The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT), through the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) of the Secretariat of Environment Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), contributes to the sustainable management of natural resources in our country.

The director general of the AEM, Salvador Landeros Ayala, explained that in the framework of the cooperation between the AEM and the ESA, through its Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) program, with the support of the leading European organization in Luxembourg, LUXSPACE, it was developed a pilot program for the priority task of conserving natural habitats and their marine species.

“CONANP will be the end user and operator of the project for the protected natural areas (ANPs) of the Pacific Ocean of the Marietas Islands, and Isabel Island, located 112 km off the coast of Tepic, Nayarit, monitoring tourist activities and fishing, applying the corresponding regulations for the protection of this natural heritage of Mexico”, he explained.

In the project, called “TransparentSea”, supported by services based on space and terrestrial technologies, through real-time information transmission platforms, the AEM coordinated various activities, such as technical meetings and training workshops with ESA and LUXSPACE, as well as as the pilot test, so that CONANP could operate it optimally.

When regulatory non-compliance is detected by tourism service providers with their vessels, CONANP will invite or force them to act in accordance with good practices, and, in this way, controls can be organized more efficiently, the human impact on the marine ecosystem can be reduced, and the marine ecosystem will be safeguarded.

ESA’s mission in this milestone will also include providing solutions for the development of space capabilities and continuing to guarantee benefits through Earth observation data in combination with the monitoring data of tourist vessels with fishing restrictions in the PNAs.

SEMARNAT, through CONANP, thanked SICT for its great support through AEM, describing it as “essential” for the development of this pilot project, sharing the enthusiasm with LUXSPACE for its quality, guidance and support, as a supplier partner. key satellite images and value-added products, both on land and at sea.

Source: Mexico Space Agency