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Activities of Pemex Threaten the Biosphere Reserve of Centla Wet
ACTIVITIES OF PEMEX THREATENS THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF THE
WETLANDS OF CENTLA
Pantanos de Centla, Tabasco, April 5, 1997, - The activities of
PEMEX threats directly the Biosphere Reserve of the Wetlands of
Centla. (BRWC) and the opertations put in risk the Reserve
which presents serious impacts over the fisher communities of
these region, denounced the International Environmental
Organization Greenpeace, when they made a tour in the protected
zone.
During the tour in the Nucleus Zone No.1 of the BRWC aboard the
inflatables launched out from the RAINBOW WARRIOR, the
GREENPEACE expedition accompanied by people from the community
of Chichicastle, and members of the Non Governmental
Organizations Santo Tomas and OilWatch, documented the
environmental impacts of the dredging carried on by PEMEX,
such as the silting of the Chichicastle Lagoon, the presence of
flatboats with chemicals for repairing works of a well, and
the uncontrolled dumping of the wastes produced into the
wetlands at the Usumacinta Well No. 11.
Greenpeace activists came over the flatboat which transported
chemicals and painted on the falling to pieces flatsheets the
message "TOXICS OUT OF CENTLA". From there, the zodiacs went
to the platform of PEMEX where the activists unfolded a banner
with the demand "NO MORE ACTIVITIES INTO THE RESERVE".
Alejandro Calvillo spokesperson of Greenpeace, with a
loudspeaker reminded the workers, on the installation, that
they were into the Nucleus Zone No.1 of the Biosphere Reserve
and that they were violating the law by dumping hazardous
waste into the wetlands. Article 49 of the Mexican Law for the
Protection of the Environment establishes that it is precisely
forbidden in the Nucleus Zones of Protected Areas to " Dump
pollutants into the soil, underground and into any type of
water body, aquifer or river and to carry on any polluting
activity.
The Biosphere Reserve of the Wetlands of Centla which covers an
area of 744,657 acres, is located in the Northern part of
the state of Tabasco and stretches over the municipalities of
Centla, Jonuta and Macuspana. It was established in 1992 and
later on included on the International list of Wetlands of the
RAMSAR Convention. Although the management plan should have
been published a year after the decree, it has no reality; the
reserve station has been abandoned and there is no control
over the operations of PEMEX even within the nucleus areas
that are being impacted by the dredging and waste dumping.
Since march 30th, the RAINBOW WARRIOR is making the tour
called THE OIL TRAIL to bear witness of the environmental
impacts of the oil industry in the states of Tabasco and
Campeche.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WETLANDS
Considering the diversity of plants and birds communities, among
other communities, the delta of the Usumacinta-Grijalva rivers
must be regarded as one of the most important nature reserve in
Mexico and in the world. In the whole Mesoamerican region there
are no such big wetlands area as the one located in the states
of Tabasco and Campeche. In North America, the Usumacinta-
Grijalva delta wetlands are the second most important after
those of the Mississippi in the United States. In fact, the
Usumacinta is the most important river in all Mexico, speaking
of flowing volume of water.
This wetlands area is considered the last frontier- not yet
seriously damaged- for winter migration of birds on the
American continent and also as the biggest aquatic plants
reserve in Mesoamerica. In this area there are some rare plant
species which have a high risk of becoming extinct. This area
is also considered as the last habitat for the Jaribu stork
which has only a few remaining individuals. It is also an
important habitat for threaten species such as the alligator,
the jaguar, the howling monkey, the white turtle and the
manatee.
No real assessment of the biodiversity of this ecological
system has been made; it is surely bigger than expected,
because existing studies are limited.
The importance of this ecological system has been "in part"
recognized by the Mexican government, which has established the
Biosphere Reserve of the Wetlands of Centla (BRWC) in Tabasco in
1992 and also the Flora and Fauna Nature Protected Area of
Terminos Lagoon (NPTL) in 1994 in Campeche. All together they
cover an 10,077 km2 area (2,489,019 acres). According to no
reason, the region has been divided into two protected area
with different legal status. Besides all, the protection
decrees exist only on paper. Five years after the establishment
of the Biosphere Reserve, there is no management program yet,
and the main field station has been abandoned.
The Mexican government has not carried forward the
international agreements it has signed to protect the
biodiversity of the wetlands. Among those agreements are the
Ramsar Convention for the Protection of Wetlands
Internationally Important and specially the Ramsar Practical
Guidelines; the Convention on Migratory Birds, the Convention
for the Protection of Nature and Wildlife Preservation and also
a trilateral agreement signed in march of 1988 between
environmental authorities of Mexico, Canada and the United
States to protect the wetlands where migratory birds spend the
winter.
Both the BRWC and the NPTL are threaten of even more damages
due to the daily operation of the installations of PEMEX, the
Mexican; the discharges of municipal waste water; the use
agrochemicals and the destruction of the mangrove area by
agricultural and cattle farming activities.
Among the installations of PEMEX located in BRWC there are 12
producing fields, mainly of gas and one separation station. In
spite of the recognition, in the official documents which
brought into being the BRWC and NPTL, of the negative impacts
of PEMEX activities in these areas, the activities have been
going on.
The impacts in the buffer area of BRWC, which represents over
50% of the whole reserve, are even larger and threaten the
nucleus zones and the integrity of the whole reserve. In this
area the Environmental authorities have allowed not only so-
called maintenance
installations, but also new explorations.
PEMEX activities have caused serious damages, mainly due to
drilling mud which, although it is considered an hazardous
waste, is stored in open pits without any lining. The hazardous
wastes flow over the pits into the wetlands during the rainy
seasons. This situation, very common in the area, violates
existing regulations for hazardous wastes management and
disposal.
The presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and oily
residues in the lagoons and rivers, is a clear indicator of the
critical situation of the BRWC.