SEMARNAT Sets 2014-2015 Whale Watching Season

banderasnews.com

El Sol de Nayarit
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October 21, 2014

Pacific Humpback Whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds off the coast of Alaska to the warmer waters of Puerto Vallarta every year between December and March. (Larry Bennett Photography)

Nayarit, Mexico - The Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) recently announced the 2014-2015 whale watching season in the Pacific Ocean.

The notice indicates that in Baja California whale watching activities may be carried out in Bahia de Todos Santos and Ensenada from December 15, 2014 to May 15, 2015.

In Baja California Sur, whale watching season in Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos, Magdalena Bay, Bahía Santa María and Isla Magdalena in the municipality of Comondú; as well as Puerto Chale and Magdalena Bay in La Paz, will be from January 1 to April 30, 2015.

Whale watching season is open at the Loreto Bay National Park in the municipality of the same name from January 1 to May 30, and from December 15 to April 30 in the Reserva de la Biosfera el Vizcaíno, Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Laguna de San Ignacio and Punta Eugenia.

These activities may be carried out in Los Cabos at the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Cabo San Lucas, Cabo Pulmo National Park, Los Frailes-Cabo Pulmo and San Jose del Cabo from December 15, 2014 to April 15, 2015.

The notice, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on September 29, says that areas for observation in Nayarit are Compostela (Rincon de Guayabitos) and San Blas-Isla Isabel, and that whale watching season in these areas is from December 8, 2014 to March 23, 2015.

The same period is indicated for Banderas Bay, with two restricted areas due to the concentration of whales with calves: a 1.5 mile radius around the Marietas Islands and the two mile wide coastal strip from Punta Mita to the mouth of the Ameca River.

In Tenacatita Bay, Jalisco, you can observe whales from December 8, 2014 to March 23, 2015, while in the Mazatlan-Teacapan zone of Sinaloa you can take a whale watching tour from December 15, 2014 to April 15, 2015.

Original article translated and edited by María Francesca for BanderasNews.com.

Planting of Genetically Modified Soybeans Blocked

by Murry Page

1 Aug 14 

mazmessenger.com

 

In response to the amparo granted to beekeeping organizations, farmers and environmentalists, a district judge in Yucatán overturned a permit issued by the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) to Monsanto to plant genetically modified [GM] soybeans in Yucatán. For now, the planting of GM soybeans in the state of Yucatán is prohibited.

This ruling joins similar decisions issued in Campeche in March and April of 2014 in favor of Maya beekeepers.

In February of 2012 various beekeeping organizations sued SAGARPA and SEMARNAT (Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources) on the grounds that permitting the commercial planting of GM soybeans is unconstitutional. Nonetheless, in June of 2012, SAGARPA, with SEMARNAT support, authorized the commercial planting of 235 hectares [581 acres] of GM soybeans in seven states, including Yucatán.

A spokesperson for the beekeeping organizations said the ruling exposes the violation committed by SEMARNAT in supporting the planting of GM soybeans in contradiction of negative rulings by official technical authorities who are experts in the field. In this case, as in many cases of experimental plantings of GM maize [corn], SEMARNAT decided to ignore the fact that the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the National Institute of Ecology (INE) made the ruling that the planting of GM soybeans on the Yucatán Peninsula should not be authorized, given the risks involved.

(from La Jornada)

Conoce los decibeles permitidos en zonas residenciales

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03 de Enero del 2014 | Editorial Metroscubicos

La Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat) dio a conocer el acuerdo por el que establecen los límites máximos permisibles de emisión de ruido para las zonas residenciales, industriales, comerciales, escuelas, ceremonias, festivales y eventos de entretenimiento.

La modificación al numeral 5.4 de la Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-081-semarnat-1994, establece que para la zona residencial el límite máximo permisible de nivel de sonido de ponderación "A" emitido por fuentes fijas es de 55 decibeles (dB) entre las 6:00 y las 22:00 horas y de 50 de las 22:00 a las 6:00 horas.

El documento publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación que entró en vigor el 4 de diciembre pasado precisa que para las zonas industriales y comerciales el límite máximo permisible es de 68 decibeles entre las 6:00 a 22:00 horas y de 65 de 22:00 a 6:00 horas.

El límite máximo permisible del nivel sonoro en escuelas durante el juego será de 55 decibeles y en ceremonias, festivales y eventos de entretenimiento, de 100 durante cuatro horas.

Equivalencia en decibeles 

Nivel de intensidad del sonido

200 dB	Bomba atómica
180 dB	Explosión de volcán / Cohete en despegue
140 dB	Umbral del dolor
137.5 dB	Récord Guiness de ruido en un estadio
130 dB	Avión en despegue
120 dB	Motor de avión en marcha
110 dB	Concierto / acto cívico
100 dB	Perforadora eléctrica
90 dB	Tráfico / Pelea de dos personas
80 dB	Tren
70 dB	Aspiradora
50/60 dB	Aglomeración de gente / Lavaplatos
40 dB	Conversación
20 dB	Biblioteca
10 dB	Respiración tranquila
0 dB	Umbral de audición

Mexico's Semarnat green lights Veracruz port expansion

By Rebecca Conan - Friday, November 22, 2013

bnamericas.com

Mexico's environment ministry, Semarnat, has approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for expansion of Veracruz port, clearing the way for the project to be tendered, according to a release from Semarnat.

The 25bn peso (US$1.92bn) project will initially involve the construction of a 2,800m dock with up to eight 350m berths to the north of the existing port. First phase construction will increase capacity by 250mn TEUs. Second phase development will consist of the construction of a new breakwater and up to 35 additional berths.

Expansion of the Veracruz port will be one of the largest infrastructure projects to be carried out during Enrique Peña Nieto's administration.

In order to make way for the port expansion, the previous administration excluded some 1,191ha of reef from the protected area in the Vergara bay and Punta Gorda.

This decision was challenged by a group of environmentalists and academics and so Semarnat's review of the EIA was put on hold.

Semarnat's approval of the project is subject to a series of conditions including the creation of an environmental monitoring program and inter-governmental committee to oversee its compliance. Am integrated sanitation program for the Vergara bay must also be developed.

The transport and communications ministry (SCT) also confirmed that it will ensure the construction of a wastewater treatment plant to prevent vessels from contaminating the water, implement biological monitoring and use cutting-edge dredging equipment to minimize sediment dispersion.