The Usumacinta river It is a Mesoamerican basin that is constituted as an international river as it is located north of Guatemala and south of Mexico, on the Yucatan peninsula in the territory that in ancient times was occupied by the Mayan culture.
The Usumacinta river basin occupies 106,000 kmtwo of territory, of which 42% corresponds to the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche; and the remaining 58% belongs to the Guatemalan departments of Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta Verapaz and Petén.
It has an approximate length of 728.85 km (from the Passion River) and deposits an annual average of 105.2 billion m3 of fresh water in the Gulf of Mexico, representing 30% of the country's water resource reserve, this being its largest river.
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Archaeological records mark the birth in Mesoamerica of the Mayan civilization in 3,300 BC. During approximately 4,800 years of history, until the arrival of the Spanish in 1519, it developed architectural monuments, mathematical, astronomical, agricultural and forestry systems that bear witness to its advanced technical and cultural development..
At its peak, the Mayan culture used the waters of the Usumacinta basin as a pantry and the main means of communication for its commercial exchange with other ethnic groups in the region..
The colonizers of the viceroyalty of New Spain left the river communications through the Usumacinta with the Captaincy General of Guatemala in disuse, since in its waters they were more vulnerable to the attacks of the aborigines who took refuge in the thick of the jungle..
Around 1870 the commercial exploitation of the forest resources of the Lacandon jungle began, making use of the Usumacinta to take the raw material to the seaports for commercialization..
Logging opened new exploration routes that were exploited by thieves of archaeological treasures and hunters who with their voracity caused the extinction of many native species and placed many others in danger..
In 1970 oil exploitation began in the Mexican state of Tabasco and with it an intense colonization of spaces of virgin nature for housing and industrial development.
By 1990, low oil prices, coupled with the pressure generated in the market by countries with higher production, burst the bubble and led PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos) to a crisis that produced massive layoffs.
This fact and the high environmental costs led the Mexican state to initiate a new phase in its relationship with the Usumacinta River, implementing new policies aimed at the development of ecological tourism..
The Usumacinta river basin is a cultural treasure. The territory it occupies on the Yucatan Peninsula was dominated in ancient times by the Mayans. This civilization stands out not only for its advanced architectural capabilities -which are evidenced in its monuments located in the jungle-, its knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, but also for the balance they achieved to take advantage of natural resources, always working with great environmental awareness..
The governments of Guatemala and Mexico have agreed to decree various areas of the basin as protected areas, in order to protect the archaeological treasures and the biodiversity of the ecosystems that the river generates in its journey..
It is estimated that 32% of the total area of the basin is protected under the biosphere reserve figures, natural monuments, flora and fauna refuges, national parks and ecological reserves..
Considering its size, the Guatemalan government has more protected areas than its Mexican counterpart. However, conservationists claim that more land and water areas should be included in this group to ensure more effective long-term protection..
Some of the protected areas in Guatemala are the Mayan biosphere reserve, within which there are two national parks, Sierra del Lacandón and Laguna del Tigre; and the ecological reserves of San Román, Pucté and Dos Pilas.
The most important protected areas in Mexico are the Pantanos de Centla, where the Catazajá, Chan Kín, Metzabok and Nahá wetlands are located. Also the Lacantún and Montes Azules biosphere reserves, the Usumacinta river canyon and the archaeological zones of Bonampak and Yaxchilán, considered natural monuments..
Only the Chixoy-Pueblo Viejo Hydroelectric is located on the Usumacinta riverbed, built between 1976 and 1985 in Guatemalan territory with great social cost. The displacement of the settlers (the majority belonging to native Mayan communities) and the loss of their ancestral livelihoods, added to the environmental cost of the flooding of the dam..
Currently, the Chixoy-Pueblo Viejo hydroelectric plant generates 300 MW and it is estimated that with an approximate flow of 1,700 m3/ s, the Usumacinta River has an electrical energy production potential of 1,850 MW.
Since the 1970s, the Mexican government has studied various points of interest on the Usumacinta channel for hydroelectric development. Until now, they have found an important and organized social resistance in defense of the rights of the inhabitants, as well as conservationists of the ecosystems of the jungle and swamps..
The efforts of the regional governments to conserve the ecosystems of the Usumacinta basin can barely alleviate the damage caused by the advancement of forestry, agricultural, oil and livestock operations.
It is estimated that at least 36% of the territory of the basin has been transformed by deforestation for the use of wood or soil for agricultural and agricultural use, or by colonization and the location of structures for oil exploitation.
To these activities are added the social and environmental costs generated by the construction of communication routes. These routes not only seek to link the production sites of raw materials with the cities for their transformation and commercialization, but also to connect the cities with important tourist centers to increase their attractiveness..
The Usumacinta River is born in the Highlands of Guatemala, approximately 950 meters above sea level in the territory of the department of Huehuetenango, north of this Central American country, in the territory known as the Chixoy or Negro River..
At its confluence with the Passion River -its main tributary-, it is properly named Usumacinta. This meeting takes place in the Guatemalan department of Petén, in a place of great importance for the Mayan culture known as Altar de los Sacrificios..
