Poza de la Becerra: en ecosystem in agony.

Authors: Arturo González, Jorge Fanti

Year: 2025

Abstract

When will this wonderful place disappear if we don’t act? Since 1999, we have been monitoring some parameters of this unique ecosystem, and the news is not good at all. The dramatic drops in the water table in the area surrounding the body of water are alarming. The presence of cracks and the clear drying out of the soil present a desolate landscape that has led to the total loss of the important Garabatal wetland and river. We have lost this unique wetland forever. Inside the small body of water that remains, things couldn’t be worse; the increasing sedimentation is clogging the crack from which the springs of the pool emerge. In addition, the presence of green clouds, the result of a proliferation of bacteria and algae, has taken away the transparency that characterized this body of water. Now, widespread turbidity is observed with terrible consequences for the flora and fauna that barely survive and develop there. What caused all this? The widespread abuse in water extraction, the negligence and bureaucracy of the authorities, and the general lack of interest are about to deliver the final blow to this wonderful ecosystem. Only by taking urgent measures could we save a small fraction of what this enigmatic ecosystem once was.