Expert says exponential growth threatens coastal ecosystems in Yucatan

The National School of Higher Studies (ENES) trains professionals Mérida to solve problems in the coastal areas of Yucatan.

Merida, Yucatan, (December 03, 2021).- Yucatán is growing exponentially in the economic sphere and in industrial activities, so there is an over-exploitation of biotic resources that threaten coastal and marine ecosystems, warned María Leticia Arena Ortiz, Ph.D., coordinator of the Degree in Sustainable Management of Coastal zones, taught at the National School of Higher Studies (ENES), of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

To face these challenges, the degree offers training for professionals who can provide solutions to the problems of the coastal zone, with a focus on human rights and prioritizing the environment over economic growth. 

“Those graduates are interlocutors who can influence political decisions in terms of public health, tourism, environment to guide solutions based on the knowledge of the coastal ecosystem,” said Arena Ortiz

The career in Sustainable Management of Coastal Zones is unique in the country and was created in 2006 to be taught at the Multidisciplinary Unit of Teaching and Research of Sisal, Yucatán. Since 2018 the ENES Mérida and the Faculty of Sciences of the UNAM share the academic responsibility of its conduction.

Arena Ortiz explained that when doing an analysis in the coastal area of ​​Yucatán, they realized that it was evident and necessary to develop a degree that would allow training human resources to face the accelerated deterioration of ecosystems. 

According to the master in biological sciences, from an environmental point of view, the state is very special, due to its aquifer mantle, the water that flows to the coast and the importance of coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and wetlands. 

Why pursue this career?

It is a degree, she stressed, which has many disciplines. It is designed considering a close interaction of the social, economic, environmental, economic spheres; and thus approaches the problems from these points of view. 

In turn, she said that the objective is that graduates can understand what is happening in the environment and be able to analyze; propose comprehensive solutions with an innovative vision and a scientific culture. 

The degree has a duration of 10 semesters, it consists of 10 subjects that are only theoretical and 22 that are theoretical-practical; Students work in laboratories, on the coast, at sea, or inland to have contact with resources, people, and activities. 

The researcher suggested that those interested in this discipline have a little knowledge of the biological, health, social, and humanities sciences, in addition to being aware that they will dedicate a full time. 

“When the student graduates, they have the ability to understand, from different points of view, how an ecosystem works, what would happen if it is decided to build a golf course in the middle of the mangrove and what will be its impact on society, at the level of risk to public health ”, she stated. 

Thus, in the end, students will be able to insert themselves in governmental instances or in the educational field to pay for the problems that affect marine ecosystems; that derive from government decisions or private companies, which many times destroyed. 

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Source: La Jornada Maya