Culture, traditions, and natural resources of Mexican lakes under the influence of anthropogenic pressures and climate change

Indigenous peoples and local communities play a vital role in conserving inland water ecosystems and their resources through their cultural and spiritual values embedded in geographic, sociopolitical, and economic contexts. The Central Mexico lakes along the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt harbored important pre-Hispanic cultures that hybridized during the Spanish conquest, evolving into modern Mexico and changing how lakes were valued. The terrestrial Spanish ways of life were inimical to the pre-Hispanic indigenous lacustrine culture. After the conquest, various actions were carried out to drain the lakes for urban growth and to provide agricultural land. The result has been a decline (e.g., Lake Cuitzeo, Michoacán) and, in some extreme cases, the near disappearance (e.g., Lake Texcoco, Mexico City) of once extensive waterbodies. Unsustainable use of resources, unsympathetic spatial planning (anthropogenic impacts), and climate change to warmer/drier conditions have all placed additional pressure on the inland ecosystems. Nonetheless, as presented here, the pre-Hispanic lacustrine cultural knowledge and traditions persist locally in some locations, having been perpetuated by Indigenous peoples’ traditions and habits.

原住民与地方社群依托根植于地理、社会政治与经济语境中的文化与精神价值，在内陆淡水生态系统及其资源的保护工作中发挥着至关重要的作用。
沿跨墨西哥火山带（Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt）分布的墨西哥中部湖泊，曾孕育了重要的前西班牙殖民时期文化；这些文化在西班牙殖民征服时期相互融合，随现代墨西哥的形成而演化，并重塑了人类对湖泊的价值认知。
西班牙殖民者推行的陆地式生活方式，与前西班牙殖民时期的原住民湖泊文化完全相悖。殖民征服结束后，为推进城市扩张与开辟农用土地，人类实施了一系列湖泊疏干工程。这一系列举措最终导致曾广袤无垠的湖泊水域持续萎缩（如墨西哥米却肯州的奎采奥湖），部分极端案例中水域近乎完全消亡（如墨西哥城境内的特斯科科湖）。
资源的不可持续开发利用、缺乏生态适配性的空间规划（即人为活动影响），以及向暖干化方向演变的气候变化，均给内陆淡水生态系统带来了额外的生存压力。
尽管面临多重生存压力，如本文所述，部分地区仍留存着前西班牙殖民时期的湖泊文化知识与传统，并通过原住民的世代习俗与生活惯习得以延续传承。