As part of the commitment with the people of Jalisco to guarantee the right to have a healthy environment, the State Government formally presented before the Attorney General of the Republic Jalisco
Delegation, two criminal complaints derived from the recent forest fires.
The first case corresponds to the fires that occurred on May 18 in the vicinity (inside and outside) of the La Primavera Forest Flora and Fauna Protection Area.
Due to the conditions in which these fires took place, it is presumed that they were caused, since they happened almost simultaneously at various points that are not close; so it is believed to be impossible that any of them were an extension or displacement of any other. This coupled with the fact that they were generated where there is no agricultural activity and in some cases they are places far from towns, where there is no possibility of starting from a building structure.
The other complaint was filed for crimes against the environment and environmental management, after having corroborated the existence of a plantation of agave specimens in an area recently burned in the Cerro de la Concha, within the Protected Natural Area of the La Primavera Forest.
It should be noted that in relation to this same case, the State Attorney for Environmental Protection (Proepa,) in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Development (Semadet,) the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office, the Decentralized Public Agency, Bosque La Primavera, and the Tlajomulco de Zúñiga City Council came to verify the alleged change in land use to gather evidence.
On Friday, May 14, Proepa presented a formal complaint of the facts before the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), the competent body to turn a procedure against the owner or person in charge of the property. Faced with this complaint, Profepa, in the company of personnel from the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas, carried out an inspection visit which led to the closure of the site, initiating the corresponding investigations in order to impute responsibilities.
The Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Tlajomulco de Zúñiga City Council also placed closure stamps on the property.
It is very important to mention that both municipal, state, and federal authorities are obliged to abide by the processes established by law, which is why, before filing any type of sanction, a prior inspection procedure must be carried out by the competent authority.
The law establishes that in the case of carrying out unauthorized activities on forest lands, the removal of non-endemic species is determined by the federal authority, this in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA), as well as the General Law of Sustainable Forestry Development. This as a security measure and restoration of the ecosystem in the face of the impact suffered from unauthorized use.
The reason for which Proepa filed the complaint lies in article 97 of the General Law of Sustainable Forest Development (LGDFS), establishing that “authorization to change the use of land on burned land may not be granted without 20 years having passed and the Secretariat being accredited that the vegetation affected has been regenerated, by means of the mechanisms that, for this purpose, are established in the Regulations of this Law.”
Based on the foregoing, Proepa has filed five complaints with Profepa this year with 21 sites where possible unauthorized land use changes were detected in the municipalities of: Unión de San Antonio, Ayotlán, San Diego de Alejandría, San Ignacio Cerro Gordo, Tepatitlán, Yahualica, and San Miguel El Alto.
The State Government emphasized they will continue to carry out surveillance and collaboration actions with other entities, to protect the forests of our state.
In situations like this, the citizen complaint is of the utmost importance to take action, so we appreciate the interest of the people and invite them to make their report to Proepa through the telephone numbers 33 30 30 82 50 extensions 56241 and 56242 , or at 33 11 99 75 50, or by the SEMADET email; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..