The United Nations UNESCO committee is calling on the Biden administration to work with Mexico to repair damage done to the Sonoran Desert where that country’s border meets with protected Arizona land.
UNESCO argues that at stake is Sonora Mexico’s El Pinacate, a massive biosphere preserve located just south of Arizona’s border that abuts Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
The resolution calls on the U.S. to stop building the border wall, which it has. And to work with Mexico to mitigate damage done to the biosphere because of it.
Alejandro Olivera is with the Center for Biological Diversity, which asked UNESCO to take up the cause.
"The border wall is splitting the Sonoran Desert that is one ecosystem with huge biodiversity" Olivera said.
The resolution also argues that the border wall damages the historical migration routes of the Tohono O’odham tribe, whose members live on both sides of the border.
