CMSA supports Cuyutlán lagoon conservation
José Antonio Contreras, CMSA chief executive officer, (far left) with Colima Governor Indira Vizcaino (center), and Angélica Lizeth Jiménez, Environment and Sustainable Development of the State of Colima director.
José Antonio Contreras, Contecon Manzanillo S.A. (CMSA) Chief Executive Officer, recently signed a collaboration agreement with Colima Governor Indira Vizcaino and Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development of the State of Colima Director Angélica Lizeth Jiménez to sponsor vessels III and IV of the Cuyutlán Lagoon as part of the company’s carbon neutrality strategy.
Under the agreement, CMSA will allocate financial resources for the conservation and reforestation of the lagoon, which is an important wetland located on the coasts of the Mexican Pacific. By supporting the lagoon’s rehabilitation, CMSA aims to increase its carbon capture in line with the pledge to achieve emission neutrality. CMSA made the commitment a year ago after becoming the first container terminal in North America to achieve ISO 14064-3 Carbon Neutrality certification.
“With this new step, we strengthen our commitment to the environment by positively impacting our environment. Colima is a valuable place for us, and the Cuyutlán Lagoon is a special area of national ecological importance. We are very pleased to be working with the state government towards this important goal,” said Mr. Contreras.
He added: “Being carbon neutral is one of our goals, and to achieve this, we must offset all our emissions. With the allocation of financial resources to the conservation and reforestation of the Cuyutlán Lagoon, we will achieve this neutrality. We are very excited and positive about this great project, which we share with all our customers and users who, if they wish, can support through the certification of their containers.”
For her part, Governor Vizcaino highlighted the importance of the undertaking and explained that “coastal wetlands, including mangroves, absorb a significant amount of greenhouse emissions. When these ecosystems are cut down, the problem of climate change is accentuated as even more carbon is released into the atmosphere.”
CMSA also signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Colima, represented by its rector Dr. Christian Torres Ortiz Zermeño and his team of researchers headed by Dr. Óscar Javier Solorio Pérez. The university researchers will carry out the necessary technical studies to identify the carbon capture capacity of the Cuyutlán Lagoon.
Mr. Contreras with Dr. Christian Torres Ortiz Zermeño (fourth from left) at the agreement signing between CMSA and Unibersidad de Colima.
“Contecon Manzanillo, with its pioneering strategy of carbon neutrality in Mexico, opens a new way in which companies can impact the environment with clear conservation and reforestation plans in areas of great ecological value like the Cuyutlán Lagoon. We are proud to be part of this project,” said Dr. Zermeño.
The Cuyutlán Lagoon is situated parallel to the coast of Colima in the central Pacific region. It has an area of 7,200 hectares, which covers the municipalities of Manzanillo, Tecomán and Armería. The lagoon represents 90 percent of Colima’s wetlands, and is registered as a priority marine and hydrological region for biological research and conservation of mangroves according to the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use Biodiversity (CONABIO).
Cuyutlán is home to ecologically important species such as four mangrove species including the red and white mangroves, which are categorized as threatened in the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. The area is also home to a great variety of fauna and reptiles, and serves as a biological corridor for birds in the region.
In January 2011, Vessels III and IV of the lagoon achieved RAMSAR Site status for having areas that support endangered and vulnerable species, threatened ecological communities, plant and animal species that are important in maintaining the biological diversity of the region; and a population of more than 20,000 aquatic and migratory birds.
This type of ecosystem has very important environmental benefits for humans because they function as natural barriers that stop the erosion of beaches, control floods, protect against hurricanes and storms, capture carbon, and generate nutrients for other ecosystems.