Sand and gravel extraction threatens the Río Grande in Oaxaca ^{CEFR B2}

The Río Grande in the Cuicatec region of Oaxaca faces intensive sand and gravel extraction that residents say has altered the river’s shape, depth and ecology. In places near San Pedro Chicozapotes the river flows about 300 metres across; a fallen amate tree of at least 25 metres high now marks a site dominated by industrial machinery. Locals report that backhoes dig day and night, loading dump trucks and removing sand that once sheltered species and habitats.

Community investigations and residents link large-scale operations to the Concha Ojeda family. Extraction intensified after 2015 when the family began a larger business venture. Investigations by agricultural authorities led to Elpidio Desiderio Concha Arellano, a businessman and former federal deputy for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) from 2009 to 2012, and to his daughter, Lizbeth Anaid Concha Ojeda, a local deputy and president of the Permanent Commission on Government and Agrarian Affairs in the Oaxaca Legislature. Residents say the family used influence to manage permits; river exploitation permits for the son expire in 2029. Some extraction began before 2010 and at times occurred without authorisation.

Experts warn of wider harms. A 2022 UNEP report links extraction from rivers and coasts to erosion, salinization, loss of storm protection and damage to biodiversity, and BBVA’s 2022 Global Sand Observatory calls sand and gravel among the most extracted and least regulated materials. The river lies within the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve and has been a World Heritage Site since 2018; residents report losses of species and habitats, including palo de agua and the neotropical river otter (Lontra longicaudis), whose presence was confirmed in October 2005 with 21 droppings and footprints.

Organisers and community leaders held the first Forum for the Defence and Conservation of the Río Grande on 5 April 2025. They plan to form a defence front, visit river villages and raise awareness about sand extraction and pollution. Lawyer and activist Liudmila Oropeza Fuentes said those exploiting the river have influence in state and federal institutions and that many residents fear reprisals. Violence against land defenders is rising: CEMDA reports 25 land defenders were assassinated in Mexico in 2024, a 25 percent increase from 2023, and documents at least 20 incidents of criminalisation that year, with Oaxaca recording 15 attacks. Organisers say they must keep organising to protect the river.