Response indicators

Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment

Freshwater bodies are unable to receive quantities of municipal and industrial wastes in excess of their treatment capacity without compromising water quality and ecological processes that support ecosystems in them (MEA, 2005; UNEP, 2007). For this reason, one of the key measures to prevent deterioration is wastewater treatment. Depending on the type of treatment given to wastewater, the following can be removed: suspended solids, organic matter, nutrients (phosphates and nitrates), heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms; treatment significantly reduces the risks of eutrophication and damages caused by pollutants on aquatic organisms. The indicator Treated wastewater highlights efforts to reduce water pollution and damage to freshwater biota. This indicator is included in the chapter on Water under Quality.

Mexican wetlands in the Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that sets forth the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and sound use of wetlands of international importance and their resources in the territory of signatory countries. The convention considers as wetlands all areas of marshland, bogs, peatland or areas covered by water, either natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salty, including areas of marine water with a low-tide depth lower than six meters (Ramsar, 2008). Mexico signed the convention on July 4, 1986, aimed at protecting and preserving its wetlands. In this sense, the indicator Mexican wetlands in the Ramsar Convention shows government efforts for the protection of many of the country's freshwater ecosystems.