Selva Zoque

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Selva Zoque region of Southern Mexico Selva Zoque.png
Selva Zoque region of Southern Mexico

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]

Contents

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 Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The terrain is rugged and includes a complex mixture of forest types at different levels. [5] Geologically, the region dates from the Upper Cretaceous and the Cenozoic. Elevations range from 100m to 2,700m. [3] Average monthly temperatures in most areas range between 18 °C and 22 °C, and annual rainfall between 500 and 2,500 mm, with high humidity throughout most of the region although there are dry interior valleys. [5] In some of the higher areas, mean annual temperatures are as low as 13 °C. [3]

Excluding the Uxpanapa and La Sepultura extensions, the forest region covers about one million hectares. [2] The main Chimalapas region in Oaxaca covers approximately 600,000 hectares. [1] The forest contains the headwaters of five hydrological systems: the El Corte River watershed, the Negro River watershed, which feeds the Nezahualcoyotl (Malpaso) Dam, the Uxpanapa River watershed and the Coatzacoalcos River which flow into Veracruz's southern wetlands and the Gulf of Mexico; and the Espiritu Santo River watershed which supplies the lagoon system to the south in the Pacific Ocean. [1]

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]

TypePercentDescription
Cloud forest5%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 forest20%Mostly pines, typically found in temperate and cooler areas.
Semi-deciduous tropical forest6%Trees are 4–15 m high, and more than 75% of the species lose their leaves during the dry season.
Tropical rain forest56%The canopy exceeds 30 m in height and more than 75% of the species preserve their leaves throughout the year.
Farmed5%Agriculture, livestock and forestry
Others8%

Fauna

Harpy eagle Harpia harpyja 001 800.jpg
Harpy eagle

The forest forms a vital biological corridor between North and Central America and has very diverse zoology, lying at the conjunction between the Nearctic and Neotropical realms and spanning a range of montane and lowland habitats. [3] It is home to species that include the ocelot, Baird's tapir, and puma. [5] Highly threatened species include jaguar, Geoffroy's spider monkey, white-lipped peccary, horned guan, resplendent quetzal and harpy eagle. [1] There are estimated to be more than 600 bird species, including great curassow, crested guan and ornate hawk-eagle. [2] Recent herpetological studies have found many new forms, including at least eight endemic reptile and amphibian species. [3]

People

Before the Mexican colonial period, the area was inhabited by the Chima, a Zoque people believed to be descendants of the Olmec. [7] With the arrival of the Spanish, the Uxpanapa colony to the north established settlements on the Corte River (English: Cut River), which is easily navigable, and began to exploit the forest. [8] From 1731 to 1747, the region around Santa María Chimalapa was an important source of giant pines, used for masts and beams by the Spanish navy. The trees were floated down the Corte River, which owes its name to the cutting of these trees, to Coatzacoalcos and carried across to the Havana Shipyards. [9]

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 Chinantec, were moved into the area. [10] The planned large scale agricultural schemes failed, although small farmers were able to make a living. [6] The displaced people were dissatisfied with the new conditions and protested, but did not achieve much. Several of their leaders were jailed. [11] Migrants also settled in other parts of the Selva Zoque. Some of the new arrivals engaged in small scale farming and hunting, while others moved into more destructive activities such as ranching, illegal logging of valuable tree species and cultivation of narcotics. [7]

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

The jaguar is one of the threatened species of the region Standing jaguar.jpg
The jaguar is one of the threatened species of the region

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 El Niño. When the rains came, flooding resulted and since then land productivity has fallen. Various theories were put forward to explain the fires, ranging from slash and burn clearing within the forest and deliberate burns to remove stubble from farmland that ran out of control to a plot by the government to create the fires from the air. Some pointed out that much of the burned land was in the area that would be covered by the proposed dam and highway. [4] The implication that fires were set deliberately is based on the belief that there are powerful interests who would like to see the region exploited for its lumber and farmland potential, and to see the large hydropower potential put to work. [12]

The forest has been designated "outstanding at a bioregional level" by the World Bank and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and has been recognized as a Global 200 ecoregion. [2] The government has recognized the rights of the communities in Chimalapas to be involved in conservation planning. The Maderas rainforest conservancy has been active in the area, seeking to prevent further fires and encourage sustainable land use. [12] The WWF has also been active in attempting to encourage conservation efforts in the Chimalapas area. [1] The area of El Ocote is now protected, although with mixed results. Pronatura Chiapas and Pronatura Veracruz are also working on conservation projects in the area. The goal is to improve environmental protection while supporting sustainable use of the natural resources by the local population. [2]

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

Related Research Articles

Oaxaca State of the United Mexican States

Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipalities, of which 418 are governed by the system of usos y costumbres with recognized local forms of self-governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.

Isthmus of Tehuantepec Shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean

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Uxpanapa (municipality) Municipality in Veracruz, Mexico

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Petén–Veracruz moist forests Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico

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Coatzacoalcos River River in the state of Veracruz

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San Miguel Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.

Santa María Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.

El Corte River River in Mexico

El Corte River is the primary tributary of the Coatzacoalcos River, flowing through the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Cerro de Oro Dam, also called the Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado Dam, is on the Santo Domingo River in the San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec municipality of the Papaloapan Region of Oaxaca state in southern Mexico. The dam operates in conjunction with the Miguel Alemán Dam, located on the Tonto River to control floods in the Papaloapan basin in Veracruz state. Construction began in 1973 and the dam was completed in May 1989. About 26,000 people were displaced by the project. Water quality in the reservoir is poor and deteriorating, affecting fish catches.

Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca Range of mountains in Oaxaca state, Mexico

The Sierra Juárez is a range of mountains in Oaxaca state, Mexico between latitudes 17°20'-17°50'N and longitudes 96°15'-97°00'W, with an area of about 1,700 km². It is part of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca. The range is separated from the Sierra de Zongólica to the north by the Santo Domingo River, flowing through the Tecomavaca Canyon. It stretches south-eastward to the Cajones River and the Sierra de Villa Alta. The mountains are in the district of Ixtlán de Juárez in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca region. The range is named after Mexico's only indigenous president, Benito Juárez, who was born here in 1806 in the small village of San Pablo Guelatao. The heavily wooded area is about 62 km (39 mi) from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading towards Tuxtepec.

Istmo de Tehuantepec Region in Oaxaca, Mexico

Istmo de Tehuantepec is the largest region of the state of Oaxaca, located in southwestern Mexico.

Juchitán District District in Oaxaca, Mexico

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Indigenous people of Oaxaca

The Indigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state of Oaxaca, Mexico who were present before the Spanish invasion. Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, of whom the Zapotecs and Mixtecs were perhaps the most advanced, with complex social organization and sophisticated arts.

Malpaso Dam Dam in Tecpatán, Chiapas

The Malpaso Dam, officially known as the Nezahualcóyotl Dam, is located in the Centro region of Chiapas, Mexico near the border with Tabasco and Veracruz. It was the first of several major dams built on the Grijalva River to generate hydroelectric energy and has the second largest reservoir in Mexico, after the Belisario Dominguez Dam. Construction of the dam occurred in the 1960s and flooded not only the riverbed but also hectares of rainforest and farmland, various towns and villages and archeological sites. These include the former town of Quechula, whose 16th century Dominican church will appear when water is at low levels, and the archeological site of San Isidro which contains one of only two known double Mesoamerican ball courts. Commissioning of the dam's 1,080 MW power station began in 1969 and ended in 1977. The reservoir and later construction of a federal highway has spurred ecotourism in the area.

Sima de las Cotorras

Sima de las Cotorras is a sinkhole located in the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve in western Chiapas, southern Mexico. It is one of a number of sinkholes in the area, all produced by tectonic and erosive processes on the region's limestone. Although not the largest and deepest of the area's sinkholes, it is best known because of a tourism project which focuses on the thousands of Mexican green parakeets who live there most of the year, flying in and out in circular patterns.

Chimalapas territory conflict

For more than 500 years, the indigenous Zoque people of Chimalapas in Southern Mexico have been victim of invasions in their territory. Chimalapas is a region with a large biodiversity and due to that it is of interest to, among others, the federal government, state governments, and a variety of companies. Therefore, throughout history several claims have been laid on this area. This goes against the will of the Zoque people, who want to take care of this land as they have done ever since they started living in this area.

The Sierra Atravesada or Sierra de Niltepec is a mountain range in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Belisario Domínguez was one of the municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. It was separated from the municipality of Cintalapa in 2011, although in reality it was a territory that was invaded by logging companies in the 1940s from the Zoque communities of the municipalities of Santa María Chimalapa and San Miguel Chimalapa (Oaxaca). In 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined the suspension of the municipal powers instituted according to the laws of Chiapas in 2015 was lawful, despite the 2013 resolution of that same superior court, which prohibited both Oaxaca and Chiapas from establishing of municipal authorities in the territory. With this and the impossibility of holding elections in 2018, the municipality of Belisario Domínguez was abolished.

Chimalapas montane forests Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Mexico

The Chimalapas montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in southern Mexico. It includes the montane tropical forests of the Chimalapas region on the boundary of Chiapas and Oaxaca.

Selva El Ocote is a biosphere reserve in Mexico. It includes mid-elevation and highland rain forests and extensive caverns.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Selva Zoque". WWF Mexico. Archived from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Selva Zoque" (PDF). Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. Retrieved 2010-06-28.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 A. Townsend Peterson, Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza, Blanca E. Hernández-Baños, Griselda Escalona-Segura, Fanny Rebón-Gallardo, Emir Rodríguez-Ayala, Elsa M. Figueroa-Esquivel and Leonardo Cabrera-García (2003). "The Chimalapas Region, Oaxaca, Mexico: a high-priority region for bird conservation in Mesoamerica". Bird Conservation International. Bird Conservation International 13. 13 (3): 227–253. doi:10.1017/S0959270903003186. hdl: 1808/6533 . Retrieved 2010-06-27.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Emanuel Gómez (March 2002). "El futuro de la Selva Zoque". La Jornada, Suplemento Ojarasca Nº 59 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Selva Zoque-La Sepultura" (PDF) (in Spanish). Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  6. 1 2 3 "Uxpanapa-Chimpalapa Region". The Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Zoques de Oaxaca" (in Spanish). La Unidad del CIESAS Pacífico Sur. Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  8. ↑ Eric Léonard; Emilia Velázquez H. (2000). El sotavento veracruzano (in Spanish). CIESAS. p. 47. ISBN   968-6990-17-8.
  9. ↑ Abisaí J. García-Mendoza, María de Jésus Ordóñez Díaz, Miguel Briones-Salas (2004). Biodiversidad de Oaxaca. UNAM. p. 152. ISBN   970-32-2045-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Thayer Scudder. "A Comparative Survey of Dam-induced Resettlement in 50 Cases" (PDF). California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. 1 2 3 4 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.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. ↑ "- YouTube". YouTube .

Coordinates: 16°56′20.10″N94°46′18.63″W / 16.9389167°N 94.7718417°W / 16.9389167; -94.7718417

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