Expansion of Mexico’s Largest Port Causes Alarm Over Environmental Damage — Global Issues

by Emilio Godoy (mexico)Thursday, December 19, 2024Inter Press Service

Work started on 23 November with out the required environmental influence examine, and consists of the extension of the port, the development of a gasoline storage terminal and a gasoline and steam energy plant within the western state of Colima.

For unbiased skilled Hugo Smith, the influence is “large”, as the realm hosts vital financial exercise, comparable to agriculture, livestock, salt flats and artisanal fisheries.

“There’s vital social harm that has by no means been resolved. For instance, they dredged the lagoon to put in the gasoline plant. When there may be dredging, marine sediments are moved, extra air pollution is brought about and once they combine, new pollution are brought about. The harm is irremediable”, he informed IPS from the port metropolis of Tampico, within the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.

The specialist confused the dearth of ample planning, as a result of “in different places they ask for local weather forecasts, on this case there must be very well-planned works, they need to be monitored. There’s discuss of sustainability as a political slogan, however there are not any indicators.”

The enlargement features a storage and distribution facility of the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) with a capability for 3.7 million barrels of gasoline, one other maritime terminal with a capability to maneuver 5 million containers, and roadways.

The port website presently covers 437 hectares, housing 19 docks and warehouses.

With the work, attributable to be accomplished in 2030, the port space can be prolonged to 1,800 hectares within the second basin of the Cuyutlán lagoon. There are 4 regulating basins which seize the rain and separate the lagoon by roads and sluice gates.

With a public-private funding of US$3,480 million, the Mexican authorities is searching for to show the port of the coastal metropolis of Manzanillo into the biggest in Latin America and the fifteenth largest globally, by doubling its complete capability.

The enlargement is a part of a scheme to modernise 10 Mexican federal ports.

Vital habitat

President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took workplace on 1 October, has maintained the plans of her predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), to revive outdated tasks. The enlargement of Manzanillo dates again to the Felipe Calderón administration (2006-2012) and López Obrador formally took it up once more in 2019, however with out advancing its improvement.

The town of Manzanillo, with 159,000 folks and greater than 800 kilometres west of Mexico Metropolis, is surrounded by the lagoons of Valle de las Garzas and Cuyutlán, that are important to the realm’s surroundings due to the animal and plant species they shelter.

The governmental Nationwide Fee for the Information and Use of Biodiversity (Conabio) lists as ecosystem values the presence of salt cultivation, artisanal fishing, mangroves, native and migratory birds, in addition to crocodiles and turtles, within the 7,200-hectare Cuyutlán lagoon, positioned parallel to the Pacific coast.

The ecosystem holds 90% of the wetlands within the state of Colima and is registered by Conabio as a precedence marine and hydrological area.

In reality, within the final decade the company warned that the port enlargement may “probably enhance water ranges and alter essential habitats for nesting and feeding of organisms comparable to birds.”

The works would require, it stated, “the opening of latest channels of communication with the ocean, in addition to deeper navigation channels, which may provoke extra extreme modifications in water ranges and circulation.”

Therefore the significance of the environmental influence evaluation, in an effort to know the repercussions and the mitigation measures envisaged.

In 2017, then president Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018) issued a name for an environmental evaluation, however it’s ignored if it was carried out. In any case, the works had been by no means undertaken.

Two lagoons at risk

The lagoon consists of 4 lagoon basins, the final two of that are adjoining to the realm of the enlargement.

These are websites of worldwide significance since 2011 underneath the Conference on Wetlands, as they assist weak endangered species and threatened ecological communities; populations of plant and animal species essential for sustaining the organic range of the area.

Additionally it is house to some 20,000 waterfowl and migratory birds, in addition to offering meals for fish and a nesting floor for turtles.

To the north of the port is the 268-hectare Valle de las Garzas lagoon, which suffers from excessive ranges of sediment attributable to soil loss from the watershed and concrete actions, and has excessive ranges of vitamins attributable to discharges from close by therapy vegetation and human actions. It’s due to this fact in worse situation than the Cuyutlán lagoon.

Regardless of its situation, the native environmental authorities haven’t but declared it a protected space. In the meantime, the fourth basin of the Cuyutlán lagoon is about to obtain this standing, though it doesn’t appear that this safety will impede the already initiated port enlargement venture.

The realm additionally faces local weather threats. Between 2030 and 2050, the coastal areas round Manzanillo and contained in the Cuyutlán lagoon can be flooded by rising sea ranges, in keeping with forecasts by the worldwide scientific platform Local weather Central.

As well as, the port space is uncovered to elevated flooding from rainfall, in keeping with local weather research by the Inter-American Improvement Financial institution (IDB).

Inconsistency

Since 2023, the Ministry of the Navy, which manages the federal ports, has been implementing the Port Decarbonisation Technique, which goals to scale back emissions in operations.

In what’s the second-largest economic system of Latin America, 227.75 million tonnes had been dealt with between January and October within the 103 ports of the Nationwide Port System (SPN). A determine 7.5% decrease than that of the identical interval in 2023.

Manzanillo dealt with 30.77 million tonnes – nearly 1% lower than in the identical interval of 2023 – as much as final November.

In 2022, the 36 ports of the 18 SPN administrations emitted 1.33 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equal, nearly double the extent of 2021, in keeping with the nationwide technique. Carbon equal measures air pollution in reference to CO2. Manzanillo launched 30% extra emissions into the environment than in 2022.

Measurements contain the exercise of cargo ships, vessels parked in port, cargo dealing with tools, locomotives and cargo vans, in addition to the operation of terminals, operators, service suppliers, transport strains, transport brokers, customs, land transport and rail firms.

The Decarbonisation Technique stipulates emission reductions of 25 % by 2030 and 45 % by 2050, however solely units out basic measures, comparable to planning resilient infrastructure, harmonising administration and planning devices, comparable to concession titles, grasp improvement programmes and working guidelines.

It additionally units out learn how to determine, describe and programme the implementation of low-emission power insurance policies.

Port sustainability consists of the consideration of environmental, financial and social features, comparable to air pollution, dredging of close by areas, return on funding and job creation.

However the set up of extra hydrocarbon terminals, gasoline storage services and a gas-fired energy plant contradict the technique’s objectives. Official publicity presents it as sustainable due to its gasoline consumption, even though it’s a extremely polluting fossil gasoline.

Furthermore, the 2021-2026 grasp programme for port improvement doesn’t tackle environmental issues.

As is the case in the remainder of Latin America, no Mexican port seems on the venture map of the World Ports Sustainability Programme, an affiliation that brings collectively the world’s largest environmentally pleasant services.

Professional Smith pointed to a larger concentrate on ship operations to enhance port sustainability.

“Ships are more and more environmentally constrained. Ports don’t present renewable power. Decarbonisation should concentrate on ships and the largest polluters are container ships,” he stated.

© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal supply: Inter Press Service

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