Othón P. Blanco, Q.R. — Governor Mara Lezama toured the Chac Estuary Monday after social media complaints of illegal filling. The estuary is connected to several important waterways and has raised environmental concerns about the surrounding wetlands.
“We are in the Chac Estuary immediately responding to a citizen complaint about possible environmental impacts in this important wetland area connected to the Bacalar lagoon system and the Hondo River,” Governor Lezama reported from the site Monday.
“In coordination with specialists from the Quintana Roo Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (Sema), we conducted an on-site inspection to gather technical information that will allow us to file a formal complaint with PROFEPA.”
Lezama is working with state officials on collecting the necessary technical information required to file an official legal complaint.
Over the weekend, the Citizen and Scientific Council for the Restoration and Preservation of Bacalar videoed the illegal filling being carried out in the Chac Estuary near Huay-Pix, which they said, jeopardizes the flow of water and the ecological balance in the natural channel that connects the Laguna de los Siete Colores with the Río Hondo.
On Monday, Governor Lezama toured the area and reported “we are going to hand over everything immediately, today. I’ll be speaking with Alicia Bárcena (the Ministry of Environment) to hand over all the information.
“I want to make it very clear to everyone that in this government, no one is outside the law and absolutely no one is above the law. That is why the investigation, that’s why the experts are conducting this investigation. We’re here, we’re not sitting idly by. Río Hondo, Estero de Chaac and the Bacalar lagoon system are essential,” she explained.
During the tour, a Sema biologist explained that the investigation, which included satellite images from years ago, confirmed that the area is located in a wetland and that “there was landfilling and mangrove species, possibly red and white mangroves, that were affected without permission.”
“What we need to verify is the impact on the ecosystem with this flooding and the possible impacts it could have on the Chaac Estuary,” he explained.
The Chac Estuary is a crucial waterway that connects the Bay of Chetumal, Rio Hondo and the Bacalar Lagoon. Governor Lezama did not say who is responsible for the illegal filling of the Chac Estuary or why it is was being filled.
