Venezuela's Environment Ministry and National Guard have stepped up their campaign against the collection and sale of moss, which is traditionally used in Christian households to decorate Christmas Nativity scenes. “Of the more than 20,000 species of moss, some 1,000 are found in Venezuela. The ban on its extraction and use for five years beginning in 2008 is intended to preserve them for protecting soil and retaining water, ranging from the highlands to the tropical zones,” José Moreno, head of environmental conservation in Venezuela's southwest Andean region.

Those who trade in mosses, lichens and ferns will be fined, but officials are especially focusing on prevention, so that in schools, children learn to use other materials in their home Nativity scenes, like sawdust, cardboard, cloth or recycled paper.