The administration of Claudia Sheinbaum will face great challenges in environmental matters and according to Dr. Luis Zambranobiologist and researcher at the UNAMIn order to ensure a better quality of life, there are three main areas to be addressed environmental policy effective: the climate changethe water crisis and the ecosystem conservation.
The doctor in ecology explained in an interview to Gatopardo that one of the main challenges is the adaptation to climate changeespecially in vulnerable areas such as Acapulco.
Zambrano noted that the reconstruction of the city after Hurricane Otis in 2023 was carried out with an immediate economic focus, without considering resilience to future disasters. The recent impact of Hurricane John in September 2024, which affected 29 municipalities in Guerrero, exposes the fragility of current strategies.
"(To) improve resilience to external events (requires) a drastic change in territorial management to be clear about where these external events are going to affect the most and where the negative effects can be absorbed," he explained. "That this is not going to promote the economy in the next two years? Well no, but at least Acapulco could be resilient to the effects of climate change in the coming years."
The researcher added that another challenge is the water crisis, since water is an increasingly scarce resource in the country. According to the National Water Commission (Conagua), more than 80% of Mexican territory has experienced some degree of drought in 2024. Agriculture is one of the most affected sectors, putting the country's food security at risk.
"She (Sheinbaum) talks about food production, that we are going to be self-sustainable in corn and beans, but how are we going to do it if there are areas where the 50% of corn went bad due to lack of rain?" he said.
To address this crisis, he proposed a redistribution of crops based on the drought patterns of recent years, so that agricultural production would be more resilient to current climatic conditions.
Zambrano indicated that the loss of natural ecosystems in Mexico has reached critical levels, so this is another major challenge that Sheinbaum's government must face.
Data from the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Conabio) reveal that the country has lost approximately 50% of its ecosystems due to human activities such as agriculture, livestock and mining.
One of the most emblematic environmental programs of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, he said, has been Sowing LifeThe company will have a budget of almost 39 billion pesos in 2024.
Although it is touted as an important action against climate change and biodiversity loss, studies such as that of the World Resource Institute have found that in municipalities where the program was implemented in 2019, 72,000 hectares of forest cover were lost, he said.
"Are we going to continue to think about things that are not ecological like Sembrando Vida or are we going to
Is it really necessary to carry out ecosystem restoration projects that are fundamental for ecological resilience?
The expert considered these three axes as a priority in the administration of Claudia Sheinbaumwho has the challenge of developing a environmental policy to ensure the country's sustainability and resilience to the effects of climate change. climate change.
Source: Gatopardo
