To help reverse the accumulation of agrochemicals that pollute Lake Chapala, the Instituto Corazón de la Tierra (ITC) is working with seven farming communities in the region to replace toxic fertilizers and pesticides with alternative products that are not harmful to the ecosystem.
According to ITC Director Alejandro Juárez, around 70,000 hectares of land, roughly 40 percent of the territory bordering the lake, is dedicated to mechanized agriculture that employs soil additives. These eventually run off into the lake and cause harmful effects on biodiversity and water for human consumption. Indiscriminate use of such chemicals has already impacted the ecosystem, producing an overpopulation of green algae, water hyacinths, water lettuce and cattails, and poisoning phytoplankton, the basis of life in the lake.
“These substances affect the 307 bird species that inhabit the lake and its surroundings, are harmful to local communities that depend on fishing, and pose a threat to human health,” Juárez said.
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