Selva Zoque
The Selva Zoque (English: Zoque Forest), which includes the Chimalapas rain forest, is an area of great ecological importance in Mexico. Most of the forest lies in the state of Oaxaca but parts are in Chiapas and Veracruz.[1] It is the largest tract of tropical rainforest in Mexico, and contains the majority of terrestrial biodiversity in the country. The forest includes the Selva El Ocote, a federally-protected biosphere reserve, but is otherwise not yet protected.[2] Despite the rich ecology of the region, a 2003 study that focused on bird populations stated that "the fauna of the heart of the Chimalapas, including its vast rainforests, have seen little or no study".[3] As it is an impoverished region, efforts to preserve the ecology are often at odds with demands to improve the economy.[4]
Geography
The forest lies between 16°00'32"N, 17°32'00"N, 93°21'40"W and 94°53'53"W in the eastern part of the mountain range that forms the spine of the
Excluding the
Vegetation
The region has highly diverse plant communities. For example, over 300 orchid species have been identified, 60% of all orchid genera in Mexico.[1] Over 200 canopy tree species have been found in the Uxpanapa lowlands, and the entire region is estimated to have 3,500 vascular plant species. Several genera and one family are only found in this area of Mexico. Valuable plants include the tropical red cedar (Cedrela odorata) and bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). Palmita (Chamaedorea sp.) is an important source of revenue for the local people, with the ornamental leaves harvested carefully to avoid killing the plant.[6] Types of vegetation cover include:[5]
Type | Percent | Description |
---|---|---|
Cloud forest | 5% | Dense vegetation in a humid, temperate climate, found only above 800 m. These may represent the largest area of undisturbed cloud forest in Mexico and Central America. |
Pine forest | 20% | Mostly pines, typically found in temperate and cooler areas. |
Semi-deciduous tropical forest | 6% | Trees are 4–15 m high, and more than 75% of the species lose their leaves during the dry season. |
Tropical rain forest | 56% | The canopy exceeds 30 m in height and more than 75% of the species preserve their leaves throughout the year. |
Farmed | 5% | Agriculture, livestock and forestry |
Others | 8% |
Fauna
The forest forms a vital biological corridor between North and Central America and has very diverse zoology, lying at the conjunction between the
It is home to species that include thePeople
Before the
Despite continued contacts with the colonialists and prospectors, in their relatively inaccessible terrain the Chimas in the forest region were largely undisturbed until the later half of the nineteenth century, when the government started selling off concessions to exploit their "vacant" lands for timber and grazing. The process slowed with the revolution of 1910, then picked up speed in the 1970s with fresh immigrants moving into the region, often assisted by the government.[7]
In the early 1970s, the federal government launched a program in the Uxpanapa region to resettle small farmers displaced by the Cerro de Oro Dam, bulldozing and burning large areas of the forest to open it up for farming.[6] Approximately 26,000 people, mostly
In the core Chimalapas region there was a total population of about 18,000 in 1999. Two towns, Santa Maria Chimalapa and San Miguel Chimalapa had a combined population of 3,000. The remainder was split between 38 "recognized" settlements and 34 informal settlements along the river banks and in the valleys. Some of the informal settlements were created by official colonization schemes and others by invading peasants. The area is now ethnically diverse, with the Zoques reduced to a minority of perhaps 30%.[12] The region is extremely poor, with limited infrastructure such as roads and schools.[7]
Development plans
The Mexican government has plans to develop the trans-isthmus corridor that borders the region to the west. This includes improving transportation routes across the isthmus between the Caribbean and the Pacific, developing an industrial zone along the highway and expanding the petroleum and petrochemical industries in Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast. Other plans include creating coffee plantations and cattle corridors, expanding production of beans, maize and chili and exploiting the bio-genetic resources of native medicinal plants.[4] A plan first proposed in 1977 for a dam in the Chimalapas has been stalled due to environmental concerns.[4] In June 2008 the State of Oaxaca was again proposing construction of a storage dam in the Rio El Corte Basin in the Chimalapa sub-region, with the potential to irrigate 100,000 hectares of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and to supply water to the Salina Cruz Refinery.[13]
To reduce impact of this nearby development on the Chimalapas the government has in the past made offers to buy forest land and turn it into a biosphere reserve, but these have been rejected by the native people who would lose their ancestral lands.[4] The local government officials and their families are dedicated to sell tracks of virgin forest to create ranch operations and destroy the forest, and use the money to help the Zapatista warlords, they use their influences inside the state to legalize the plots of lands that they sold, this is evidenced in the new town called Arroyo Dos Arcos, deep into federally protected land.[14] More recently, plans (at least in Oaxaca) have involved the communities affected and have emphasized sustainable use of the forest resources. This approach appears to have more promise.[12]
Environmental issues
Environmental issues include destructive forestry, land clearance for grazing livestock and clearance for cultivation of illegal drugs. Rare animal species are at risk from illegal hunting, and valuable trees such as mahogany and cedar are extracted through illegal forestry. Construction of Federal roads may cause loss of continuity between the different forest areas. In the Uxpanapa area more than 80% of the original cover has been lost, and in the Ocote area 40%. Loss of original cover has been relatively low in Los Chimalapas area.[5]
At the end of the dry season in early 1998 there were extensive forest fires in the region, affecting over 200,000 hectares. The season had been exceptionally dry, partly due to
The forest has been designated "outstanding at a bioregional level" by the
However, it is difficult to strike a balance between protecting this unique environment, respecting the rights of the traditional inhabitants and improving the economy to eliminate poverty, malnutrition and disease.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Selva Zoque". WWF Mexico. Archived from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ a b c d e "Selva Zoque" (PDF). Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. Retrieved 2010-06-28.[permanent dead link]
- ^ )
- ^ a b c d e f Emanuel Gómez (March 2002). "El futuro de la Selva Zoque". La Jornada, Suplemento Ojarasca Nº 59 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ a b c d e "Selva Zoque-La Sepultura" (PDF) (in Spanish). Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ a b c "Uxpanapa-Chimpalapa Region". The Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ a b c d "Zoques de Oaxaca" (in Spanish). La Unidad del CIESAS Pacífico Sur. Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ISBN 968-6990-17-8.
- ISBN 970-32-2045-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Thayer Scudder. "A Comparative Survey of Dam-induced Resettlement in 50 Cases" (PDF). California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ "Report of the Committee set up to examine the representation alleging non-observance by Mexico of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution by the Radical Trade Union of Metal and Associated Workers". International Labor Organization. 1998. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ a b c d David Barkin & Miguel Angel García. "The Social Construction of Deforestation in Mexico: A case study of the 1998 fires in the Chimalapas Rain Forest". World Rainforest Movement. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ "Respuestas de las solicitudes de información recibidas el día 25 de de 2008: Folio: UE/LX/0670/2008". SENADO DE LA REPÚBLICA DE MEXICO. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.