In 216 hectares of this biodiverse area, which by municipal ordinance is considered a protected area, the construction of houses was intended.
On December 28, 2020, heThe Technical Secretariat of Real Estate Management of the Public Sector (Real Estate) auctioned 216 hectares of the Santa Catalina forest, located in the Uyumbicho parish, in the Mejía canton, Pichincha. Although the land is owned by Inmobiliar, this area has been listed as a protected area by municipal ordinance since 2011.
The auction was held through the Zoom platform and was broadcast on Facebook Live. The only offer for this property was presented by the Plurinational Integral Development Association (Ayllupura), in order to divide the land and sell lots of up to 200 meters for the construction of houses. The price was set at $1,621,189.
Once the auction was known, the Municipality of Mejía filed a protection action against Inmobiliar, says Roberto Hidalgo, mayor of the canton. However, the legal recourse was denied, so the council requested a series of meetings with authorities and civil society to try to reverse the auction.
“We lost the protection action despite having the documentation and the reason, and we showed that those properties were not developable. More than a year passed and they (Ayllupura) did not consign the $1,600,000, so on January 10, Real Estate declared bankruptcy of the auction.”, dice.
The association, according to Hidalgo, was unable to access economic resources due to the warnings and exhortations that the council gave to the superintendencies of Companies and the Popular and Solidarity Economy: “We told them that they were not urbanizable, industrial or agricultural land and that they were not could be divided. There is currently a legal process in the Provincial Court of Justice, but seven months have passed and no ruling has been made.”
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The construction of houses in that area was not only considered an environmental problem due to deforestation and subdivision, but it would also generate complications for the municipality and the central government itself, since up to $500 million had to be invested to provide basic services and infrastructure. road to the area.
What’s more, In Mejía, between 40% and 50% of the urban land is vacant, that is, there are spaces for the construction of houses in places permitted by the municipality.
Gabriel Espinoza, president of the Association of Ranchers of the Sierra and Oriente, and who was part of the groups that protested the auction and who have participated through amicus curiae in the judicial processes, affirms that the Santa Catalina forest has sources of water, species of flora and fauna, streams and remains of what was the Inca Trail, so “he does not understand the decision to Real Estate.”
If the construction of houses was carried out, the environmental groups warned of the contamination of the San Pedro River and the Saguanche, Jajarín and Aychamasa streams.
Espinoza adds that this forest is part of a large project that aims to create a biocorridor that joins the Eastern and Western mountain ranges, to protect nearly 100,000 hectares with the help of neighboring cantons of Mejía.
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“We have called it the cougar corridor. We want the puma to travel from the Eastern mountain range, which currently has these felines in this area, and reach the Western mountain range; this area has been poorly maintained in general. We unite the Pasochoa and Atacazo reserves”, dice.
Ocelots, foxes, cuchuchos and opossums would be other species that would benefit from this corridor. In addition, the Santa Catalina forest is considered the last natural remnant between Quito and Mejía. In this area there are also vestiges of the so-called Señorío de Uyumbicho and train tracks, which constitute a historical and archaeological biocultural heritage to be rehabilitated, indicates Espinoza.
To prevent this property from being auctioned again in the future, the Municipality of Mejía requested, in writing, to the Ministry of the Environment that this forest be part of the national regulatory framework as a protection zone. Hidalgo indicates that they also want the land to be donated to the mayor’s office in order to implement a comprehensive conservation project.
“We are aware that water also comes from our canton for cities like Quito, for the capitals, and that is why it is important to conserve this forest for future generations.”, añade. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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