Its waters flow through the Guatemalan departments of Huehuetenango (if the Chixoy River is taken into account). Continuing west-east direction, it crosses Quiché and reaches the center of Alta Verapaz where it heads north. From Alta Verapaz it passes to Petén, where it forms the binational border between Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, traveling approximately 200 km.
In Mexican territory, it crosses the states of Chiapas and Tabasco to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. Through the delta, it converges with the Grijalva river.
Specialists have conflicting opinions regarding the length of the Usumacinta River. Some consider the Chixoy River as part of it, others affirm that the river is born at the confluence with the Passion River. The Chixoy-Usumacinta River has an approximate length of 1,100 km, which makes it worthy of the title of the longest river in Mesoamerica.
According to 2010 data, approximately 1,776,232 inhabitants live in the Usumacinta basin, shared between Guatemala and Mexico. More than 60% of the population lives in towns of less than 1,000 people and the majority belong to indigenous ethnic groups descended from the Mayans..
Among the most important cities that are directly in its channel, specifically in the Mexican state of Tabasco, are Tenosique de Pino Suárez with 32,579 inhabitants, Balancán de Domínguez with 13,030 inhabitants and Emiliano Zapata with 20,030 inhabitants, according to the 2010 census..
The Usumacinta is the largest river in Mexico. On its way it feeds on streams, Guatemalan and Mexican rivers, among which La Pasión (main tributary), Ixcan, Cala, Lacantún, Baja Verapaz, Petén, Copón, Chajul, Quiché, San Román, Alta Verapaz and Icbolay stand out..
Various climatic types develop along the Usumacinta riverbed that shape it and determine the flora that is present in the area. The Grijalva and Usumacinta river basin together represent the most important reservoir of biodiversity in Mexico. The abundance of the water resource and its rhythms are critical factors in the current maintenance and long-term subsistence of the entire ecosystem.
The Usumacinta River enters the Lacandon jungle as it passes through the Mexican state of Chiapas. A humid and warm climate predominates with temperatures that vary between 18 and 26 ° C. The precipitations oscillate between 1,500 and 3,000 mm with rains during almost the whole year.
More than 250 plant species have been recorded in the Lacandon jungle, some of them endemic.
In the area there are species cataloged as threatened and others declared in danger of extinction, among which are amargoso, guanandí, tinco, palo de Campeche or palo de tinte, armolillo, cinnamon flower, naked Indian, funeral tree or cocoa rose. , palo blanco, ojoche, wild tamarind, sapodilla, Guinea chestnut, tin leaf, guayabilla, red poppy and zapotillo, among others.
At the height of Tabasco, the Centla swamps develop, an area of wetlands protected since 1992 as a Biosphere Reserve, recognized as the largest wetland in North America. It is located on the delta formed by the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers, before reaching their mouth in the Gulf of Mexico.
The predominant type of vegetation in this ecosystem is aquatic plants. To this group belongs the vegetation that is under water, the one that emerges from the water and the one that floats. Together they represent 68% of the vegetation of the ecosystem.
Among these are peguajó, false bird of paradise, tropical bulrush, reed, grasshopper, sun leaf, pichijá, pancillo, water grass, water hyacinth, camalote, turtle grass, sea grass, shoal grass, ribbon, sargassum, water lily, water lettuce, duckweed, water ferns, ducktail, water arrow and navel of Venus, among others.
The Usumacinta basin is one of the most biodiverse regions in Mesoamerica. From its source in the Highlands of Guatemala to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, it encompasses a diversity of eco-regions: jungles, pine-oak forests, swamps and mountain forests..
In each eco-region there are different species that develop and subsist in them thanks to their specific climate and vegetation conditions.
Endemic species are found in the region, some that are considered threatened or have been declared in danger of extinction. Among the mammals present in the basin are tapir, jaguar, white-lipped peccary, opossum, spider monkey, spectacled weasel, naked-tailed armadillo, saraguato monkey, squirrels and tepezcuintles.
The Usumacinta basin, mainly the wetlands area, is the habitat of many of the resident and migratory birds that make life in its ecosystem, among them the harpy eagle, the blue-crowned parrot, the scarlet macaw, the ocellated turkey and the iris-billed toucan..
The group of amphibians and reptiles present in the basin is made up of: spiny lizard with yellow points, jungle toad, Mexican mushroom tongue salamander, glass frog, tapalcua, Yucatecan skink, common long-crested toad, Mexican crocodile, barking frog of rain and celestial green belly.
Also black-tailed brook, gulf coast toad, brown basilisk, mouse coral, leprous chirping frog, smooth-headed turipache, cane toad, two-point snake, green fan, bromeliad tree frog, Yucatecan cuija, red-eyed frog , striped iguana and Mexican burrowing toad, among many others.
Upon entering the Usumacinta basin area, approximately 158 species of fish are recorded. It is important to note that saltwater species are eventually found in the Grijalva-Usumacinta delta..
Among the species present in the Usumacinta riverbed, the Chiapas catfish, tricolor guapote, scaly sardine, Maya guayacón, lamia shark, Usumacinta catfish, Papaloapan sardine, Mexican topote, thorn ray, Chinese carp, pejelagarto, San Juan mojarra, king shad, Maya sardine, common carp, macabijo, spotted eel and gachupina mojarra, among the most common.
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