Versión en español (English version follows)
El mes pasado, durante una reunión internacional sobre los lagos del mundo, la presidenta de Amigos del Lago, Alicia Córdova, tuvo que confrontar una amarga realidad: El lago Chapala se conoce hoy como uno de los lagos del planeta con peor gestión.
Cuando nos enteramos de esto, sentimos una terrible vergüenza. No deseamos que nuestro hermoso lago sea un MAL ejemplo para el resto del mundo. Queremos mostrar al mundo que podemos mejorar esta situación.
Nosotros, en Amigos del Lago, pensamos que las comunidades alrededor del lago pueden hacer mucho, a nivel local, para salvar nuestro lago y proteger el futuro de nuestras familias. Creemos que la clave es trabajar juntos con los funcionarios electos, en un espíritu abierto de colaboración y respeto mutuo. Tenemos muchas ideas, al mismo tiempo que ejemplos concretos, de lo que puede hacerse a nivel local–DURANTE EL AÑO PROXIMO—para mejorar la situación.
Con este objecto, vamos ahora planeando una reunión para oficiales nuevos electos de las comunidades alrededor del lago. Después de arreglar toda la logística, incluyendo el programa, vamos a visitar en persona a estos oficiales electos para animarles a participar con nosotros y los expertos invitados de varias disciplinas. Anticipamos que habrán excelentes oportunidades de aprender, discutir, reflexionar y prepararse para hacer una verdadera contribución positiva al mejoramiento del ecosistema del lago durante sus términos de sus gobiernos.
Esperamos que ellos se unirán a nosotros para mejorar nuestro lago.
Los impactos de la agricultura en el Lago de Chapala, serán expuestos en el foro internacional de Living Lakes por Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera, presidenta del Instituto de Derecho Ambiental.
Este foro, que se llevará a cabo en China del 26 de octubre al 6 de noviembre, será el lugar donde la ambientalista aproveche el apoyo de otros grupos, para que el Gobierno federal pida que el Lago de Chapala ingrese a la lista de sitios Ramsar.
“Estamos trabajando muy fuerte, para que el foro de China tome la ficha técnica del Lago de Chápala, para que sea considerado como sitio Ramsar y con esto buscar jalar organismos internacionales a toda la Cuenca Lerma-Santiago Pacífico”.
Last month, at an international meeting about the world’s lakes, Amigos del Lago President Alicia Córdova was confronted with a grim reality: Lake Chapala is now known as one of the worst-managed lakes on the planet.
When we first heard this, we were horribly embarrassed. We don’t want our beautiful Lake Chapala to be a BAD example to the rest of the world. We want to show the world that we can make the situation better.
We at Amigos del Lago believe that communities around the lake can do a lot, at the local level, to save our lake and protect our families’ futures. We believe that the key is to work together with local elected officials, in a spirit of collaboration, openness, and mutual respect. We have lots of ideas, along with concrete examples of what can be done at the local level – in the next year - to start to turn our Lake around.
To that end, we are now planning a conference for newly-elected public officials from communities around the lake. Once the logistics are arranged and a program outline is developed, we will be making personal visits to these elected officials to encourage their participation. We envision wonderful opportunities to learn, discuss, reflect, and prepare to make a truly positive contribution to improving our lakeside environment during their terms of office. We hope they will join us in working to improve our lake and protect its future.
The impacts of agriculture on Lake Chapala will be presented at the international meeting of Living Lakes by Raquel Gutiérrez Nájera, president of the Institute of Environmental Rights.
This meeting, which will take place in China from October 26 through November 6, will be the place where the environmentalist will seek the support of other groups in getting the federal government to seek status for Lake Chapala as a Ramsar site.
“We are working very hard so that the China meeting will use the technical information about Lake Chapala to pull in international organizations to seek Ramsar status for the Lake and support our watershed area.”
“Each year a swath of the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey becomes so devoid of shrimp, fish, and other marine life that it is known as the dead zone. The primary culprit is agricultural fertilizers.” (Source: Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, Blue Gold, p. 34).
“Irrigation accounts for 2/3 of global water use, but less than half of that water reaches the roots of plants. (With drip irrigation, 85-90% reaches the roots.)” (Source: Peter Swanson, Drop of Life, p. 73)
“In Canada, a wealthy country with abundant supplies of water, over one trillion liters of untreated sewage are dumped into waterways each year.” (Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, Blue Gold)
According to a “Water in Mexico” report prepared by Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), 90.7% of the country has drinking water coverage. If this is so, then why does Mexico have the second highest per capita consumption of bottled water in the world???
“Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can cost up to 10,000 times more. At as much as $2.50 per liter ($10 per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline.” (Earth Policy Institute web site, February 2006)
“The United States is the world’s leading consumer of bottled water, with Americans drinking 26 billion liters in 2004, or approximately one 8-ounce glass per person every day. Mexico has the second highest consumption, at 18 billion liters.“ (Earth Policy Institute web site, February 2006)