Ecobreves – MEXICO: Forests Celebrated, But Cutting Continues

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

MEXICO CITY, Jul 17 2004 (IPS) - As the annual Fiesta del Bosque (Festival of the Forest) takes place in Mexico, as it has every July since 1951, environmental groups are demanding a reforestation policy that would reverse the loss of hundreds of thousands of tree-covered hectares. The international environmental watchdog Greenpeace proposes to help 2,000 communities to manage their forests in sustainable ways, such as certification of sustainably produced lumber, activist Gerardo Moncada told Tierramérica.

According to official figures, from 1993 to 2000, Mexico lost 7.8 million hectares of forest.