What are the Natural Resources of Mexico?

The Natural resources of Mexico Are based on the great diversity of plants and animals that derive from the variety of climates and regions of the Central American country.

With respect to vegetation types, we can find xerophilous scrubs, grasslands, chaparral, tropical forests, jungles, mangroves, evergreen forests, fog forests, coniferous forests and oak forests. Its great biological diversity is found mainly in the southern states of the country (figure 1).

States-diversity-mexico Figure 1. Major states with biological diversity in Mexico.

In Mexico, 535 species of mammals, 1096 species of birds, 804 species of reptiles, 2692 species of fish, 5387 species of crustaceans, 47,853 species of insects, 25,008 species of vascular plants and 7000 species of fungi have been described.

Of the above list, reptiles are the most numerous in the world (Sarukhán, et al., 2009). However, Mexico also ranks first in the world for endangered species And the first in Latin America by threatened species.

Land use

Land use is the main factor that accelerates the loss of native ecosystems and the country's biodiversity. The activities that propitiate this change are the mining, cattle raising, agriculture or the fruit crops.

Mexico is the main exporter of avocado in the world and its main crops are sorghum, maize and wheat, covering almost 50% of the cultivated area of ​​the country.

However, most of the agricultural soils of Mexico show some degree of erosion, due to monocultures and deforestation. By 2020, more than 2 million hectares of native vegetation are expected to disappear only for the state of Oaxaca (Velazquez et al., 2003).

It should be noted that not all agricultural models harm the soil. In Chiapas, it has been shown that coffee plantations based on agroforestry systems favor the maintenance of biodiversity and a positive effect on production (Soto et al., 2000).

The forest sector contributes only 1.6% of GDP, but Mexico's forests are a very valuable resource that provide endless environmental services such as carbon dioxide capture, climate regulation or water supply to the main Rivers of the country.

Most of the mining activity is located in the northern and central part of the country (figure 2). The main extraction elements are lead, silver, gold, mercury, zinc, copper and molybdenum, iron magnesium and coal. Some important examples are the extraction of copper in Sonora (Harner, 2001) or the extraction of lead, gold, silver and zinc in Michoacán (Chávez et al., 2010).

Mexico mines Figure 2. Mines in Mexico. (García, 2012)

Another factor that has contributed to the loss of biodiversity in Mexico is poaching, leading to the extinction of many species such as the Mexican wolf.

There is currently a regulation for sports hunting, which has become a very important economic activity in the north and north-east of Mexico, focusing on species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), bura deer (Odocoileus hemionus), (Ovis canadensis), boar (Tayassu tajacu), red deer (Cervus elaphus), coyote (Canis latrans), rabbits (Sylvilagusspp), wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), various species of pigeons White winged pigeon, Zenaida asiatica) and various species of ducks. (Naranjo et al., 2010).

Protected Natural Areas (ANPs) are the main instrument for the conservation of diversity in the country (García et al., 2009). As a whole, the ANPs of Mexico (federal, state and municipal) cover 9.85% of the national land area, 22.7% of the territorial sea, 12% of the continental shelf and 1.5% of the exclusive economic zone.

On the other hand, some communities in Mexico also subsist through ecotourism, such as the window community in Oaxaca. Community ecotourism is an option for rural development, which has sometimes proved to be a sustainable activity (Avila, 2002).

Water

Mexico currently has 653 aquifers, of which 288 are available, representing only 44 percent of them. Scarcity and pollution are major water problems in Mexico.

The average availability of water is 4841 m3 per inhabitant per year, an acceptable figure, but with the problem of a very unequal distribution (figure 3). In addition, of the country's 653 aquifers, 104 are overexploited (Sarukhán, et al., 2009, Greenpeace México, 2009).

Water-in-mexico Figure 3. Water availability in Mexico, red colors indicate less availability of water per inhabitant and lighter colors indicates greater availability and less pressure on the resource. (Sarukhan, et al., 2009).

Fisheries and Aquaculture

The main fishing activities in Mexico are shrimp farming and aquaculture of introduced species such as carp and tilapia.

This has led to the local extinction of native species, many of them endemic (Sarukhán, et al., 2009).

Energetic

The national energy capacity is 53,858 MW. The sources of energy generation by its importance are: conventional thermoelectric, 27.8%; (Greenpeace Mexico, 2009) Hydroelectric, 22.6%; Combined cycle PI 17.7%; Combined cycle CFE, 10.8%; Coal 5.6%, turbogas 5.6%; Dual 4.5%; Geothermal and wind-driven, 2.1%; Nuclear 2.9%; Dual and internal combustion 0.4%.

At the end of the last century, Mexico's economy was heavily dependent on Petroleum Which was produced in the country. However, as of 2004, peak production reached 1,208.2 billion barrels (Valdivia and Chacón, 2008) and by 2015 Mexico had a production of 9.812 billion barrels. (CIA, 2015).

References

  1. Avila V.S. Foucat (2002). Community-based ecotourism management moving towards sustainability, in Ventanilla, Oaxaca, Mexico. Ocean & Coastal Management 45 pp. 511-529
  2. CIA (2015). The world factbook. December 19, 2016, from CIA
  3. Chavez C. P., Uribe S. J. A., Razo P. N., Martínez M., Maldonado V. R., Ramos R. Y. and Robles J. (2010). The Impact Of Mining In The Regional Ecosystem: The Mining District Of El Oro And Tlalpujahua, Mexico. De Re Metallica, 15, ISSN: 1577-9033. Pp. 21-34
  4. Figueroa F. and V. Sanchez-Cordero (2008). Effectiveness of natural protected areas to prevent land use and land cover change in Mexico. Biodivers Conserv. 3223-3240.
  5. García Aguirre, Feliciano (2012). Mining in Mexico. Spaces for open-air capital. Theomai, no. 25, pp. 128-136
  6. García Frapollia Eduardo, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández Eduardo Galicia, Arturo Serrano (2009). The complex reality of biodiversity conservation through Natural Protected Area policy: Three cases from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Land Use Policy 26. Pp. 715-722.
  7. Greenpeace Mexico 2009, The Destruction of Mexico The country's environmental reality and climate change, Santa Margarita 227, Col. del Valle, C.P. 03100, Mexico, D.F. Www.greenpeace.org.mx
  8. Harner, J. (2001), Place Identity and Copper Mining in Sonora, Mexico. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 91: 660-680. Doi: 1011111 / 0004-5608.00264.
  9. Naranjo, E. J., J. C. López-Acosta and R. Dirzo (2010), The hunting in Mexico, Biodiversitas. 91. pp. 6-10
  10. Sarukhán, J., et al. 2009. Natural Capital of Mexico. Synthesis: current knowledge, evaluation and sustainability perspectives. National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, Mexico.
  11. Soto P. L., Perfecto I., Castillo H. J., Caballero N. J., (2000), Shade effect on coffee production in the northern Tzeltal zone of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80. pp. 61-69
  12. Valdivia Gerardo Gil and Susana Chacón Domínguez 2008, The Oil Crisis In Mexico, FCCyT, ISBN: 968-9167-09-X
  13. Velazquez A, E. Duran, I. Ramirez, J. F. Mas, G. Bocco, G. Ramirez, J. L. Palacio (2003). Land use-cover change processes in highly biodiverse areas: the case of Oaxaca, Mexico. Global Environmental Change 13. pp. 175-184


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