Submission

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws with regard to unauthorized land use change and water extraction.

The Submitter asserts that Mexico is failing to address the environmental impacts of a ceramics factory, including unauthorized forest land use change to build the factory, inadequate environmental impact assessment, the unauthorized development of water wells, and the alleged lack of water extraction concessions for the factory’s operations. Accordingly, the Submitter alleges that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce land use change laws to authorize the forest clearing activities that are alleged to have occurred on the site. The Submitter makes similar allegations regarding the failure to effectively enforce water laws for the development of wells and water extraction, raising concerns about the overexploitation of the aquifer in the Valle de Tulancingo region.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

The Submitter cites provisions from the Mexican Constitution, the General Act on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente), the General Act on Sustainable Forest Development (Ley General de Desarrollo Forestal Sustentable), and the National Waters Act (Ley de Aguas Nacionales) and related regulations.

Submitter(s):

The name of the Submitter is protected from disclosure in accordance with ECA Article 16(1)(a)