, ends with oxygen from the water that kills fish, turtles and seagrass, and when it It breaks down on the beach, it generates sulfuric acid and arsenic, which endangers thousands of marine and groundwater freshwater species.
Last year, 240 million pesos of state resources were invested to try to contain Sargassum, and the federal government only granted 62 million pesos from the Fund for Natural Disasters (Fonden).
In a brief interview with the media, the head of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Josefa González Blanco, acknowledged that Sargassum was a pollution and climate change problem that affects Mexico.
Despite the urgency of taking action, he said that it would act of a commission created jointly with the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), in charge of providing answers and to tackle the underlying problem, without giving more details.
Because previously, we had acted, a Secretariat doing one thing, another Secretariat doing another, and for the moment, we are making a joint proposal, "he said.
Aleira Lara Galicia, Greenpeace campaign coordinator in Mexico, warned that there was no time to waste to fight the massive influx of sargassum on our beaches.
He said that we must act by stopping the seaweed macroalgae, to prevent the use of heavy machinery for its disposal, cause erosion of beaches and the destruction of turtle nests.
In addition, it is necessary to invest in science and technology to know, for example, how currents move in the sea or runoff from agricultural areas to the coast, which could provide nutrients for the massive flowering of sargassum.
The work of researchers and experts in the country must be accompanied by an action plan, which is the responsibility of the federal authorities, "he said.
The activist added that, at the same time, Mexico should promote measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in climate change, because the rise in ocean temperature is a factor that is not excluded. as the cause of the spread. Sargassum.
The country's energy policy should be changed and reliance on fossil fuels ceased; It is worrying that the current government is giving priority to the resumption of economic development, production and demand for hydrocarbons, and this policy is compounding a problem that looks like a boomerang, which will come back sooner or later, "he said. -he declares.
They work as a team
Mahahual is a small fishing village. However, it is one of only two destinations to receive cruises in Quintana Roo.
Following the arrival of Sargassum, locals and local businessmen organized groups of up to 12 hours of uninterrupted work, taking turns in extracting the marine plant on the sand or in the sand. beaches.
This problem has had a significant impact on tourism, an activity on which the inhabitants depend, because "it does not remove the operating expenses that we have every day," said Obed Durón Gómez, delegate of Mahahual.
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