Mayans Ask Mexican Court to Recognize Lakes as Legal Persons
2024-12-17
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1In the Mexican state of Yucatan, hundreds of underground lakes form a semicircular shape in the northwestern part of Yucatan state.
2They are called the Ring of Cenotes.
3The lakes provide water for the area, but they are also part of a dispute between local people and pig farmers.
4The cenotes are also important to local people who earn a living by leading foreign visitors into the caverns to swim and explore.
5Maribel Ek lives in the community of Homun, near the cenote known as Santa Maria.
6To native Mayans like Ek, cenotes are holy.
7She calls the Sant Maria cenote her "neighbor."
8That belief is behind a legal action, or lawsuit, that aims to have the Ring of Cenotes legally recognized as a person.
9Personhood would give the lakes the same rights and protections of law that human citizens have.
10A Mayan organization called Guardians of the Cenotes has brought the lawsuit.
11It aims to keep large pig farms out of the area because they are affecting the water quality of the underground lakes.
12If the group wins, the lakes will become the first ecosystem in Mexico to be considered a person.
13There have been other such cases worldwide, such as the Whanganui River in New Zealand or the Komi Memem River in the Brazilian Amazon.
14Ek is a member of the Guardians group.
15The threats to cenotes have been growing.
16Cities in Yucatan are growing and there are new breweries and soybean fields in the area.
17But what most worries the Guardians of the Cenotes are the pig farms.
18Mexico's Ministry of the Environment reports that 507 pig farms are operating near the Ring of Cenotes.
19There is little to no control over what happens to the thousands of liters of water containing pig waste from the farms.
20Yameli Aguilar is a biologist from the Autonomous University of Yucatan.
21He said the polluted water goes into the aquifer.
22A study carried out last year by the Ministry of the Environment found E. coli bacteria in 20 cenotes near pig farms.
23The state has named the land a natural protected area, and it is an important wetland.
24Lourdes Medina is a lawyer who represents the Guardians in the legal case.
25She said the government still has failed to prevent "serious contamination" from taking place.
26Ek and others created the Guardians of the Cenotes group to lead the fight against one pig farm built near Homun in 2017.
27They organized protests and legal actions without any effect.
28A year later, six children from Homun brought a case demanding their right to water and a healthy environment. A judge ordered the farm closed.
29In 2022, the group began its personhood legal action.
30If successful, it would affect 52 communities within the Ring of Cenotes.
31A Yucatan state judge has ordered officials not to give permission to any project that could affect the area until the lawsuit is settled.
32That could happen at the beginning of next year.
33Pig farms and other large industries come to the area because of the availability of water.
34The farms use a lot of water to cool the animals and clean their waste.
35The industry says it is not causing the contamination.
36Carlos Ramayo Navarrete is director of the Pig Farmers Association in Merida.
37It represents the largest pig farms in Yucatan.
38He said the problem comes from a lack of drainage systems in cities and small pig farmers.
39Navarrete said small pig farms are not as officially regulated as the big farms he represents.
40He said around half the water the farms use is reused.
41In addition, he said all of the farms have treatment systems to reduce pollution in their wastewater.
42The remaining water is then used as fertilizer.
43However, both the Ministry of the Environment and Aguilar, the biologist, have said that the measures taken by the industry are still not enough.
44Back in Homun, Maribel Ek enjoys swimming in the waters of the cenote.
45She said that she has learned the cenote is "a blessing, a dark hole that becomes a friend," and she added "That's why we demand rights for our cenotes."
46I'm Jill Robbins.
1In the Mexican state of Yucatan, hundreds of underground lakes form a semicircular shape in the northwestern part of Yucatan state. They are called the Ring of Cenotes. The lakes provide water for the area, but they are also part of a dispute between local people and pig farmers. 2The cenotes are also important to local people who earn a living by leading foreign visitors into the caverns to swim and explore. 3Maribel Ek lives in the community of Homun, near the cenote known as Santa Maria. To native Mayans like Ek, cenotes are holy. She calls the Sant Maria cenote her "neighbor." 4That belief is behind a legal action, or lawsuit, that aims to have the Ring of Cenotes legally recognized as a person. Personhood would give the lakes the same rights and protections of law that human citizens have. 5A Mayan organization called Guardians of the Cenotes has brought the lawsuit. It aims to keep large pig farms out of the area because they are affecting the water quality of the underground lakes. 6If the group wins, the lakes will become the first ecosystem in Mexico to be considered a person. There have been other such cases worldwide, such as the Whanganui River in New Zealand or the Komi Memem River in the Brazilian Amazon. 7Ek is a member of the Guardians group. 8Polluting the waters 9The threats to cenotes have been growing. Cities in Yucatan are growing and there are new breweries and soybean fields in the area. But what most worries the Guardians of the Cenotes are the pig farms. 10Mexico's Ministry of the Environment reports that 507 pig farms are operating near the Ring of Cenotes. There is little to no control over what happens to the thousands of liters of water containing pig waste from the farms. 11Yameli Aguilar is a biologist from the Autonomous University of Yucatan. He said the polluted water goes into the aquifer. 12A study carried out last year by the Ministry of the Environment found E. coli bacteria in 20 cenotes near pig farms. 13The state has named the land a natural protected area, and it is an important wetland. Lourdes Medina is a lawyer who represents the Guardians in the legal case. She said the government still has failed to prevent "serious contamination" from taking place. 14Ek and others created the Guardians of the Cenotes group to lead the fight against one pig farm built near Homun in 2017. They organized protests and legal actions without any effect. A year later, six children from Homun brought a case demanding their right to water and a healthy environment. A judge ordered the farm closed. 15In 2022, the group began its personhood legal action. If successful, it would affect 52 communities within the Ring of Cenotes. A Yucatan state judge has ordered officials not to give permission to any project that could affect the area until the lawsuit is settled. 16That could happen at the beginning of next year. 17What do the pig farmers say? 18Pig farms and other large industries come to the area because of the availability of water. The farms use a lot of water to cool the animals and clean their waste. 19The industry says it is not causing the contamination. Carlos Ramayo Navarrete is director of the Pig Farmers Association in Merida. It represents the largest pig farms in Yucatan. He said the problem comes from a lack of drainage systems in cities and small pig farmers. Navarrete said small pig farms are not as officially regulated as the big farms he represents. 20He said around half the water the farms use is reused. In addition, he said all of the farms have treatment systems to reduce pollution in their wastewater. The remaining water is then used as fertilizer. 21However, both the Ministry of the Environment and Aguilar, the biologist, have said that the measures taken by the industry are still not enough. 22What will the future bring? 23Back in Homun, Maribel Ek enjoys swimming in the waters of the cenote. She said that she has learned the cenote is "a blessing, a dark hole that becomes a friend," and she added "That's why we demand rights for our cenotes." 24I'm Jill Robbins. 25Teresa de Miguel reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 26______________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28cavern - n. a large cave 29ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 30brewery - n. a company that makes beer 31aquifer - n. a layer of rock or sand that holds a lot of water 32contamination -n. when a substance, like pollution, gets into places where it is not supposed to be 33drainage -n. related to systems that carry rain or wastewater away from streets and buildings 34regulate - v. to make rules or laws that control activities like business or travel 35What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.