Illegal loggers are destroying the sanctuaries of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in Mexico, says Homero Aridjis, head of the environmentalist Group of 100. ''This proves that government officials are inept in ecology and cannot escape the category of 'novice bureaucrats','' the Mexican activist and writer told Tierramérica.

The authorities announced on Aug. 8 the deployment of dozens of soldiers to halt the illegal logging of the 'oyamel' tree (Abies religiosa) where the monarchs make their winter home.

The measure, says Aridjis, was too little and too late, because ''the mafias'' that cut down the forests are armed and have entered the natural sanctuaries at thousands of points.

Every year, the monarchs migrate 5,000 km from the Great Lakes Region of Canada and the United States to central Mexico.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, 44 percent of the 52,000 hectares where these majestic butterflies winter have been degraded in the past three decades.