Ecobreves – MEXICO: A Highway Challenge

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Oct 6 2008 (IPS) - Mexican authorities approved the construction of 62 kilometers of highway in a forested area outside the capital, but environmentalists are preparing legal action and mobilizations, charging that the road would destroy a biodiverse area that is also essential for water production. “The project can still be stopped; it's false that we have lost the battle,” Héctor Magallón, head of the forests campaign for Greenpeace Mexico, told Tierramérica.

Construction of the highway is slated to begin before the end of this year, says the Transportation Secretariat of Mexico state. Federal environmental officials have already given the green light for the project.

The highway is to cross an area known as the Great Water Forest, which extends across 120,000 hectares.

The authorities say the environmentalists' complaints are based on erroneous information.