Saltillo urban growth threatens Sierra de Zapalinamé ecosystem

Urban expansion in Saltillo, Coahuila, is encroaching upon the Sierra de Zapalinamé natural area. Specialist Lorenzo López Barbosa, who helped develop the 1998 Management Plan for the Protected Natural Area, warns that insufficient environmental surveillance, urban planning, and citizen participation have failed to contain pressure on the mountain.

López Barbosa identifies several contributing factors to the loss of vegetation and the advancement of housing developments, including budget shortages, rapid city growth, and urban development decisions. He specifically criticized the 2008 modification to the protection decree, which reduced the boundaries of the protected area, arguing that conservation policies should progressively increase protected surfaces rather than reducing them to accommodate real estate pressure.