Mérida, Yucatán, March 21, 2019
The "Recycling Dunes" project, presented by four members of the UNAM Sisal campus, was the winner of the "Ideas are Promoted" university project competition. The project seeks to promote the conservation of coastal vegetation by reforesting and reconnecting the impacted dua in the town of Sisal, Hunucmá, with an emphasis on the use of PET containers as tools for environmental restoration.
Specific objectives
- Restoring the environmental functions provided by coastal dunes. Restoration of 4,500 m2 of coastal dunes in Sisal.
- Increase the total coastal dune vegetation in Sisal by approximately 10%.
- Increase the number of native and/or endemic plant species in the region's coastal dunes.
- Contribute to the conservation of species linked to the coastal dune.
- Return the scenic value provided by the coastal dune to the beach.
- Promote a recycling culture by using PET bottles in the construction, protection, germination, and planting of dune vegetation.
- Contribute to raising public awareness about coastal ecosystem conservation through infographics, posters, videos, and workshops.
- Promote environmental education with talks and workshops
The project, with an investment of 189 thousand pesos, will directly benefit the 2,000 people who live in Sisal, Yucatán.
The four members of the winning team are: Omar Esteban Pérez Sánchez, Baruch Aguilar Mena, Erika Sánchez Ramos, Luis Manuel Perea Méndez, and Luis Arturo Alcalá Torres, all sixth semester students of the Bachelor's Degree in Sustainable Coastal Zone Management.
The following personalities were members of the jury: Dr. Jorge Euán Avila, Academic Coordinator of CINVESTAV; Dr. Fernanda Molina Seguí, from the research department of the Faculty of Medicine at the Marist University of Mérida; Lic. Isolina Laviada Molina, member of the Board of the "Buena Voluntad" and "San Vicente" Shelters; Dr. Ruy David Arjona Villicaña, Endocrinologist at the Mérida Clinic; and Lic. Miguel Flores and Adelina Ríos, members of the Board of Directors of the Bepensa Foundation.
