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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The Mexican Caribbean coastal dune is protected by national and international environmental legislation. However, through permits, concessions and authorizations for changes in land use, the coastal dune has been fragmented or suppressed, mainly for touristic activities, causing a decline in protective and ecological ecosystem services. In this study, we evaluated the strength and weakness of Mexican legislation to protect the Caribbean coastal dune ecosystem and estimated the historical and current effects on coastal dune vegetation and dune geomorphology, associated with legal allowances of land use change in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (SKBR). Legislation at the federal, state and local level were critically reviewed, and with remote sensing techniques and the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), we conducted a case study in the SKBR to estimate coastal dune vegetation alteration trends during the period 2011–2020 and modifications on the dune geomorphology associated with land use change allowances. At the federal (four laws), state (eight laws) and local (nine Local and Territorial Planning Programs (POEL and POET) levels, we found a lack of consensus and alignment between regulations, starting with a lack of definition of ecosystems subject to protection. For coastal dunes, none of them consider topography, ecological function and a way to identify it in the field, making the surveillance highly complex and favoring land use changes, the removal of vegetation and dune geomorphology alteration. Remote sensing techniques showed that areas with land use authorizations exhibit negative vegetation cover trends (Mann–Kendall <−0.4), indicating a decline in vegetation cover density that is mostly anthropogenically induced. The RPAS analysis demonstrated drastic alterations to complete elimination of the coastal dune geomorphology in areas with land use change. In the Mexican Caribbean, the loss of coastal dune and associated ecosystem by the lack of congruent legislation threatens the environmental stability of the coastal areas.

Details

Title
The Environmental Legal Framework of Mexican Caribbean Dunes: A Retrospective Case Study of Vegetation and Coastal Dune Loss in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve
Author
Gayosso-Soto, Eloy 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cohuo, Sergio 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sánchez-Sánchez, Joan Alberto 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Macario-González, Laura 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Villegas-Sánchez, Carmen Amelia 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Medina-Quej, Alejandro 1 ; Tello-Chan, Jorge Manuel 1 ; Cutz-Pool, Leopoldo Querubín 1 ; Castro-Pérez, José Manuel 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT de Chetumal, Av. Insurgentes 330, Chetumal 77013, Quintana Roo, Mexico; [email protected] (E.G.-S.); [email protected] (C.A.V.-S.); [email protected] (A.M.-Q.); [email protected] (J.M.T.-C.); [email protected] (L.Q.C.-P.); [email protected] (J.M.C.-P.) 
 Department of Sustainability Sciences, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Avenida Centenario Km 5.5, Chetumal 77014, Quintana Roo, Mexico; [email protected] 
 Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT de la Zona Maya, Carretera Chetumal-Escárcega Km 21.5, Ejido Juan Sarabia 77965, Quintana Roo, Mexico; [email protected] 
First page
1533
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
2073445X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3110585372
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.