MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), which oversees environmental issues in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, will review a complaint on a Mexican rail project in the north of the country, which conservation groups allege did not undergo proper evaluations and crosses an area with endangered species.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Mexico has been fast-tracking plans to develop train lines from the border with the United States to the Riviera Maya to boost tourism.
The environmental complaint is the first submitted under President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, representing an early challenge to her plans to continue the legacy of her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
KEY QUOTES
"The Mexican government is breaking its own laws with this destructive railway, and a commission investigation could ensure that vital jaguar habitat is protected," said Alejandro Olivera, senior scientist and Mexico representative at the Center for Biological Diversity.
"The train line didn't even get approval until more than a year after construction started and Sonora's wild lands had already suffered enormous damage. We need USMCA action on Mexico's negligence, which threatens our delicate borderlands and the very existence of endangered animals like the jaguar and Sonoran mud turtle."
CONTEXT
The area where the train line is being built is the habitat for animals such as ocelots, jaguars, black bears and the Sonoran mud turtle, which is native to the zone.
Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo said last year at a press conference that authorities would work to remedy any environmental damage caused by the train's construction.
Activists have also alleged another train line built by Lopez Obrador, the Mayan Train on the Yucatan Peninsula, has caused massive environmental damage.
WHAT'S NEXT
The CEC has 30 days to decide whether Mexico should respond to the complaint. It could then compile a report, known as a factual record, logging Mexico's compliance or non-compliance with the law.
THE RESPONSE
Mexico's environmental ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.