Mapastepec

Mapastepec was founded in 1486 as an Aztec tributary state, under the name of Mapachtépec.^[2] In 1611, the first census conducted by the colonial authorities recorded Mapastepec's population as 265.^[3] Mapastepec was upgraded to the status of town (villa) by a decree issued by Ephraim A. Osorio, then governor of the State of Chiapas, on July 5, 1955.^[3]

• 1915 - Abolition of territorial administrative structure under political authorities (the Jefaturas políticas),^[4] with subsequent reorganization and creation of free municipalities
• 1955 - On July 5, State Governor Efrain A. Osorio promulgates decree granting the status of "town" to the municipal capital
• 1962 - Construction of Pacific coastal road, with connecting road to Mapastepec (see also Mexican Federal Highway 200)
• 1983 - Mapastepec integrated into Soconusco, political region VIII of the state of Chiapas
• 1984 - Town Hall built to house the Municipal Presidency
• 1990 - Creation of El Triunfo natural protected area, which became a Biosphere Reserve in 1993
• 1995 - Creation of La Encrucijada natural protected area, recognized as a Biosphere Reserve in 2006
• 1998 - Heavy rains in September cause rivers to overflow, destroying the village of Valdivia
• 2005 - Hurricane Stan washes away part of the coastal railway line^[5]

The total population of the municipality was 47,932 at the time of the 2015 Intercensal Survey, conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía - INEGI).^[6] This represented an increase from 43,913 in 2010,^[3] and 39,055 in 2005.^[7]

In 2015, women made up 50.9% of the inhabitants of the municipality and men 49.1%, with an average age of 24. The population represented 0.9% of the state of Chiapas.^[6]

The population of the town of Mapastepec was 17,931 in 2010, followed by Sesecapa (2,143) and Nuevo Milenio Valdivia (1,789).^[3] In 2015, 52 of the 118 localities in the municipality had more than 100 inhabitants. Isolation and the poor condition of roads, particularly at higher altitudes, makes access to public services difficult for many of the smaller settlements.^[8]

The 2010 Census of Population and Housing (Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010) recorded 131 speakers of an indigenous language in Mapastepec, representing 0.33 percent of its population.^[6] The most widely spoken of these languages were Zapotec (41), Mame (13), Tzotzil (13) and Tzeltal (12), with another twelve languages represented. An additional 34 respondents did not specify which indigenous language they spoke.^[8]

As of 2005, 65.68% of the population was Catholic, higher than the figure for the region of Soconusco (58.98%) and slightly above the national figure of 63.83%. 14.77% of the population was Protestant, 4.81% non-evangelical biblical, and 13.07% professed no religion.^[7]

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The municipality of Mapastepec is situated in the southern part of the state of Chiapas. It is bounded by the municipalities of La Concordia, Ángel Albino Corzo and Montecristo de Guerrero to the north, Siltepec, Acacoyagua and Acapetahua to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and Pijijiapan to the west.^[9]

The municipality covers an area of 1,085 square kilometres (419 sq mi), representing 19.81% of the Soconusco region and 1.44% of the state of Chiapas. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountain range, with a maximum altitude of 2,700 m (8,900 ft) above sea level (a.s.l.). The highest peaks are La Cumbre, La Bandera and El Pujido. Mountainous and hilly terrain makes up approximately 50% of the area of the municipality, with low foothills accounting for another 10%. 40% of its territory lies on the Pacific coastal plain, and some 6% of this area is alluvial floodplain and saltmarsh. Alluvial soils predominate.^[8][7]

The town of Mapestepec, the municipal capital, is at 40 metres (130 ft) a.s.l.^[8]

The main rivers of Mapastepec are the Río Novillero, Río San Nicolás, Río Gobierno and Río Las Flores. Smaller perennial streams include the Arroyo Sesecapa, Arroyo Tablasón and Arroyo Cuilapa. A number of intermittent streams run through the municipality. The principal bodies of water are the Chantuto, Pampa Buenavista and Pampa Castaña lagoons, and the El Coco estuary.^[8]

Hot and humid from January to September and a milder coastal climate from October to December. Its average annual temperature is 26.5 °C (79.7 °F), with an average annual rainfall of 2,500 mm (98 in). The heaviest rainfall occurs from June to September.^[7]

More than half of the territory of Mapastepec (51.85%) is situated in protected and conservation areas, totalling 63,205.6 ha (156,184 acres).^[8]

The Huizapa-Sesecapa Reforestation Area (Zona de Reforestación Huizapa-Sesecapa) lies on the Pacific coastal plain. Created by decree of October 8, 1936, it was the first protected natural area in the state of Chiapas. The Pico El Loro-Paxtal ecological conservation zone was created by decree of November 22, 2000 to protect cloud forest in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas foothills.^[7]

Parts of Mapastepec are within two important natural reserves in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves designated by the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme.

