The importance of good management of forests, water and fishery resources
Water, forests and fishery resources provide a wide variety of ecosystem services that are essential to human well-being (e.g., food supply, drinking water, recreation, oxygen, shelter). At the same time, they are the habitat and food of thousands of other terrestrial and marine species that inhabit the planet.
Let's imagine: what would happen if we didn't have fish in the sea? , how many people engaged in fishing would be out of work? , how many nutrients would we stop consuming if there were no fish in the sea? , what would happen if we ran out of those big trees that provide us with oxygen and that, in turn, collect carbon dioxide to be able to breathe better quality air? Without forests to regulate the water cycle, droughts and floods would be devastating. We would not have wood to build houses and furniture; and of course, we would be deprived of an endless supply of food and medicine. Don't even wonder what would happen if we didn't have water, because as we all know, life without water is not possible.
Despite their enormous importance, our natural resources are increasingly deteriorated, overexploited and contaminated by various causes and pressures, mainly related to human activities. The management of natural resources is being so poor that, despite the fact that they have the capacity to self-regenerate naturally, the action of the human being on them is causing their consumption to be taking place at a speed greater than their regeneration.
The ability for future generations to continue to take advantage of these resources depends to a large extent on how we manage them in the present, that is, on how we manage them, exploit them in a sustainable way and conserve them for the short and long term.
The management of natural resources is everyone's responsibility
The sustainable management of natural resources is a complex issue because it involves different political, social, economic, environmental and cultural aspects at different scales. Delegating only to the government the responsibility for managing and controlling the use of natural resources to guarantee the common good has resulted in inefficient or inequitable distribution and management strategies, so this management should be a shared task between different sectors of society, government and academia.
Let's just review some general figures of the situation in which our natural resources find themselves after decades of being managed by the State:
- In Mexico, the equivalent of more than 20,000 football fields are deforested annually (1). It was estimated that in 2019 alone, the cost of deforestation and forest degradation in the country amounted to more than 164 billion pesos (2).
- 115 of Mexico's 653 aquifers are overexploited, in approximately 69 of the 757 hydrological basins the concession flow is greater than that of renewable water (deficit situation) and surface water is contaminated by waste, municipal and industrial discharges, as well as agrochemicals (3).
- In Mexico, 46.3% of fishing resources are being used to the maximum, 28.6% are overfished, 18.3% collapsed, and only 6.9% are under development (4).
For this reason, in recent decades, emphasis has been placed on the use of a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach that involves the participation of society in the governance of natural resources. To achieve this, a first step is to have up-to-date, complete and accessible information on: who is making use of the resources? , how much are they taking advantage of? , what are the maximum limits allowed? , how is its use being controlled? All these questions proposed by civil society, indigenous ethnic groups, small producers, community organizations, scientists and other social actors are fundamental to strengthening and improving the sustainable management of natural resources, both at the local, regional and global levels.
Promoting transparency and citizen participation in the management of natural resources
Within the framework of the 4th action plan of the Open Government Alliance (AGA), the commitment “Strengthening transparency in forest, water and fishing management” is being developed, in which there is a commitment by the government agencies responsible for managing these three resources to improve the transparency of information regarding concessions, subsidies and inspection and surveillance actions. This considering the results of the ITRN 2020 [1], in which only 0.29/1 was reached (where “0” means that the information is opaque and “1” transparent).
It also establishes a commitment to open permanent spaces for citizen participation to monitor the transparency of the management of the water, forestry and fishing sectors. On June 3, 2021, Transparency Monitoring Groups opened a call for new members of society interested in public policy and transparency issues to be part of them and, together with civil society organizations Causa Natura, CartoCrítica, Fund for Environmental Communication and Education and Reforestation Mexico, to promote the right of access to public information, transparency and accountability in government institutions within the water sectors, fishing and forestry.
The AGA's commitment, which until now has been launched for a year and a half, has been a space for
co-creation that has allowed a constant dialogue between government and civil society. It has laid an
important foundation in terms of transparency and citizen participation for all three sectors, which opens up a great
window of opportunity to move from centralized to systemic approaches in the way we manage our natural resources.
If you are interested in participating in monitoring groups, review the call at: https://participa.funcionpublica.gob.mx/gruposdemonitoreobosquesaguaypesca/
Bibliography
(1) WEEK. (2020). Annual rate of change of forest area. Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources-National System of Environmental Information and Natural Resources.
(2) INEGI (2019). Ecological: Total Costs for Depletion and Degradation (CTADA).
(3) Government of Mexico. (2020). National Water Program 2020-2024. Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources- National Water Commission. Mexico City, Mexico.
(4) Arreguín-Sanchez, F., & Arcos-Huitrón, E. (2011). Fishing in Mexico: state of exploitation and use of ecosystems. Hydrobiological, 21 (3), 431-462.
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