This is what Rafael Vela, member of CESTA-Friends of the Earth El Salvador and in charge of the Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Program of the organization said to Real World Radio in the International Wetlands Day celebrated on February 2nd. Epígrafe

The lack of regulations by the Environment Ministry has allowed hotels to extract resources and pollute ecosystems with waste, further impoverishing the communities of the area, said Vela.

“When an ecosystem is protected is due to economic interests, instead of the importance of the area and its value in terms of food. The strategies are not clear,” he added.

The environmental activist highlighted that the communities of Jiquilisco Bay have joined efforts and developed on their own a sustainable management system of the wetlands life cycle, aiming to have food resources for the community.

“It’s hard to believe, but we don’t know at national level how vulnerable these ecosystems are,” said Vela, and he added that the environmentalist organization has conducted studies about the fauna present in wetlands, but there are no studies by the authorities.

Photo: avizora.com