Urban Wetlands for Sustainable Cities in Mexico

As a hydrologically diverse country, Mexico has thousands of natural and artificial wetlands throughout its territory. Of this large number of wetlands, 144 are included in the Ramsar List, and four of them correspond to wetlands embedded in urban areas. For centuries, there has been a severe depletion of aquatic systems in Mexico; however, there are still many relevant wetlands in urban areas, some of which are currently protected by Mexican laws. Here we focused on continental and coastal lacustrine and estuarine systems for the sustainability of cities. We outlined the importance as cases of conservation in Mexico of two Ramsar sites, the ‘Xochimilco and San Gregorio’ wetland in Mexico City and the ‘Interdunary Lagoons System in the city of Veracruz’, and four non-Ramsar sites, ‘La Laguna de las Ilusiones’ in Villahermosa; ‘Laguna La Escondida’ in Reynosa; ‘El Estero El Salado’ in Puerto Vallarta; and the artificial wetland ‘El Palote’ dam, in León. These urban wetlands support populations of endemic, vulnerable, endangered, and/or critically endangered species of flora and fauna, and, at the same time, they are essential spaces for leisure and recreational activities. However, even with their conservation status, these systems are under intense urban pressure, being necessary to develop better restoration and management strategies for land and biodiversity. The long-term conservation of urban wetlands in Mexico and the ecosystem services they provide to citizens, as well as improving the resilience and sustainability of cities, still require the combined efforts of people and government.