Brownsville Conference/Planeta.com

Working Notes
7th Annual Conference of the U.S.-Mexico Border States
on Recreation, Parks and Wildlife
by Ron Mader

May 7, 1995
Brownsville, Texas

Here are some highlights from the 7th Annual Conference of the U.S.-Mexico Border States on Recreation, Parks and Wildlife. If there are materials online, I will be happy to create additional links from this page. The conference, held May 3-6, 1995, allowed U.S. and Mexican environmental specialists to meet for an intensive sessions regarding the management of natural resources in the border region. Let me add that this was one of the finest conferences I've attended.

There was terrific binational attendance, plenty of opportunities for interaction, simultaneous translation, and zero mentions of "hands across the border," - a phrase that bothers me since I'm left wondering what that hand might be doing. Kudos to all who brought about this conference.

Regards,

Ron Mader

7th Annual Conference of the U.S.-Mexico Border States on Recreation, Parks and Wildlife

Privatization:

Hector Ruiz, director of Mexico's parks, categorically denied published accounts that Mexico wants to privatize its national parks. "Some press accounts may have confused readers, but [National Institute of Ecology (INE)] director Gabriel Quadri has categorically denied that INE has anything in mind beyond the decentralization of the parks and opening the administration of services and concessions," Ruiz said. In an article published in La Jornada March 27, Quadri was quoted as saying that Mexico lacked the resources for maintaining the 86 national parks and reserves and would be forced to turn them over to individual states which would then privatize them. "We intend to work more closely with the states, but it's not our intention to pass off our responsibilities," Ruiz said. "Conservation in a globalized marketplace is difficult," Ruiz said. "Therefore we must have more local interaction with civil associations and non-governmental organizations that work directly with these areas." Mario Aguilar, the Washington, D.C.-based representative of Mexico's Environment Secretariat (SEMARNyP) said that while his country is participating in 16 specific projects with the U.S. Department of the Interior, "we cannot expect to stop the degradation of the environment in the short term."

Ecotourism/Avitourism

Texas Parks & Wildlife's Madge Linday presented an analysis of the Gulf Coast Birding Trail. Tourism is $23 billion industry in Texas, the state's third largest source of earnings. Avitourism is also big business. Bird watchers generated $4-6 million from bird waters along the Upper Texas Coast in 1992. Texas has 591 recorded bird species; the largest largest avifaunta of any U.S. state. The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail is a collaboration of Parks & Wildlife and the Texas Department of Transporation (TxDOT) " We want to involve the community, show them how they can plant wildflowers, put in humingbird gardens and native landscape," Lindsay said. There are lots of opportunities to work together." A potential outgrowth of the Texas coastal trail would be the addition of other birding trails along the Gulf from the Yucatan to Florida.

Wildlife Corridor

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects to continue funding the Rio Grande Wildlife Corridor, according to project coordinator Larry Ditto. The US government gave the agency $10 million in 1989 to link up to 132,500 acres of habitat in the valley in 1980. Last year F&W received $22 million and Ditto expects to receive another $1 million this year. F&W is working with Mexico to establish a link to the Sierra del Picachos range near Cerralvo, 60 miles south of Roma, Texas. Public support is high for the project according to Texas A&M researcher Jim Gramann.

Sonora: Rio Colorado/Colorado River

Sonora has no intention of slowing down environmental research and conservation measures, according to Maria Elena Barajas, the state's director of ecology and an environmental activist and proponent of sustainable development, who has completed three years in her current position.

"We are working on a study of the Rio Colorado Delta and are scheduled to receive funding from the Comision Internacional de Limites y Aguas [the Mexican counterpart of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)] to carry out our research," she said. "There are seven dams on the Rio Colorado before it gets to the Gulf. By the time it reaches us, the river's nutrients have been destroyed, and what water that does arrive is salty and contaminated by pesticides."

Barajas said that she does not want to take water rights away from U.S. states but to ensure that the water that does arrive is clean. "Sure, we want more water, but what water that comes across should be fresh water," she said. The binational IBWC/CILA Act #217 outlined both water quality and quantity that Mexico receives from the United States, but Barajas calls this an "outdated piece of legislation that was conceived at a time when the signers couldn't imagine the ecological consequences of this action," she said. Any change in binational water policy would come as a result of presidential action on both sides of the border. Before that can occur, the IBWC and CILA require specific data for review.

Barajas also said that a pilot project between the Environment Secretariat (SEMARNyP) and Sonora's Department of Ecology will shortly be announced. The state is to receive full authorization from the federal National Institute of Ecology (INE) to conduct environmental impact statements. "We have the expertise," she said. "And we know what's right for Sonora. We've stopped many business projects and investors should know that they have to satisfy both federal and state requirements." The project would enable the federal government to continue its decentralization campaign and the Sonora's government to have more centralized control over businesses which have an environmental impact on the state.

Finally, Barajas outlined the goals of the state program for protection of natural areas, SANPES. This is a continuation of the PROAMBIENTE program initiated in 1991. Currently Sonora has two major biosphere reserves the Upper California Gulf/Colorado River Delta and the Pinacate. The new proposal will add or incorporate other areas including, the Sierras de los Ajos - La Purica, Sierra de Alamos - Arroyo Cuchajaqi, Sierra Bacha, Sierra la Mariquit, Mesa del Campeñero - Arroyo el Reparo, Rancho el Carrizo, Sierra de Mazatan, Cajon del Diablo - Cañon de Nacapule, Sierra San Luis, Centro Ecologico - Agua Lurca, Tiburon y San Esteban islands, the Bahia de Lobos, and the archeological area "Trincheras."

Chapinque Ecological Park: Public/Private Model?

Urban parks play a tremendous role in the state of Nuevo Leon, allowing for quick recreational get-aways as well as outdoors schools for environmental training. Chapinque Ecological Park stands out in the system since it is the state's only park which was created and is maintained by private businesses. "Chapinque is a wonderful example of how private interests can drive conservation efforts," said U.S. National Parks Service Mexico specialist Howard Ness. "We're being told that in the United States all the time, and this may serve as model."

"Chapinque shows that different entities may have a common goal - and that's the protection and maintenance of this area," said park director Jorge Garza. Outside of the city of Monterrey, the 1,550 hectare park comprises 25% of the city's territory. With assistance from the World Wildlife Fund, a computerized Geographical Information Surveys (GIS) map is being prepared. Although managed as a Civil Association, the park is integrated into the state's system of urban parks, Garza said.

Chihuahua Looks to State Universities

There are 29 protected areas in the state of Chihuahua, some of which were created in the late 1930s. Most are forestry zones and the newest addition is the Santa Elena Wildlife Reserve, opposite Big Bend National Park in the United States. A presidential decree last November designated Santa Elena and Coahuila's Sierra del Carmen as new reserves. In drawing up the management plan for the reserve, Jose Treviño, director of the Chihuahua Department of Ecology said he will turn to the state's universities. "I have the final word on authorization," he said. "But we will allow our experts to develop the management plan."

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Working Notes 7th Annual Conference of the U.S.-Mexico Border States on Recreation, Parks and Wildlife by Ron Mader