The El Triunfo reserve, created by decree of March 13, 1990, was inscribed on the list of Mexican Biosphere Reserves in 1993. It contains two of the most endangered ecosystems in Mexico: the Soconusco tropical rainforest, and cloud forest growing to over 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above sea level.^[7]

La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve, established as a reserve by decree on June 6, 1995,^[7] was inscribed on the list of Biosphere Reserves in 2006. La Encrucijada is also protected under the Ramsar Convention, figuring on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. It was inscribed on the list of Ramsar sites in Mexico on March 20, 1996. Located to the south of the town of Mapastepec, La Encrucijada contains one of the most significant wetland and coastal lagoon networks in Mexico, with mangroves among the tallest of the Pacific coast of the Americas.^[10][7]

Both the El Triunfo and La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserves are under the administration of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, CONANP), an agency of the Federal government. CONANP has a water management office for El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in the town of Mapastepec.^[11]

The vegetation of Mapastepec varies from the lowland jungle and mangroves of the Pacific coastal plain to oak–pine forest in the high mountains of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. ^[7] Emblematic mangrove and lowland species in La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve include the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), gumbo-limbo, also known as copperwood, or chaca (Bursera simaruba), Mexican palmetto (Sabal mexicana), (Cyperus spp.), and Malabar chestnut, or saba nut (Pachira aquatica). Other species growing in the lowland areas and adjacent highlands include (Pithecellobium dulce), and pinguin (Bromelia pinguin).^[12]

The cloud forest of El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve also contains a rich diversity of orchids, cycads and tree ferns (Cyatheales).^[13]

Among other species are the hardwood Ecuador laurel or salmwood (Cordia alliodora) in the high forests, the guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), the ceiba or kapok (Ceiba pentandra), the lowland evergreen sapodilla (Manilkara zapota), Calycophyllum candidissimum, and the yellow-wood (Terminalia oblongata).

Fruits include avocados, mamey, mango, custard apple, soursop, papausa, cuajinicuil, and caspirol.

The endangered horned guan (pavón cornudo; Oreophasis derbianus), considered the state bird, is found in El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in the high mountains of Mapastepec and neighboring municipalities.^[14] Also present is the emblem of the reserve, the Resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). Other key species include Azure-rumped tanager (Poecilostreptus cabanisi), the king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii); the Jaguar (Panthera once), the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) and the otter (Lutrinae).^[13]

Also found are hummingbirds, the harpy eagle, hawk, parrot, owl, skylark, chupamiel, mockingbird, rook, buzzard, pigeons, doves, yellow-throated toucans and many other bird species. Mammals and reptiles include the spider monkey, raccoon, porcupine, anteater, skunk, deer, puma, bobcat, agouti, wild boar, opossum, rabbit, rattlesnake, coral snake, false coral snake, nahuyaca, and Chichicua. There is high insect diversity.

Emblematic species of La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve on the coastal plain include the northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana), orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis), American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), green iguana (Iguana iguana), wood stork (Mycteria americana), orange-fronted parakeet (Aratinga canicularis), nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis), olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), and scorpion mud turtle (Kinosternum scorpioides).^[12]

Also endemic to the area are the cinnamon-tailed sparrow (Peucaea sumichrasti), berylline hummingbird (Amazilia berillyna), green-fronted hummingbird (Amazilia viridifrons), giant wren (Campylorhynchus chiapensis), Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine (Coendou mexicanus), Mexican spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata), flammulated flycatcher (Deltarhynchus flammulatus), Red-breasted chat (Granatellus venustus), West Mexican chachalaca (Ortalis poliocephala), rose-bellied bunting (Passerina rositae), longtail spiny lizard (Sceloporus siniferus), citreoline trogon (Trogon citreolus), Sonora mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense), and the cinnamon myotis bat (Myotis fortidens).^[12]

Chiapas has a wide variety of natural resources. Heavy exploitation over many years, in particular of timber, has led to significant deforestation in the municipality, causing species loss and environmental degradation. Logging and forest fires are also associated with the leaching of nutrients from the soil and with soil erosion, aggravated by heavy rainfall. Pollution of local waterways is related to agricultural activities including fertilizer use. These environmental issues are the focus of municipal government ecological management, conservation and sustainability planning.^[8]