Tijuana, November 17, 2018 – Today, Environmental Health Coalition, el Colectivo Chilpancingo Pro Justicia Ambiental, RECIMEC and the youth from the community adjacent to the Arroyo Alamar in Tijuana, launched the comic book “Mi Comunidad y el Alamar, un río binacional y una comunidad fronteriza”. (My community and the Alamar, a binational river and a border community)
This presentation was made within the framework of the World Health Organization’s World Air Day celebrated on the third Thursday of November, and which is intended to raise awareness about the air pollution that affect people’s health.
In this sense, the Alamar’s riverbank forest is a very important opportunity to mitigate the air pollution emitted by the Otay maquiladora industry in Tijuana and by the movement of cargo trucks passing through nearby communities.
“We want the people who live in Tijuana and San Diego to know that this river’s forest helps to clean the air and the water that ultimately reaches the Tijuana River Estuary in San Diego,” said Dolores Casillas, a member of the Colectivo Chilpancingo Pro Justicia Ambiental and resident of the area. “We want them to know that we are connected and that the Alamar is not only important for us who live here, but for all the people of the region.”
For video of the press conference, click here.
The comic
- What is it about:
The comic includes information on the location of the Alamar, a guide to flora and fauna, including species classified as protected, the description of the characteristics of the “Alamar Sustentable” (sustainable Alamar) campaign to preserve the Alamar forest, among other things. - What is the purpose:
The intention of this material is to create awareness of the importance of the remaining natural ecosystems and how to organize ourselves to take care of them and keep them healthy, and in turn take advantage of all they have to offer. - Who created it:
The comic was created by the youth group of the Colectivo Chilpancingo Pro Justicia Ambiental in Tijuana. Some of the youth appear in the publication as characters in photographs and as drawings. - Distribution:
The distribution of the comic will mainly be online and can be found on EHC’s web page.
The tour
The tour of the stream was guided by Jorge Calderón, member of RECIMEC A.C., and expert in stream. During the tour, we had the opportunity to see some of the native plants of the Alamar such as the poplar (tree that give its name to the Alamar), willow, grass of the meek and arnica.
The members of the youth group used the comic information to contribute to the journey.
“Lesser swallow is a native bird and protected by regulation 059 of the SEMARNAT, as well as the false peyote or peyotillo,” said 13 year old Alan Jordan, leaning on the information of the comic.
“We want many people to read this comic so that they know how important the Alamar is and that they want to come and get to know and enjoy it,” said Monica de la Lanza, a member of the youth group for more than 10 years.
For video of the tour, click here.
For interviews with experts on this data and the environmental justice leaders working on the conservation of the Alamar in Tijuana, contact Arturo Garcia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (619) 496-3053.
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Founded in 1980, Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) builds grassroots campaigns to confront the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use and unsustainable energy policies. Visit online at http://www.environmentalhealth.org.